William Mulder

                        Erat Hora

            "Thank you, whatever comes."
                  And then she turned
            And, as the ray of sun on hanging flowers
            Fades when the wind hath lifted them aside,
            Went swiftly from me. Nay, whatever comes

            One hour was sunlit and the most high gods
            May not make boast of any better thing
            Than to have watched that hour as it passed.
                                  --Ezra Pound

Gentleman scholar, mentor, bibliophile, Mormon historian, English and American studies professor and advocate of Indo-American scholarship and understanding, Mulder, 92, died Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at his home. He was born in Haarlem, Holland in 1915, he immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1920, first to New Jersey and six years later to Salt Lake City.

Upon graduation from the University of Utah in 1940, he was elected to Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa honorary scholastic societies and returned to the University for his master's degree in English in 1947. Mulder pursued graduate studies at Harvard University in an American Civilization program and was granted a Ph.D. "with distinction" in 1955.

Bill and his wife Helen spent many years in India spread over a couple of multi-year trips. These experiences reinforced the world view that he already held and made him an even greater teacher and mentor.

Bill was a long time member of our chapter. In March of 2002 he gave a lecture titled, "Problems of the Mormon Intellectual." Here is an excerpt:

The Mormon intellectual as scientist has a higher threshold than as humanist because, more familiar with natural fact than with social value, as scientist he is more willing to assign matters of value to the area of faith, where religious authorities can resolve doubts and make decisions. His religion is not in conflict with science because they don't really meet. The Mormon intellectual as humanist, on the other hand, finds himself deeply entangled in kinds of truth not as readily verifiable as in chemistry or mathematics, but relative. In the humanities and social sciences, truth is not so much discovered as created. Social and moral and religious "truths" leave more room for argument and require, in any effort to institutionalize them, greater latitude of interpretation and application.

A more complete report of that lecture is available on our website. Humanists of Utah wishes to extend sincere condolences to Helen and the rest of the Mulder family. Bill is already sorely missed.