Editor: Matthew L. Harris
Title: Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics
Historical essays by multiple authors.
University of Illinois Press, 2019. Paperback.
Reviewed by Chad Curtis, April 2, 2020
I first really came face to face with Elder Benson– despite him being prophet the first four years of my life– in David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, where he (and Elder Lee, for that matter) is really quite the character. The most memorable thing, perhaps because it is so shocking in today’s era, is is brazen outspokenness against Communism, to the point of calling MLK a communist. These essays explore aspects of both Benson’s politics and his religion– and there doesn’t seem to be a firm line distinguishing the two for Benson (a fun quote from the book, Benson saw them both as the same “ball of wax.”).
The essays don’t paint a very sympathetic picture of Elder Benson, but then, Elder Benson’s days before being called as prophet seem an era I would rather forget. “Benson held and voiced strong opinions, which he believed were immutable gospel truth, and did not hesitate to condemn what he believed were doctrines of Satan, even if doing so meant alienating other Church members.” The spirit of Benson seems to live on though, in the form of DezNat on Twitter. That’s the impression I got, at least, from what I read of him. Quotes like “There is no conspiracy theory in the Book of Mormon– it is a conspiracy fact” and “[I feel] no compunction to make the Church popular with liberals, Socialists, or Communists” leave more than a bad taste in my mouth, because I don’t think this is the way Christ asks us to preach his gospel. The gospel is meant to be strong and firm, and it can stand on its own.
Perhaps these essays are what we need, a little self-reflection into how Latter-Day Saints represent the gospel. Things shouldn’t be painted rosy, and this is definitely a re-fresher from the weak stuff of Deseret Book biographies.