Is Science a Bad Thing?

Years ago, I was going through a bad period of my life, work-wise. The company I had worked for was shutdown after the 9/11 and it was much harder than I expected to find a job. As I was talking to a friend about the whole situation, I realized my friend was somehow connecting my tribulation to my love of science. He then asked me, "Don't you think this may be because you read so many scientific books?"!!!! I was flabbergasted! What in the world?!

For some obscure reason, many people think that to be religious and faithful to the gospel, one must shun science and cease believing in any scientific explanations of the world around us. I firmly believe it is the opposite.
The more faith and understanding of the gospel, the more the scientific knowledge will strengthen one's testimony. Faith does not rely on evidence, but evidence can strengthen one's faith. For some reason, some of the greatest minds in History were firm believers in God, like Isaac Newton, Einstein and others. In the Doctrine and Covenants, we are advised to "seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." (D&C 88:118)

As long as we keep in mind that scientific theories are just that and may, and probably will, change in the future, we should be able to have an open enough mind to review and discuss the validity of each theory on its own merits, seeking to understand and not to destroy. While some of these theories have proven complete disasters, some may offer an explanation that complements the scriptural record. Even now, we are applying scientific methods to further the work of salvation, and DNA testing is being widely used for family history purposes. Archaeology has slowly but steadily found evidence of facts that were known only through the biblical account, and medicine reveals the miracle that the human body is.

James E. Talmage, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, himself a scientist and author of "Jesus, The Christ", said:

"The ultimate boundaries of the science, if boundaries there be, are beyond the capacity of man to survey. Theology deals with Deity, the fountain of knowledge, the source of wisdom; with the proofs of the existence of a Supreme Being, and of other supernatural personalities; with the conditions under which, and the means by which, divine revelation is imparted; with the eternal principles governing the creation of worlds; with the laws of nature in all their varied manifestations. Primarily, theology is the science that deals with God and religion; it presents the facts of observed and revealed truth in orderly array, and indicates the means of their application in the duties of life. Theology then has to do with other facts than those that are specifically called spiritual; its domain is that of truth.    
The industrial pursuits that benefit mankind, the arts that please and refine, the sciences that enlarge and exalt the mind-these are but fragments of the great though yet uncompleted volume of truth that has come to earth from a source of eternal and infinite supply. A complete survey of theology, therefore, would embrace all known truths." (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, Introductory)