John a widtsoe biography of barack

He entered the University of Goettingen, Germany, and after applying himself diligently to his studies, he graduated from that institution, with the degrees of A. For part of his time in Europe, Widtsoe lived in Switzerland. The police wanted proof that he and his wife were married, and since they had neglected to bring their wedding license, they got married a second time.

Merrill and J. Edward Taylor. Their goal was to have it be a popular magazine that would be read and implemented by the actual farmers. In Widtsoe was dismissed from the agricultural college as a result of political debates about its future and President William J. Kerr's feeling that Widtsoe was insufficiently supporting him. For a short time he was a professor of agriculture at BYU, and is arguably the founding father of Brigham Young University 's college of biology and agriculture.

Widtsoe building is the home of the College of Biology and Agriculture. He later served as president of the University of Utah from about until his call as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve in Widtsoe was the fifth Commissioner of the Church Educational System from to and was the seventh commissioner from to During his time as an apostle Widtsoe taught a religion class at the University of Southern California.

For two years in the s Widtsoe lived in Washington, D. Elder Widtsoe was closely associated with the Improvement Era even before he became an apostle. Widtsoe was associate editor of the Era from until [13] [14]. While editor of the Erain the words of Parrish, Widtsoe "directed its growth from a magazine primarily for the youth to the voice of the whole Church".

It was a bold move by the craftsman, who was considered to be of a lower class than the widow of an educator. A hard worker and bright student, he graduated instudied chemistry at Harvard University, and graduated with highest honors in While at Harvard, he met Leah Eudora Dunford. They married in the Salt Lake Temple in and became the parents of seven children, only three of whom lived to adulthood.

John began his professional career as professor of chemistry and as chemist at the experiment station at Utah Agricultural College now Utah State University in Logan. He was also a recognized authority on irrigation and dry farming. John A. Widtsoe served as president of the Utah Agricultural College from towhen he was named president of the University of Utah.

He served in that capacity untilwhen he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

John a widtsoe biography of barack

He was also the grandson-in-law of Brigham Young. This interview with Thomas G. Alexander discusses John A. Read more about John A. Widtsoe in John A. Widtsoe: Scientist and Theologian, — As director of the Utah State Experiment Station, he wrote books on irrigated farming and on dry farming which were later published by a national press.

He was also an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served from until his death in I approached the biography as a short biography for a general audience. It is part of a series of similar short biographies of prominent Latter-day Saints commissioned for the same purpose. He was able to do this, and during his life he wrote about the congruence of these two sources of knowledge.

At the Utah State Agricultural Experiment station, he and his staff conducted experiments in which they grew irrigated crops in ways that kept them free from natural water and measured the amount of water that it required to produce good crops. In working on dry farming, he and a colleague Lewis Merrill traveled throughout Utah and used an augur to determine depth at which water was located in various soils.

In this way, they determined where sufficient soil water was available in good soil to produce crops. Widtsoe resolved some of the problems created by his predecessor William J. At the University of Utah, he cleaned up the mess caused by Joseph T. Widtsoe worked with Reed Smoot in meeting with officials and opinion leaders in various countries in Europe to help them to understand that the church no longer practiced polygamy and that the other things about the church—that it was a radical sect, that it engaged in violence, and various other things— were simply not true.

He wrote that the luminous ether which scientists had formerly believed provided the medium for light wages to pass through space was the Holy Ghost. With the discovery of Quantum Mechanics, scientists know that light is both solid quanta and a wave so that such a medium was unnecessary. Widtsoe wrote that Brigham Young did not teach that progress in the after-mortal life could lead people to move from one kingdom to another.

He also wrote that Young did not teach the Adam-God doctrine. In fact, Young taught both of these things. Many of the essays he wrote in Evidences and Reconciliations are still useful in our understanding of Latter-day Saint doctrine. He felt a strong sense of duty, however, to serve where he was called and later, with the same motive, accepted the presidency of the University of Utah.

His call to the Quorum of the Twelve in afforded Elder Widtsoe increased opportunity to continue his impressive record of service to the Lord. He presided over the European missions and served the Church in the Genealogical Society, on the Church Board of Education, on the General Welfare Committee, as editor of the Improvement Eraand in many other assignments.

Upon the advice of the president of the Church, he also responded to many important public calls, such as accompanying an exploring expedition down the Colorado River in search of dam sites, helping to design the famous Colorado River Compact, and examining for the government some serious problems, financial and otherwise, in the Bureau of Reclamation.

He often performed these services without pay. Amidst all of the prominence, achievement, and scientific learning of this great man, one truth was his greatest treasure. Marba C. Josephson, Improvement EraJanuarySubscribe to Our Newsletter. Religious Studies Center Menu. Search Enter the terms you wish to search for. Add an RSC shortcut to this device's Home screen.