By DEREK FAY
Learning has always been an important part of life for Elder Henry B. Eyring, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Eyring, the commissioner for the Church Educational System, was raised in a home where spiritual learning helped the pursuit of academia. His father taught chemistry at Princeton University and later headed the graduate school at the University of Utah.
“Religious faith enhanced scientific study in our home,” Elder Eyring said in an interview with the Ensign.
Elder Eyring feels strongly about the role of the Church Educational System in touching lives.
“What’s really important in church education is the student and the teacher and what happens between them,” Elder Eyring told the Ensign. “We don’t want to miss the chance to make a difference.”
Elder Eyring’s years of church service have given him the opportunity to learn some of the most important truths.
“Eternal life is the greatest of all gifts of God,” Elder Eyring said in a conference address during the priesthood session in November 1995.
“The formal education we receive makes up only a small part of what we need to know,” Elder Eyring said. “Life is more than a career; life is a mission. Life has a purpose, and its purpose requires learning across a wide spectrum. We should be learners throughout our lives.”
Several academic degrees attest to Elder Eyring’s quest for knowledge. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Utah in 1955.
He earned Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University.
He was on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and was president of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, for five years.
He has served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and as a First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric for the LDS Church. He was called as an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints April 1, 1995.
