Family Background

1862. September 22: Born James Edward Talmage in Hungerford, England. Talmage was baptized in England in 1873 and emigrated with his family to Provo, Utah, in 1876.

Scholar

An Oxford Diocesan Scholar at the age of twelve, Talmage entered Brigham Young Academy in 1876 as a student of Karl G. Maeser. In 1879 he completed high school and became a teacher of elementary science and English at the academy. In the 1880s he attended LeHigh University and Johns Hopkins University. An avid scientific researcher, he conducted personal experiments to supplement theoretical investigation; in 1884 he even used hashish for two weeks to study the effects of narcotics.

1884. Named professor of geology and chemistry at Brigham Young Academy and later elected to the board of trustees. During four years in Provo, Talmage became a U.S. citizen, Provo city councilman, alderman, and justice of the peace.

1888. Married Merry May Booth in Salt Lake City. He called her "Maia," after the Roman goddess of the spring. They had eight children.

University President

1888. Called at twenty-six to be president of Latter-day Saints College in Salt Lake City. In 1894 he was named president of the University of Utah and joined the faculty as a professor of geology.

1896. Awarded a Ph.D. by Illinois Wesleyan University for non-resident work. March 12: Working feverishly on the Articles of Faith, in addition to his duties as university president, Talmage undermined his health. The First Presidency "learned that my health has been jeopardized," he wrote in his journal, "and, as they said, my sanity, and life threatened by insomnia and other evidences of nervous disorders. … Pres. Woodruff, Pres. Geo. Q. Cannon, and Pres. Jos. F. Smith gave me combined counsel to try the effect of moderate smoking: indeed said Pres. Cannon, 'We give you this rather as an instruction than as counsel. …'"

Despite his lack of experience with tobacco and his successful determination to prevent therapy from becoming habit, Talmage found that "a good cigar produced a marvelous quieting of my over-wrought nerves."

1897. Resigned as president of the University of Utah, though continuing as professor of geology. Ten years later he resigned as chairman of the geology department to be a full-time mining consultant.

Talmage was a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society, and a member of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Geological Society, Geological Society of America, Royal Society of Edinburgh, and American Association for Advancement of Science.

Apostle

1911. December 8: Ordained an apostle after the death of Charles Penrose.

1924. Called as president of the European Mission for four years.

Author

During the 1920s and early 1930s organic evolution was widely publicized in the United States. The Church took no specific stand on the theory, except to reaffirm that "man was created by God, that Adam was the parent of the human race, and that the destiny of man would be worked out according to the plan of God, which included the reality of the atonement of the Savior." Talmage went a step further in a 1930 radio address, "The Earth and Man," reconciling propositions of science and religion.

A prolific writer, Talmage produced such scientific works as First Book of Nature (1888), Domestic Science (1891), and The Great Salt Lake, Present and Past(1900). His theological works include The Articles of Faith(1899), The Great Apostasy (1909), The House of the Lord (1912), and Jesus the Christ (1915).

Workaholic

Talmage was thoroughly converted to the Mormon work ethic. "In his later years he had no interests in the conventional sense, no sports or games or hobbies that were not closely associated with his work. His work was his recreation."

Family, friends, and associates were concerned about his long working hours. President Grant, an avid golfer, urged Talmage to take up the sport, and after much persuasion, reached a compromise: Talmage would give the game an honest trial. His lessons would continue until he was able to hit a shot which President Grant rated as satisfactory, "a real golf shot." Then President Grant would allow him to make his own decision about further play.

After a brief lesson on addressing the ball, Talmage teed up. Instead of missing or slicing the ball into the rough, he hit a clean, two-hundred-yard drive. When President Grant congratulated him on a "real golf shot," Talmage responded, "If I have carried out my part of the agreement, then I shall call on you to live up to yours. … I should like to get back to the office, where I have a great deal of work waiting."

Death

1933. July 27: Died at seventy-one of a throat infection complicated by overwork into acute myocarditis. He had stayed in his office at 47 East South Temple overnight July 23, suffering from a slightly irritated throat which was not relieved by his favorite drink, root beer. He remained in his office on the 24th, but on the 25th was so ill he required help getting home.

His gravestone at the Salt Lake City Cemetery is an unusual geological phenomenon, a "xenolith" (rock within a rock)—dark limestone engulfed in granite.

His epitaph expresses the breadth of his scholarly and religious perspective: "Within the Gospel of Jesus Christ There Is Room and Place for Every Truth Thus Far Learned by Man or Yet to be Made Known."

Sources
Allen, James B., and Leonard, Glen M. The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1976.
Talmage, John R. The Talmage Story: Life of James E. Talmage. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1972.
Jenson, Andrew. LDS Biographical Encyclopedia. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson Historical Company, 1901-1936.
Provo, Utah, Brigham Young University. Harold B. Lee Library. James E. Talmage Journal.