Jack Weyland

Jack Arnold Weyland (born 1940) is a retired professor of physics at Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho) and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is a prolific and well-known author of fiction for LDS audiences, including many novels and short stories, mostly placed in contemporary settings. His novel Charly was made into a feature film in 2002.

Weyland was born in Butte, Montana. He graduated from Billings Senior High School and then attended Montana State University where he majored in Physics. Upon graduating he served a mission for the LDS Church in New York and Pennsylvania. After completing his mission he went to BYU and received his Ph.D. in Physics.

While attending BYU, Weyland decided to take an elective course in creative writing. After a few weeks Weyland realized he was in trouble; he was not a very good writer. 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."

He married his wife Sherry and they had a daughter named Barbara. After Barbara was born they left BYU and went to South Dakota, where Weyland 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 of 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." Weyland decided that he wanted to write an article for the New Era magazine.

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