After paying tribute to noted BYU professor Carl F. Eyring March 10, President Thomas S. Monson rededicated the science center on the BYU campus named in the educator's honor.
President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, said Carl Eyring, who died in 1951 of cancer, was a scientist who taught his students that "there is no conflict between truth and religion - God's laws govern both."President Monson was accompanied to the event, held in the lobby of the Eyring Science Center, by his wife, Frances. Also in attendance were Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve and commissioner of Church Education, and his wife, Kathleen; Elder Ben B. Banks of the Seventy and his wife, Susan; and Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the Seventy and BYU president and his wife, Marilyn. BYU administrators and faculty, local city officials and students also participated in the dedication.
President Monson said that recently he has studied several biographies and historical records celebrating the life of Carl Eyring.
Born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, in 1889, Carl Eyring served from 1924 until his death in 1951 as dean of BYU's College of Arts and Sciences.
President Monson recalled talking recently to one of Brother Eyring's students, Elder Loren C. Dunn, now of the Seventy. Elder Dunn shared with President Monson a memory of his former teacher.
" When the floor of this building was being poured,' " President Monson quoted Elder Dunn, "I saw my professor Carl Eyring with a hose in his hand, a specially made hose.' "
President Monson explained that Carl Eyring "was scientifically and painstakingly spraying a fine spray of water, just the right amount at just the right time, to enhance the curing of the cement.
"Some said, Brother Eyring, you shouldn't be handling cement.' He replied,This is what I must do today; tomorrow I will do what I must do for tomorrow.'
"They tell me that the cement never cracked," President Monson added.
President Monson said Carl Eyring taught his students that it is "honorable to work with your hands."
President Monson also called Carl Eyring "a noble teacher."
"One person declared that a teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops."
Recalling the pioneering spirit of Carl Eyring, President Monson commented on the new interior of the building Brother Eyring helped design. (Please see story on page 6.) President Monson said concerning the Eyring Science Center, "In it we have the legacy of the past, we have the opportunity of the present, we have the brightness of the future.' "
During the dedicatory prayer, President Monson said, " . . . as we have a tribute to Carl F. Eyring today in word, in music, in song, we wish to thank thee for him and for his family, representatives of which are here today."
He prayed that students may know they are walking on "hallowed ground when they enter this building."
After offering the dedicatory prayer, President Monson - with the help of Elder Eyring, Elder Bateman, and Elaine Eyring Rieske, Carl Eyring's daughter - participated in a special ribbon cutting ceremony, setting the giant pendulum in the lobby of the renovated building in motion.
The pendulum - which shows the rotation of the earth - had been still since October 1995 when work on the project began.
Elder Eyring, a great-nephew of Carl Eyring, recalled a statement that was made about his uncle during the dedication of the Eyring Science Center in 1950. "They said the good deeds of Carl Eyring would outlive the building," Elder Eyring noted. "That experiment is still underway. . . . I know his good deeds are still spoken of wherever I go in the Church; I meet people who were students, or children of students, and now grandchildren of students, who all know his findings and his great testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Elder Eyring recalled searching, as a small child, through the pockets of his great uncle's vest for lemon drops. He also recounted, when he was older, meeting a man on a airplane who knew of his uncle's great work in science, including his studies on the reverberation of sound.
"He spent his life here, in this place," he said. "I think the greatest work he did was in the lives of students. I am grateful to share his name."
Elder Bateman called the building the results of the planning of people two generations ago and now the planning by people of this generation.
"As I read the dedicatory prayer that was offered by President George Albert Smith in October of 1950 when this building was dedicated for the first time, I was struck by how much things are the same."
Reading from the prayer, Elder Bateman noted the desire expressed to teach the sciences in a way that would "enrich lives and bless the world" - just as current BYU faculty in the building are doing today.
He also recalled that by the time the building was ready to be dedicated in the early 1950s, its cost was more than 15 times its original estimate. "It is interesting that we have some of those challenges today," he said.
Elder Bateman said when the building was built it was the largest of its kind in Utah. "This is a magnificent structure," he said. "We are so appreciative of those who have helped preserve it."
Bill R. Hayes, dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Clayton S. Huber, dean of the College of Biology and Agriculture, also spoke, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to occupy a building named after Carl Eyring.
Dorian M. Hatch, chair of the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Lynn V. Ogden, chair of the department of Food Science and Nutrition, gave the invocation and benediction, respectively.
Sister Rieske said after the event that her father would have been pleased with the dedication and the renovated building which bears his name. "I almost felt like he was here today," she said.
