Ever since their beginnings, all of the great Abrahamic religions have found themselves frequently at odds with more scientific communities. The Biblical tales of the Creation, Noah’s Ark, and the Tower of Babel are taken as literal truth by many despite their apparent incompatibility with science.

Because he spent his professional life in the legal field, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wasn’t exposed to many of the conflicts between science and religion until he became the president of Brigham Young University. While there, he said he was required to “search out, learn, and articulate answers to questions I had previously been privileged to ignore.”

In his book, Life’s Lessons Learned, Elder Oaks shares some of his beliefs regarding science and religion.

Read more on LDS Living or purchase Elder Oaks’ book here.