3min chapter

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1351: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right (Matt Harris) - Pt. 2

Mormon Stories Podcast

CHAPTER

The KGB and the Priesthood Dilemma

President Kimball is trying to grow the church. He predicted one day that the gospel would be in communist China and communist Russia. And what's interesting about the priesthood revelation is Benson is just consumed by this idea. The commies are everywhere, right? I mean, he's off the rails at this point.

00:00
Speaker 2
Well, there's like, right, so I mean, I don't think you have the stronger social skills. And so you do, maybe that's something you've improved on, right? But that's not even really what I mean though. What I mean is that in the situations that you create, most people just feel this really strong compulsion to smooth the situation over, to reduce the awkwardness. And watching your work, you don't, like you just don't do that. I don't know if you've noticed that, but you don't behave like almost everyone behaves in those situations. And I think that's actually one aspect of what you do that's fascinating to people is watching you just sort of like sit in the awkwardness and not try to get rid of
Speaker 1
it. Yeah, I think I try to get rid of it when I can, but I don't always know the perfect way to do that. So I don't really mind. I'm like,
Speaker 3
okay, well, that's a little awkward. That's just part of life.
Speaker 1
That's okay. You just keep enjoying yourself and just as long as knowing around you feels like
Speaker 2
weird. Well, no, it's just funny to me to hear you say that because I just feel like that's such a central part of what you do, like that you're just like willing to embrace the awkwardness. And yet you're describing it as like you're trying to get rid of it, which is strange to me because it's just, it's like, do you ever see career enthusiasm? Yeah, yeah. Because that's a show that we're like, the style of comedy is really awkward, right? Like there's an awkwardness to it, but people love it, right? It's a really, really popular show. And I think that you're tapping something similar with a bunch of your work, but talking to you now makes me think that you're not aware of that or maybe I'm wrong. So, yeah, what do you think about that?
Speaker 3
Well, I definitely am aware of like what people like think kind of thing, but like regardless of how much I,
Speaker 1
or yeah, I think, I don't know what I'm saying. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2
No worries.

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