Jack Weyland

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Jack Weyland was a professor of physics at Brigham Young University-Idaho and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is also perhaps the best known author of fiction for Latter-day Saint audiences. He is the author of many novels and short stories, mostly placed in contemporary settings. His novel Charly was made into a feature film in 2002.

Weyland was born and raised in Montana. He graduated from Billings Senior High School and then attended Montana State University where he majored in Physics. Upon graduating he severed a mission for the LDS Church in New York and Pennsylvania. After completing his mission he went to BYU and received his masters degree in Physics. “I enjoyed physics then and still do today. It is, after all, what I spend most of my time doing.” (Jack Weyland)

While attending BYU Jack decided to take an elective course in creative writing. After a few weeks Jack realized he was in trouble, he was not a very good writer. Jack Weyland said, “The one time I ventured to tell my instructor I wanted to write LDS fiction, he said, “You’re not serious, are you?” Certainly a fair question based on what he had seen of my writing. I became discouraged and dropped the course and didn’t think about writing again for several years.

Jack married his wife Sherry and they had a daughter named Barbara. After Barbara was born they left BYU and went to South Dakota where Jack taught physics at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. While in South Dakota they had four more children, Dan, Brad, Jed, and Josie.

In the summer 1971 Jack had the opportunity to work for the BYU physics department doing high-pressure research. While at BYU Weyland decided to take a correspondence writing course. “Especially I wanted it to be by correspondence. Never again would I tell anyone face to face that I wanted to write. The course cost me, as I remember it, $37.50. In addition there was the typewriter to rent.” (Jack Weyland) Jack decided that he wanted to write an article for New Era Magazine.

Jack’s first two stories that he sent into New Era were accepted, but his third entry was rejected. After having this rejection he was done writing, but the next summer he found himself submitting another article to New Era that was accepted. Each summer Jack found himself writing in his spare time. In 1979 Weyland made a goal to write a novel that would be published by October, he finished his first novel Charly. After completing his goal of writing a novel Jack said, “The Lord blesses us richly for any service we give. He helps us discover talents we never know existed within us.