John Andreas Widtsoe (1872-1952) was a Norwegian-born educator, scientist, and Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Together with James E. Talmage and B.H. Roberts, Widtsoe was representative of the "liberal" branch of early 20th Century LDS theology. "Joseph Smith as Scientist" originated as a series of articles Widtsoe penned for the "Improvement Era." In it, Widtsoe compares the teachings of Mormonisms founding prophet with the science of his day. While Widtsoe's analysis has been marred by the last century of advances in physics, it remains a fascinating effort to bring together the theological and scientific approaches to knowledge.