Mormon Stories Podcast 1351: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right (Matt Harris) - Pt. 2
03:53:34
Benson's Racist Civil Rights Views
- Ezra Taft Benson opposed civil rights and promoted racist conspiracy theories linking civil rights leaders to communism.
- His views diverged significantly from official church endorsements of civil rights at the time.
Early Attempts to Rein In Benson
- Church leaders tried to rein in Ezra Taft Benson's political activism starting in the 1960s by restricting his participation in the John Birch Society.
- Despite warnings and exile to Europe, Benson persisted in promoting conspiracy theories and ultra-conservative views.
J.D. Williams Challenges Benson
- J.D. Williams, a liberal Mormon bishop and professor, circulated a memo urging the church to drop Benson due to his divisive politics.
- He also informed Eisenhower of Benson's controversial actions, illustrating internal opposition to Benson.
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Introduction
00:00 • 4min
How the Church Remade Ezra Taapenson's Image
03:57 • 3min
Benson's Politics
06:56 • 1min
The Pushback to Elder Benson
08:16 • 5min
God Is the Gardener
13:05 • 4min
The Evil Doctrine of Racism
16:56 • 2min
The Church Is a Hole
18:41 • 6min
The Rise and Fall of Benson
24:30 • 2min
The Pros and Cons of Elder Benson
26:16 • 5min
The Popularity of Elder Benson in 1970
31:31 • 2min
The Dropping of Dieter Uchtdorf From the First Presidency
33:58 • 2min
The Tension in the Quorum of the Twelve
35:31 • 3min
The Interracial Marriage Prohibition
38:20 • 5min
The Church Says Interracial Marriage Is a Sin
43:28 • 5min
The Rise and Fall of J.D. Williams
48:01 • 4min
The Warning From the New First Presidency
52:26 • 4min
The Editing of Devotional Addresses
56:35 • 3min
The Problem With the Church's Devotion Address
59:18 • 4min
The Rise and Fall of the Church Bureaucracy
01:03:33 • 2min
The Importance of Lineage in Mormonism
01:05:29 • 5min
The Blood Lineage of Joseph Smith
01:10:51 • 56sec
Benson's Mental Well-Being by the 70s
01:11:46 • 5min
The High Functioning Autism Spectrum
01:17:02 • 2min
Joseph Ealing Smith and Harold B. Lee
01:19:18 • 5min
Benson's Politics Are Beyond Mainstream
01:24:19 • 2min
Nixon's Disappointment With Benson
01:26:37 • 3min
Benson's Letter to Nixon
01:29:16 • 1min
The Church's Statement That It's Neutral in Politics
01:30:23 • 5min
The Problem With Spencer B. Kimball's Speech
01:35:20 • 2min
The Importance of a Living Prophet
01:37:45 • 2min
The Origins of Doctrine
01:39:54 • 3min
The Fear of the Prophet
01:42:32 • 2min
The Fear of the Prophet
01:44:14 • 6min
The Importance of Apologies in the Church
01:49:44 • 4min
The Importance of Unanimity in the Quorum
01:53:31 • 3min
The KGB and the Priesthood Dilemma
01:57:00 • 3min
The Controversy of Ezra Taft Benson
01:59:34 • 2min
The Importance of Remaking Benson
02:01:21 • 4min
The Remaking of Benson's Image
02:05:16 • 2min
The Disappointment of President Benson
02:07:19 • 5min
The Rise and Fall of Thomas Monson and Gordon Hinkley
02:12:10 • 2min
The Rise and Fall of Gordon Hinkley
02:14:24 • 5min
The Politics of the Benson Administration
02:19:25 • 3min
Steve Benson's Challenge to the Church
02:22:46 • 5min
The Freeman Institute Seminars
02:28:06 • 4min
Gordon Hinckley's Presidency
02:32:33 • 5min
The History of the Martin Luther King Day
02:37:18 • 2min
The First State to Ratify Civil Rights
02:39:45 • 2min
The Frustration of Liberal and Progressive Mormonism
02:41:39 • 6min
Tara Westerver on the Holocaust
02:47:26 • 6min
The Legacy of Elizabeth Benson
02:53:21 • 1min
The Confrontation of Lavercan Utah
02:54:41 • 5min
Christine Jepsen Clark's Mormon Stories
02:59:30 • 2min
Ezra Top Benson's Influence on the Church
03:01:34 • 6min
The Problem With Weddedness in the Church
03:07:16 • 6min
Ezra Tap Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right
03:13:12 • 3min
The Role of Azerta Benson in Utah's Republican Voting Patterns
03:16:27 • 3min
Why Latter Day Saints Support Republican Presidents
03:19:29 • 5min
Ezra Tap Benson: What Would He Say About Donald Trump?
03:24:41 • 3min
Will Trump Step Down if He Loses the Election?
03:28:05 • 5min
The Church Needs to Address Racism
03:33:28 • 4min
The Themes of Modern Politics
03:37:10 • 5min
The Importance of Rational Thought in Politics
03:42:23 • 2min
The Importance of Asking Hard Questions
03:44:43 • 2min
The Importance of Truth
03:46:46 • 2min
Ezra Tap Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right
03:48:23 • 2min
The Open Stories Foundation at MormonStorries
03:50:50 • 3min
Ezra Taft Benson is perhaps the most controversial apostle-president in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For nearly fifty years he delivered impassioned sermons in Utah and elsewhere, mixing religion with ultraconservative right-wing political views and conspiracy theories. His teachings inspired Mormon extremists to stockpile weapons, predict the end of the world, and commit acts of violence against their government. The First Presidency rebuked him, his fellow apostles wanted him disciplined, and grassroots Mormons called for his removal from the Quorum of the Twelve. Yet Benson was beloved by millions of Latter-day Saints, who praised him for his stances against communism, socialism, and the welfare state, and admired his service as secretary of agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Using previously restricted documents from archives across the United States.
Matthew L. Harris breaks new ground as the first to evaluate why Benson embraced a radical form of conservatism, and how under his leadership Mormons became the most reliable supporters of the Republican Party of any religious group in America.
Matthew L. Harris is professor of history at Colorado State University-Pueblo. He is the author of The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History and editor of Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics.
Matthew's new book can be purchased here: https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/watchman-on-the-tower/