Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Matthew L. Harris on the Negative Feedback to Ezra Taft Benson's "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet"

  

Benson’s most controversial sermon, however, was given in a 1980 devotional address at Brigham Young University. In “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet,” Benson made a number of statements in what was a clear indication of “his own future intentions as church president” (Quinn, Mormon Hierarchy, 100, explains: “To most observers, Benson’s 1980 talk at BYU was an announcement of his own future intentions as church president.”). At the time, he was the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and stood in line to replace the ailing eighty-five-year-old Spencer Kimball, who suffered from declining health. Benson confidently assured BYU students and faculty that “the prophet will never lead the Church astray.” More controversially, he asserted “that the living prophet is more important . . . than a dead prophet” and added that “the prophet may be involved in civic matters.” For some critics, this marked Benson’s clear intention to have the church endorse right-wing political candidates in the name of God. For others, it means that Benson was a “false prophet” for callously dismissing the teachings of earlier prophets (Ogden Kraut to Ezra Taft Benson, April 6, 1980, Box 55, Folder 4, Arrington Papers).

 

Scores of listeners expressed outrage over the address and flooded the First Presidency with letters. Additionally, news outlets picked up the story and criticized Benson for his blatant partisanship. For Kimball, who shunned conflict, Benson’s divisive rhetoric posed a challenge to the church. He had already “called in [Benson] several times to discuss political statements he had made.” Similarly, he refused to publish Benson’s 1979 general conference sermon in international church magazines fearing it might impede church efforts to gain missionary access in communist countries. Benson’s ill-advised BYU speech forced Kimball to call Benson in once again. According to general authorities with direct knowledge of the affair, President Kimball asked Benson to apologize to the Quorum of the Twelve but they “were dissatisfied with the response.” The enfeebled president then instructed Benson to apologize again the following week, this time to a combined meeting of all the general authorities. The apostle also prepared a written apology to the public, though it is not clear if he delivered it (In “Apology” [1989], Ezra Taft and Flora A. Benson file, 1980-1992, LDS Church History Library).

 

Benson’s BYU sermon was the last time he spoke exclusively in public about politics or communism. The church resident had chastised him, indeed humiliated him, before his fellow general authorities. For the good of the church—and himself—Benson had the good sense to see that political winds in the church were shifting. (Matthew L. Harris, Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right [Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020], 102-3)

 

One should compare what Harris wrote with what Edward Kimball (son of Spencer W. Kimball) wrote on this issue:



In February 1980 Elder Benson gave a talk at BYU titled "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet" that emphasized the precedence of the living prophet's statements over that of earlier prophets and asserted, "Those who would remove prophets from politics would take God out of government." Some perceived his remarks as laying the groundwork for himself, as likely successor to President Kimball, to make his personal political views the standard for faithfulness.

Spencer felt concern about the talk, wanting to protect the Church against being misunderstood as espousing ultraconservative politics or an unthinking "follow the leader" mentality. The First Presidency again called Elder Benson in to discuss what he had said and asked him to make explanation to the full Quorum of the Twelve and other General Authorities. Elder Benson told them that he meant only to "underscore President Kimball's prophetic call." A First Presidency spokesman Don LeFevre reiterated to the press the day after the speech that it is "simply not true" that the Church President's "word is law on all issues--including politics." The uproar continued, however, and a week later the First Presidency spoke to "reaffirm that we take no partisan stand as to candidates or political parties, and exercise no constraint on the freedom of individuals to make their own choices in these matters." (Edward L. Kimball, Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball, working draft, chapter 16, page 13)


 

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