William Lee Stokes (March 27, 1915, Black Hawk,

Carbon County, Utah Carbon County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,403. Its county seat and largest city is Price. The Price, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Carbon County. Histo ...

- December 12, 1994) was a geologist and paleontologist who is best known for his work at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in Emery County, Utah. William Stokes lived to be 79 and was survived by his wife Betty Stokes, his two daughters, Patricia Stokes and Betty Lee Huff; a son, William M. Stokes, and several grandchildren. The dinosaur ''

Stokesosaurus ''Stokesosaurus'' (meaning "Stokes' lizard") is a genus of small (around in length), carnivorous early tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the late Jurassic period of Utah, United States. History From 1960 onwards Utah geologist William ...

'' was named after him. Stokes graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

with a B.S. in 1937 and M.S. in 1938. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in geology from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1941. Stokes, a Latter-day Saint, wrote extensively about science and religion, and against

Young Earth creationism Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespre ...

. In spite of his scientific qualifications and record, many of his manuscripts went unpublished. One that did, ''The Genesis Answer,'' was nominated by the publisher, Prentice-Hall, for the American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence. His writings did find at least a limited audience, as Elder John K. Carmack, a member of the LDS hierarchy, nominated him for a

Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...

in 1991. He was nominated the James E. Talmage Scientific Achievement award from BYU in the 1980s. Stokes gave a pro-evolution lecture, "Which? Genesis or Geology?" which was printed in the advance issue of the June 8, 1973 Church News, but was edited out and replaced for the public printing.

Publications

Dinosaur National Monument, past and present
January 1, 1949
Sedimentary Properties of Salt Wash Sandstones as Related to Primary Structures
1952/1953 *''The Creation Scriptures: A Witness for God in the Scientific Age'', 1979 *''The Genesis Code'', 1981 *''The Genesis Answer: A Scientist's Testament for Divine Creation'', 1984
The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry: Window to the Past
1985 *''Evolution: the Scriptures Say Yes'', 1987 *''So God Created Man: Latter-day Alternatives'', 1988 *''Joseph Smith and the Creation'', 1991 *''Scriptures for the Age of Science'', 1992

References

American geologists 1915 births 1994 deaths Brigham Young University alumni Princeton University alumni {{US-geologist-stub