Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Faith of a Scientist” as Want to Read:
The Faith of a Scientist
Enlarge cover
Rate this book
Clear rating
Open Preview

The Faith of a Scientist

4.24  ·  Rating details ·  246 ratings  ·  43 reviews
Famed LDS scientist Henry Eyring discusses his convictions that science and religion, properly understood, are not two separate worlds but an interlocking unity.
Hardcover, 196 pages
Published 1967 by Bookcraft, Inc
More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30
Average rating 4.24  · 
Rating details
 ·  246 ratings  ·  43 reviews


More filters
 | 
Sort order
Start your review of The Faith of a Scientist
LeeAnn
Jun 07, 2009 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: biography
Favorite quote, "I should like to say that true religion was never a narrow thing. True religion concerns man and the entire universe in which he lives. it concerns his relationships with himself and his fellow men, with his environment, and with God his Creator. It is therefore limitless, and as boundless as that eternity which it teaches lies ahead of every son of God."

I love this book. Henry Eyring was all-scientist in his approach to truth. He points out that the gospel encompasses all truth
...more
Jeff Stockett
Dec 08, 2010 rated it really liked it
Shelves: religous
This short book is a collection of essays dealing with the supposed conflict between science and religion. Though I myself, am not a scientist, I have always been fascinated by science and the discovery of the world around me. I have never felt that there was a conflict between science and religion but there are certainly those who do. This book wasn't necessarily written to refute those who see conflict, but rather to share some thoughts on science and religion from a man who believes strongly ...more
Niccole
Aug 31, 2008 rated it it was amazing
I really loved this book. It is small, only 54 pages. It was originally complied from a longer book by Dr. Eyring, and was published church-wide for the youth in the late 1960's. It is now out of print and difficult to find. Luckily, the Pleasant Grove library had a copy, I just had to wait a long while on the hold list. It's really thought provoking. ...more
Ross Blocher
May 08, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I finally read this book after a respected co-worker had recommended it to me a couple times in our long conversations about the relationship between scientific knowledge and religious belief. It was written by Dr. Henry Eyring in 1967, with the key goal of sharing his own ways of reconciling an esteemed career in the physical sciences with his LDS beliefs (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).

First of all, Eyring has all the right credentials. His Mormon bona fides include being born in
...more
Heather
Nov 14, 2019 rated it it was amazing
Henry Erying was a remarkable man--a genius scientist with unshakable faith in God. His testimony of truth is powerful and persuasive. I enjoyed this book. It increased my desire to learn and find truth. It gave me a greater appreciation for the importance of spiritual guidance. It is so comforting to know that truth is truth and the universe is governed by eternal laws.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"For me there has been no serious difficulty in reconciling the principles of true science
...more
Helena
Mar 29, 2019 rated it it was amazing
Beautiful! Enlightening! Interesting! Comforting!
Dr. Eyring has such command of the English language and an ability to take complex concepts and make them easy to comprehend. This was such a quick read and contains passages I will treasure for the rest of my life. 10 out of 10 recommend!
Andrew Naylor
Feb 02, 2017 rated it it was amazing
I loved this book. Having studied much science in college, I have often been confronted by the question, how can science and religion co-exist? Henry Eyring does a wonderful job at portraying how his scientific discoveries, as well as the discoveries of world renowned scientists have strengthened his belief in a superior being. I loved this book, and would highly recommend to anyone interested in the debate on science and religion, written from the perspective of a Latter-Day Saint.

Favorite quot
...more
Cindy
Aug 31, 2008 rated it really liked it
Recommends it for: LDS
This was a very small book I had heard about and wanted to read for myself. Dr. Henry Eyring was a chemist and father of LDS Apostle Henry B. Eyring. The first chapter seems to be taken from a talk, but the rest are essays on various aspects of religion and science.

My favorite chapter was the one called 'The Six Worlds.' I really enjoyed the message. Eyring says we all live in 6 worlds - the subatomic world, the atomic world, the cellular world, the 'real world', the astronomical world, and the
...more
Lindsay
May 29, 2009 rated it really liked it
This is a short compilation from a larger book with the same title--certain chapters are taken from the larger book and included here as kind of a "sampler." There are a lot of really deep insights in this book that Dr. Eyring makes. I don't think I fully appreciated it however because I don't really understand all the science topics he discusses. This was nice because I got the gist of the larger volume without having to read the whole thing. ;) ...more
Heather
Oct 06, 2011 rated it it was amazing
I want to give a copy of this book to all my friends/cousins who are graduating from high school and going to college. It makes such sense and clears away clutter from misunderstandings about what to believe in school.
Trevor Parker
Great book if you can comprehend all the science. And it has an impressive amount of science.

Henry Eyring was a world renown chemist and pulls on his experience in chemistry and physics to demonstrate why he feels science proves there is a God, in his opinion. In simple terms, he explains the profound complexity and beauty of the world, as science currently (as of the 1960's) understands it. Eyring points out that for some reason people take the complexity, arguments, and lack of understanding
...more
Becky
In this collections of speeches and articles, world-reknown chemist, Henry Eyring beautifully argues that science and religion are actually one. He says science explains the how of the world and religion explains the why, that you need both to get the full truth, and that someday we will see the two merge, when our understanding has greatly progressed. Although many of the scientific examples he gives were more than a bit over my head, Eyring's premise rang true to me.

"Some have asked me: 'Is t
...more
Gunnar Thurman
I think every member of the church should read this book. I think that while most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have given up the viewpoint that science and religion are at odds with one another (The 65+ members see that science gave us technology to do family history work speedy-like so now it isn't evil I guess, isn't that nice). However, I've still heard hot takes from members like, "God put dinosaur bones in the earth to test our faith!", and had institute teache ...more
Eliza
Aug 02, 2020 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: science, favorites, gospel
In this wonderful book Dr. Eyring discusses the matter of faith and science; two fields that many people regard as "two wholly different spheres."

Dr. Eyring states, "For me there has been no serious difficulty in reconciling the principles of true science with the principles of true religion, for both are concerned with the eternal verities of the Universe. ... Since the Gospel embraces all truth, there can never be any genuine contradictions between true science and true religion."

I believe tha
...more
Joshua Guest
Dec 08, 2020 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
"Since the Gospel embraces all truth, there can never be any genuine contradictions between true science and true religion."

"I am obliged, as a Latter-day Saint, to believe whatever is true, regardless of the source."

"In this Church, you only have to believe the truth. Find out what the truth is!"

...more
Kait Butterfield
Oct 11, 2018 rated it really liked it
It was very disjointed but full of a unique perspective on apparent contradictions between religion and science. It's short, to the point and definitely better than the watered down biography of Henry Eyring called Mormon Scientist. ...more
Brannon
Jun 19, 2020 rated it liked it
The book is not exceptional writing, but it does have great insight on how to handle questions that seemingly contradict gospel truth.
Josh Johnson
Jun 21, 2020 rated it it was amazing
Incredible book providing spiritual insights from a scientific mind.
Terry Earley
Oct 05, 2021 rated it liked it
I should have read this or another bio decades earlier. A truly remarkable, exemplary life.
Ashton
Apr 19, 2022 rated it it was amazing
I’m a big fan of the Eyrings. Like father, like son (wise and well-spoken)
Mary Koeven
I highly recommend this to anyone who loves both Christianity and Science, as well as anyone who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wish I had read it as a teenager when I was looking for books to combat the "falsehood" of evolution, etc. This book helped me reconcile my religious beliefs with my understanding of scientific fact.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"It is interesting to recall that in ages past, religious men felt that their faith hinged on the noti
...more
Bryan Tanner
Apr 03, 2014 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: lds
All of a sudden all of my 12-14 year-old Sunday School students are super interested in the Theory of Evolution and where our bodies came from and the relationship between religion and science. I started researching by reading expert blog posts. Then I asked my dad. Then I pulled this out and read it. I've decided to just let my students borrow it; although I'll likely never see it again. I think it's the best resource I can share with them other than sharing my heartfelt belief that science and ...more
Rebecca
Apr 06, 2011 rated it liked it
Shelves: non-fiction, lds
This is the pamphlet version of what should have been 196 pages (this is a mere 53 pages... and is small. Look at the thumbnail picture. Now look at the book. Now back at the thumbnail. It's the same size.) The preface states that this is a selection of unabridged articles from the book of the same name.

My desire in reading this was to gain a greater understanding of Dr. Eyring's thoughts after having read his biography,Mormon Scientist. This is a quicker read (not much), but I lean now towards
...more
Jason
Jul 13, 2009 rated it liked it
Shelves: churchy-stuff
Some very quotable material here by a distinguished scientist and faithful Mormon. The book is now forty years old, but the subject matter deals more with the relationship between faith and science generally than any particular scientific discovery, so it has aged well.

It's a good book, but fairly meandering. I wouldn't say there's much of a unifying theme to these writings other than that faith and science are compatible. I will treasure many of the individual insights Eyring offers, but the bo
...more
Stacey
Jan 12, 2011 rated it liked it
From a scientist's perspective I think its an excellent book that discusses the many facets of the universe that make so many scientists believe in God.
However, from a reader's perspective I thought it was quite boring. That's why it took me so long to finish. Every night when I picked it up I could only get through a few pages before falling asleep.
...more
Christie
Apr 28, 2011 rated it it was amazing
I loved this book. Eyring was a brilliant scientist as well as a man of deep faith. I have always felt that religion and science need not be enemies. He puts into words that sentiment and explains how it can be. I feel I have a more abiding faith in God and desire to seek all truths after reading this book.
Lafe
Aug 10, 2014 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: religion, adult, science, 2014
Being educated and religious can sometimes seem like a contradiction. This is a great book, I have arrived at many of the same conclusions as the author about science and religion which is why he and I both continue believing in the message of mormonism despite being trained in the science. This book is fantastic.
Brian
Aug 14, 2014 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: science, religious
Excellent, and highly readable account of how one scientist reconciles his belief in God with his experience and belief in science. My favorite quote from the book to a question about believing something taught about evolution, or geology or something: "In this church, you only have to believe in what's true. So go figure out what's true." ...more
Elizabeth S
Oct 25, 2008 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: n-religious, c-adult
The science is a little old, now. After all, the book was compiled in 1967. But the principles are still true. Dr. Eyring says over and over that "true science and true religion" do not conflict. And he says it very well. ...more
Dan
Apr 26, 2009 rated it it was ok
Somewhat dated. Hard to read, as all the chapters were literally articles collected from his career. There were a few good concepts though. A scientist seeks truth from whatever source. As mans understanding comes closer to gods understanding conflicts will lessen. A quick read.
« previous 1 next »
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Readers also enjoyed

  • Reading with the Right Brain: Read Faster by Reading Ideas Instead of Just Words
  • Myths, Lies and Half-Truths of Language Usage
  • Shadow of the Giant (The Shadow Series, #4)
  • Midnight Never Come (Onyx Court, #1)
  • The Collective
  • The Lost Stories (Ranger's Apprentice, #11)
  • Stan Lee's Alliances: A New Reality
  • The Happiest Man on Earth
  • The Wim Hof Method: Own Your Mind, Master Your Biology, and Activate Your Full Human Potential
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • The Land: Predators (Chaos Seeds, #7)
  • Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)
  • The Lost Daughter
  • Mystery (Alex Delaware, #26)
  • Finding Ashley
  • Failure Is an Option: An Attempted Memoir
  • Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear
See similar books…
See top shelves…

News & Interviews

If you're looking to fall head over heels for some LGBTQ+ romances, you'll find yourself quite lucky in love with recent books. In the first...
38 likes · 5 comments