A TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH
As
much as he valued the faith of Planck and Pasteur and other great scientists,
Henry’s religious beliefs went beyond theirs. Specifically, Henry’s faith was
rooted in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Pasteur’s hope of an
afterlife, for instance, was for Henry a certainty, because Joseph Smith had
seen detailed visions of it. Henry didn’t believe just in God, or even the
Mormon Church. The foundation of his faith was belief in Joseph Smith.
That
can be seen time and again in his response to questions about science and
religion. For instance, here is his reply to a woman, a convert to the Church,
who wondered about the theory that fossil remains on this earth might have been
transported from other worlds, thus posting no contradiction to the biblical
creation time line:
That
you for your letter of January 22nd. It was trained as a mining engineer, so
the evidence seems to me to point toward an age of the earth of between four and
five billion years and to the existence of pre-Adamic man. I don’t think that
it is reasonable to explain the observed geologic formations on the theory that
they were moved from some other world. Since as Latter-day Saints we believe
life exists in other worlds I have no difficulty in reconciling myself to the idea
of life before Adam and to a great age of the earth. Our scriptural accounts
are brief and don’t seem to me to rule out these possibilities. The scriptural
emphasis is on God’s dealings with Adam and his descendants, and the treatment
of pre-Adamic history is sketchy, no doubt for a good reason.
It
seemed clear to me that the Lord used the Prophet Joseph to restore His gospel.
This is the important thing for me. Just how He runs the world I’m obliged to
leave up to Him. All I can do is find out how he does it by every means
available. (Letter of January 27, 1971, Henry Eyring Papers, box 2,2, folder 10)
Henry’s
1958 reply to a Church General Authority with a similar question was likewise
grounded in a testimony of the Prophet Joseph:
The
geological and radiological evidence that the earth is some billions of years
old is, in my judgment, over-whelming. Brother Talmage and Brother Widtsoe
found no difficulty in reconciling such considerations with the Prophet’s
divine mission, and neither do I. (Letter of February 28, 1958, Henry Eyring
Papers, box 22, folder 5)
Henry’s
fundamental faith in the Prophet Joseph Smith begs the question, “Where did it
come from?” He never cited a singular, personal confirmation experience.
However, he grew up hearing powerful tales of such experiences. Among those
were the stories of the conversion of Mormonism of his paternal grandparents,
Henry Eyring and Mary Bommeli. (Henry J. Eyring, Mormon Scientist: The Life
and Faith of Henry Eyring [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007], 124-26)