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Ezra Taft Benson

Portrait of Ezra Taft Benson — Portrait: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ezra Taft Benson

Ezra Taft Benson served as the thirteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 to 1994. Before that call, he combined decades of apostolic ministry with work in agriculture, including service as United States secretary of agriculture. He is particularly remembered for urging Church members to study the Book of Mormon.

“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Biography at a glance

Born: August 4, 1899, in Whitney, Idaho
Family: Married Flora Amussen in 1926
Church service: Apostle from 1943; President of the Church from 1985 to 1994
Public service: United States secretary of agriculture during the Eisenhower administration

Roots in farm life

Benson grew up on an Idaho farm, studied agriculture, and worked to help farming communities during the Depression. His training led to national service in agricultural cooperatives. The Church’s historical biography follows that work alongside his family life and Church assignments.

Public office and apostolic service

Called to the Twelve in 1943, Benson continued to speak as an apostle while serving as secretary of agriculture from 1953 to 1961. His government role placed him in political disputes that did not always map neatly onto his religious teaching. Readers of his quotes benefit from keeping the date and setting of each address in view. In 1985 he became Church president and repeatedly invited members to make the Book of Mormon part of daily study.

Related LDS Flow reading

A guide to Book of Mormon names

Explore related people and topics

Spencer W. Kimball, his predecessor as Church president
Howard W. Hunter, who followed him
Quotes about the Book of Mormon

Sources and further reading

Quotes by Ezra Taft Benson

69 quotes

“When individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, … other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow”

“The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986, 81

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. ‘What will men think of me?’ weighs heavier than ‘What will God think of me?’”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

I promise you that, with increased attendance in the temples of our God, you shall receive increased personal revelation to bless your life as you bless those who have died.”

"The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants"

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else’s. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

Now let me say something to all who can worthily go to the house of the Lord. When you attend the temple and perform the ordinances that pertain to the house of the Lord, certain blessings will come to you: You will receive the spirit of Elijah, which will turn your hearts to your spouse, to your children, and to your forebears. You will love your family with a deeper love than you have loved before. You will be endowed with power from on high as the Lord has promised”

What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children about the Temple

— Ezra Taft Benson

“A father’s duty is to make his home a place of happiness and joy. He cannot do this when there is bickering, quarreling, contention or unrighteous behavior. The powerful effect of righteous fathers in setting an example, disciplining and training, nurturing and loving is vital to the spiritual welfare of his children.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, ‘If you succeed, I am a failure’.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely approaches the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ. He is the right way, the full truth, and the abundant life.”

Ensign, December 1988, p. 2

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon for the many reasons which the Lord has given. In this age of electronic media and mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: ‘Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone’.”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Not only will the word of God lead us to the fruit which is desirable above all others, but in the word of God and through it we can find the power to resist temptation, the power to thwart the work of Satan and his emissaries.”

The Power of the Word

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The devil knows if the elders of Israel should ever wake up they could step forth and help preserve freedom. Therefore the devil has concentrated, and to a large extent successfully, on neutralizing much of the priesthood.”

Not Commanded In All Things, Conference, April 1965

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received— Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity-enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us. “Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The price of peace is righteousness. Men and nations may loudly proclaim, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there shall be no peace until individuals nurture in their souls those principles of personal purity, integrity, and character which foster the development of peace. Peace cannot be imposed. It must come from the lives and hearts of men. There is no other way.”

"Finding Peace", Ensign, March 2004

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means ‘hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.’ It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

The sacred title of “father” is shared with the Almighty.

Great Things Required of Their Fathers

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Fear of men’s judgment manifests itself in competition for men’s approval. The proud love ‘the praise of men more than the praise of God.’ Our motives for the things we do are where the sin is manifest. Jesus said He did ‘always those things’ that pleased God. Would we not do well to have the pleasing of God as our motive rather than to try to elevate ourselves above our brother and outdo another?.”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?”

— Ezra Taft Benson

As member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we need to place unreserved confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we accept as the Son of God. Until the world accepts Him as the Savior of mankind, lives His teachings, and looks to Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life in all phases of our lives, we shall continue in our anxiety about the future and our ability to cope with the challenges that mortality brings to each of us. . . .Why is it expedient that we center our confidence, our hope, and our trust in one solitary figure? Why is faith in Him so necessary to peace of mind in this life and hope in the world to come? The answers to these questions determine whether we face the future with courage, hope, and optimism or with apprehension, anxiety, and pessimism.

Ensign, June 1990

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Do not leave yourself or your family unprotected against financial storms. … Build up savings.”

Pay Thy Debt, and Live …, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year (28 Feb. 1962), 10.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Pride is concerned with WHO is right, Humility is concerned with WHAT is right.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?”

“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989

— Ezra Taft Benson