Ezra Taft Benson

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

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 of the administrations of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

He is the grandfather of cartoonist and ex-Mormon Steve Benson.

[edit] Biography

Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Benson was the oldest of 11 children. Began 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 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.

[edit] 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 the older of the two, he 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.

[edit] 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.

Known for initiating Eisenhower's habit of beginning cabinet meetings with a prayer,^{[citation needed]} Benson cut a controversial figure in politics. Ideologically, he was far to the right of Eisenhower, and he was prone to red-baiting in speeches. Fact|date=December 2007}} 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 created by Eisenhower in 1958 that would serve in the event of a national emergency that became known as the Eisenhower Ten.

[edit] 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 the LDS scripture's importance as "the keystone of [the LDS] religion." He is also remembered for his general conference sermon condemning pride.

[edit] Health problems and death

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

Benson died of congestive heart failurein 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.

[edit] Published works

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

[edit] Notes

[edit] 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. 

[edit] External links

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