This book tells the story of a truth seeker who sought to reconcile science and religion and to unite Latter-day Saints and people of other faiths. Raised in the insular world of the Church-dominated Cache Valley, when he arrived at the University of Utah he became acutely aware of the divide between church and state in Salt Lake City. Embracing the world of secular learning but retaining the beliefs of his youth, he found himself, as he put it, "between the devil and the deep blue sea." He wanted the Saints to believe a person could move freely in the world of reason and still have faith. He wanted the world outside the kingdom to believe a person could believe in the distinctive worldview of his faith and still be a person of intellect. 

Merrill founded a mining school at the University of Utah, and the Merrill School of Engineering bears his name. But perhaps his most far-reaching innovation is found in the seminary program. Conceived and executed on a shoestring budget, seminary provided a solution to the educational difficulties vexing Church leaders of the time. Religion classes sponsored by the Church started the practice of supplementary education, but Merrill, with his connections in the larger educational community of Utah, managed to negotiate an arrangement essentially turning every public high school into a Church school, with the Saints paying only for the theological department across the street.

The institutes of religion program was largely an extension of the seminaries on the collegiate level. Merrill arrived at the office of Church commissioner of education in time to provide guidance in creating the fundamental mission of the institutes. He wanted the institutes to allow Latter-day Saint students to connect the teachings of the college classroom with the principles of the faith–to provide them with the tools to connect religion and reason throughout their lives.
Hard cover.