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Show 10 under the direct control of the Church, provided a more than adequate school education for Eyring. In fact it was of high enough quality that Karl Maeser of the Mormon Church education system, after evaluating and inspecting the school in l892, had sanctioned the name "The Juarez Academy."23 Encouraged by his mother, who was a school teacher herself, and by his church, which regarded education as a very important part of life, Eyring received a good elementary education in Mexico. He was allowed to skip the first grade with a companion, Vivian Bentley, because of their rapid progress during their kindergarten year. An amusing aspect of Eyring's independence, confidence and sociability as a boy was his propensity for fighting. More than once he resorted to fighting to settle his conflicts with the other boys in Juarez. He was always completely confident and determined he would win, even when he didn't. His fighting eventually ended when he became a teenager, but his determined, confident attitude remained with him throughout his life. Perhaps the most important influence in Mexico on Eyring besides the praise, confidence and respect of his parents was the influence of Mormonism. From the cradle, he had been taught the principles of Mormonism and these principles became ingrained in his being. To under- stand him, one must understand that Mormonism is a part of Henry Eyring. There is no question, as we shall see, that it has played an important, even dominating role in his life.24 Eyring remembers with embarrassment and pride two events connected with his church involvement; the first came in l907 when he was six years old. His father had decided it was time to take his son to the Church's General Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, so in company with his |
