I am not a scholar of religion or science but I do have an abiding interest in both.  Like many boys growing up, I was interested in cavemen.  I think I was always fascinated that these people could survive under such adverse circumstances with not much more than rocks and spears.  When I was a senior in high school, I even wrote my senior English paper on the findings and research of Louis S. B. Leakey (a pioneer in the research of early man) .  I have probably watched every documentary on early man that has ever been shown on PBS.  Fast forward to the mid 1990s when I was browsing one day through the FARMS articles that Deseret Book used to sell in their stores.  I chanced upon an article by Hugh Nibley called “Before Adam”.  It was the title that first captured my interest because until then I had never pondered the connection between cave men and Adam and Eve.  That article was the beginning of my immense fascination and interest in the writings of Hugh Nibley and my religion.

After reading almost everything Nibley has written, I have come to refer to him as the thinking man’s Mormon.  Before Nibley, I had limited my religious studies to the few hours I spent in church each Sunday.  After Nibley, I have come to regard the Gospel as the most fascinating subject I have ever encountered because it encompasses all knowledge, even scientific knowledge.

Since Nibley, I have discovered several other LDS authors who have expanded my interest in my religion and the origin of man.  At the top of the list would have to be Joseph Fielding Smith.  He was the Prophet when I was on my mission and to be honest, he kind of scared me because he looked so stern and serious.  But a few years ago I read his book, Man, His Origin and Destiny and I discovered a man of amazing knowledge and insights on a wide range of religious and secular subjects.  I could not believe that this man did not even have a graduate degree in anything.  Another LDS author that really surprised me is Alvin R. Dyer.  His books, Who Am I? and The Meaning of Truth are two of the most scholarly and faith building books I have ever read.  Finally, Eric Skousen’s book, Earth in the Beginning is definitely in the top five of the best books I have ever read.  If you have ever wondered how it all began and why we are here today, you have to read this book.

Personally, I cannot see how any serious student of the Gospel and science can reconcile the supposed differences between the two without having read the above mentioned books.

Brad Wightman
MLS, MBA