Ezra Taft Benson


Ezra Taft Benson
Full name	Ezra Taft Benson
Born	August 4, 1899(1899-08-04)
Place of birth	Whitney, Idaho
Died	May 30, 1994(1994-05-30) (aged 94)
Place of death	Salt Lake City, Utah
LDS Church President
Ordained	November 10, 1985(1985-11-10) (aged 86)
Predecessor	Spencer W. Kimball
Successor	Howard W. Hunter
LDS Church Apostle
Called by	Heber J. Grant
Ordained	October 7, 1943(1943-10-07) (aged 44)
Reason for ordination	Deaths of Sylvester Q. Cannon and Rudger Clawson^[1]
End of term	May 30, 1994(1994-05-30) (aged 94)
Reason for end of term	Death
Reorganization at end of term	Jeffrey R. Holland ordained


LDS Church General Authority
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Called by	Heber J. Grant
Start of term	October 7, 1943(1943-10-07) (aged 44)
End of term	November 10, 1985(1985-11-10) (aged 86)
End reason	Became President of the Church
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Start of term	December 30, 1973(1973-12-30) (aged 74)
End of term	November 10, 1985(1985-11-10) (aged 86)
End reason	Became President of the Church
President of the Church
Start of term	November 10, 1985(1985-11-10) (aged 86)
End of term	May 30, 1994(1994-05-30) (aged 94)
End reason	Death

Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was the thirteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1985 until his death and was United States Secretary of Agriculture for both terms of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1 Biography
2 Health problems and death
3 Published works
4 Notes
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Biography

Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Benson was the oldest of eleven children. He was the great grandson of another Ezra Taft Benson, now known as "Ezra T. Benson", who was appointed by Brigham Young as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1846 on. Beginning his academic career at Utah State University, he was a 1926 graduate of Brigham Young University (after serving a church mission in Britain from 1921 to 1923). He received his masters degree from Iowa State University and did preliminary work on a doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley, but never completed this degree. Benson pursued a career in agriculture and later served in many church leadership positions. Just after receiving his masters he returned to Whitney to run the family farm, but later became the county agriculture extension agent. In 1926 he married Flora Smith Amussen; they had six children.

In 1939, when he was president of the church's Boise, Idaho, stake and working for the University of Idaho Extension Service, he moved to Washington, D.C. to become Executive Secretary of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and became the first president of a new LDS Church stake there.

In August, 1989, he received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President George H. W. Bush.

Apostle

On October 7, 1943, both Benson and Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) became members of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, filling two vacancies created by the deaths of apostles that summer. Because Kimball was ordained first, Kimball was given seniority over Benson in the Quorum. Succession to the presidency of the church is by chronological order of ordination to apostleship, allowing Spencer W. Kimball to become president of the church years earlier than Benson. Upon Spencer W. Kimball's death in 1985, Benson became the president of the church.

Ezra Benson while Secretary of Agriculture

Political career

In 1953, Benson was appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by President Eisenhower. Benson accepted this position with the permission of Church President David O. McKay and therefore served simultaneously in the United States Cabinet and in the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve.

Benson opposed the system of government price supports and aid to farmers which he was entrusted by Eisenhower to administer, arguing that it amounted to unacceptable socialism. Nonetheless, he survived in his cabinet position for all eight years of Eisenhower's presidency. He was selected as the administrator-designate of the Emergency Food Agency, part of a secret group that became known as the Eisenhower Ten. The group was created by Eisenhower in 1958 to serve in the event of a national emergency.

Benson was a supporter of the John Birch Society, and an outspoken opponent of communism and socialism. He published a 1966 pamphlet entitled Civil Rights, Tool of Communist Deception.^[2] Benson also referred to Martin Luther King Jr. as the "Communist leader of the so-called civil rights movement."^[3]

Church presidency

Benson succeeded Kimball as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1973, and as President of the Church in 1985. During his early years as Church President, Benson brought a renewed emphasis to the distribution and reading of the Book of Mormon, reaffirming this LDS scripture's importance as "the keystone of [the LDS] religion." He is also remembered for his general conference sermon condemning pride.^[4]

Scouting

Benson was a lifelong supporter of Scouting. He started in 1918 as assistant Scoutmaster. On May 23, 1949 he was elected a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He received the three highest national awards in the Boy Scouts of America—the Silver Beaver, the Silver Antelope, and the Silver Buffalo—as well as world Scouting’s international award, the Bronze Wolf.^[5]

Health problems and death

Benson suffered poor health in the last years of his life from the effects of blood clots in the brain, dementia, strokes, and heart attacks, and was rarely seen publicly in his final years. He was hospitalized in 1992 and 1993 with pneumonia.

Benson died May 30, 1994 of congestive heart failure in his Salt Lake City apartment at the age of 94. Funeral services were held June 4, 1994 in the Salt Lake Tabernacle under the direction of Gordon B. Hinckley. He was buried near his birthplace in Whitney, Idaho, at the Whitney City Cemetery.

Published works

Reed A. Benson., ed (1960). So Shall Ye Reap: Selected Addresses of Ezra Taft Benson. Deseret Book Company. ISBN B0007E7BME.
The Red Carpet. Bookcraft. 1962. ISBN B0007F4WJI.
Title of Liberty. compiled by Mark A. Benson. Deseret Book Company. 1964.
An Enemy Hath Done This. Bookcraft. 1969. ISBN 0-88494-184-1.
Civil Rights, Tool of Communist Deception. Deseret Book Co. 1969. ISBN (ASIN) B0007FRU42.
God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties. Deseret Book Company. 1974. ISBN B0006CF3MC.
Cross Fire: The Eight Years With Eisenhower. Doubleday. 1976. ISBN 0-8371-8422-3.
This Nation Shall Endure. Deseret Book Company. 1977. ISBN 0-87747-658-6.
Come Unto Christ. Deseret Book Company. 1983. ISBN 0-87747-997-6.
The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner. Deseret Book Company. 1986. ISBN 0-87579-216-2.
The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Bookcraft. 1988. ISBN 0-88494-639-8.
A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-Day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon. Deseret Book Company. 1988. ISBN 0-87579-153-0.
A Labor of Love: The 1946 European Mission of Ezra Taft Benson. Deseret Book Company. 1989. ISBN 0-87579-275-8.
Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice. Deseret Book Company. 1990. ISBN 0-87579-351-7.
Missionaries to Match Our Message. Bookcraft. 1990. ISBN 0-88494-779-3.
Elect Women of God. Bookcraft. 1992. ISBN 0-88494-838-2.
Sermons and Writings of President Ezra Taft Benson. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2003.

Benson also wrote the foreword to The Black Hammer, a book by Wes Andrews and Clyde Dalton. In the forward, Benson asserts that the civil-rights movement is being exploited by communists seeking revolution in America.

Notes

↑ Benson and Spencer W. Kimball were ordained on the same date to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve resulting from the deaths of Sylvester Q. Cannon and Rudger Clawson.
↑ Civil Rights, Tool of Communist Deception by Ezra Taft Benson
↑ Mormons Discuss Racial Inequality by The Daily Utah Chronicle, January 15, 2003
↑ "Beware of Pride". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=d8ff27cd3f37b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
↑ "Presidents of the Church". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/pres-sm/pres-ch-13-15.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-22.

References

Ensign Editor (July 1994). President Ezra Taft Benson: A Sure Voice of Faith. Ensign. p. 8.
Monson, Thomas S. (July 1994). President Ezra Taft Benson—A Giant among Men. Ensign. p. 35.

External links

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles
Preceded by Spencer W. Kimball	President of the LDS Church November 10, 1985 — May 30, 1994	Succeeded by Howard W. Hunter
Preceded by Spencer W. Kimball	President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles December 30, 1973–November 10, 1985	Succeeded by Marion G. Romney
Preceded by Spencer W. Kimball	Quorum of the Twelve Apostles October 7, 1943–November 10, 1985	Succeeded by Mark E. Petersen
Political offices
Preceded by Charles F. Brannan	United States Secretary of Agriculture Served under: Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961	Succeeded by Orville Freeman

United States Secretaries of Agriculture

Coleman • Rusk • Morton • Wilson • Houston • Meredith • HC Wallace • Gore • Jardine • Hyde • HA Wallace • Wickard • Anderson • Brannan • Benson • Freeman • Hardin • Butz • Knebel • Bergland • Block • Lyng • Yeutter • Madigan • Espy • Glickman • Veneman • Johanns • Schafer • Vilsack

Cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)

Vice President	Richard Nixon (1953–1961)

Secretary of State	John Foster Dulles (1953–1959) • Christian A. Herter (1959–1961)

Secretary of Defense	Charles E. Wilson (1953–1957) • Neil H. McElroy (1957–1959) • Thomas S. Gates, Jr. (1959–1961)

Secretary of the Treasury	George M. Humphrey (1953–1957) • Robert Bernard Anderson (1957–1961)

Attorney General	Herbert Brownell, Jr. (1953–1957) • William P. Rogers (1957–1961)

Postmaster General	Arthur Summerfield (1953–1961)

Secretary of the Interior	Douglas McKay (1953–1956) • Fred Andrew Seaton (1956–1961)

Secretary of the Agriculture	Ezra Taft Benson (1953–1961)

Secretary of Commerce	Sinclair Weeks (1953–1958) • Lewis L. Strauss (1958–1959) • Frederick H. Mueller (1959–1961)

Secretary of Labor	Martin P. Durkin (1953) • James P. Mitchell (1953–1961)

Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare	Oveta Culp Hobby (1953–1955) • Marion B. Folsom (1955–1958) • Arthur S. Flemming (1958–1961)

Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

J. Smith (1830–1844) • Young (1847–1877) • Taylor (1880–1887) • Woodruff (1889–1898) • Snow (1898–1901) • J. F. Smith, Sr. (1901–1918) • Grant (1918–1945) • G. A. Smith (1945–1951) • McKay (1951–1970) • J. F. Smith, Jr. (1970–1972) • Lee (1972–1973) • Kimball (1973–1985) • Benson (1985–1994) • Hunter (1994–1995) • Hinckley (1995–2008) • Monson (2008– )

Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Marsh (1835–1839) • B. Young, Sr. (1839–1847) • Hyde (1847–1875) • Taylor (1875–1880) • Woodruff (1880–1889) • Snow (1889–1898) • F.D. Richards (1898–1899) • B. Young, Jr. (1899–1901) • J.F. Smith, Sr. (1901) • B. Young, Jr. (1901–1903) • Lyman (1903–1916) • Grant (1916–1918) • Lund (1918–1921) • Clawson (1921–1943) • G.A. Smith (1943–1945) • G.F. Richards (1945–1950) • McKay (1950–1951) • J.F. Smith, Jr. (1951–1970) • Lee (1970–1972) • Kimball (1972–1973) • Benson (1973–1985) • Romney (1985–1988) • Hunter (1988–1994) • Hinckley (1994–1995) • Monson (1995–2008) • Packer (2008– )

Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

J. Smith • Cowdery • Harris • Whitmer • Marsh • Patten • B. Young, Sr. • H.C. Kimball • Hyde • M'Lellin • P.P. Pratt • L.S. Johnson • Wm. Smith • O. Pratt • Boynton • L.E. Johnson • Page • J. Taylor • W. Woodruff • G.A. Smith • W. Richards • Wight • H. Smith • A.M. Lyman • Benson • Rich • L. Snow • E. Snow • F.D. Richards • J.M. Grant • Wells • J.W. Young • G.Q. Cannon • J.A. Young • J.F. Smith, Sr. • B. Young, Jr. • Carrington • Thatcher • F.M. Lyman • J.H. Smith • Teasdale • H.J. Grant • J.W. Taylor • M.W. Merrill • Lund • A.H. Cannon • M.F. Cowley • A.O. Woodruff • Clawson • Smoot • H.M. Smith • G.A. Smith • Penrose • G.F. Richards • Whitney • McKay • Ivins • J.F. Smith, Jr. • Talmage • S.L. Richards • R.R. Lyman • M.J. Ballard • Widtsoe • J.F. Merrill • Callis • Clark • A.A. Hinckley • Bowen • S.Q. Cannon • Lee • S.W. Kimball • Benson • Petersen • M. Cowley • Moyle • Stapley • Romney • L. Richards • Bennion • Evans • Morris • Brown • Hunter • G.B. Hinckley • Tanner • Monson • Dyer • Packer • Ashton • McConkie • Perry • Haight • Faust • Maxwell • Nelson • Oaks • M.R. Ballard • Wirthlin • Scott • Hales • Holland • Eyring • Uchtdorf • Bednar • Cook • Christofferson • Andersen