Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics

by Matthew L. Harris (Contributor)

Ezra Taft Benson's ultra-conservative vision made him one of the most polarizing leaders in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His willingness to mix religion with extreme right-wing politics troubled many. Yet his fierce defense of the traditional family, unabashed love of country, and deep knowledge of the faith endeared him to millions. In Thunder from the Right, a group of veteran Mormon scholars probe aspects of Benson's extraordinary life. Topics include: how Benson's views influenced his actions as Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower Administration; his dedication to the conservative movement, from alliances with Barry Goldwater and the John Birch Society to his condemnation of the civil rights movement as a communist front; how his concept of the principal of free agency became central to Mormon theology; his advocacy of traditional gender roles as a counterbalance to liberalism; and the events and implications of Benson's term as Church president. Contributors: Gary James Bergera, Matthew Bowman, Newell G. Bringhurst, Brian Q. Cannon, Robert A. Goldberg, Matthew L. Harris, J. B. Haws, and Andrea G. Radke-Moss

Genres: Religion, Mormonism, Nonfiction, History

260 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2019

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm writing this review as a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints (Mormon Church).

In response to some other reviews, I did not find this book anti-Mormon or apostate. That is not to say it wasn't challenging!

I did find it a hard book to get through. I grew up while President Benson led the church as its prophet and have loved a lot of what he'd taught about the Book of Mormon, family, and Pride. This book didn't change my thoughts directly, but gave a lot of context to why he found those topics so important - and they weren't the same reasons I found them to be, and that's ok.

I've been doing a lot of reading, adjusting my understanding of what a "prophet" is and this book has made that journey that much more important to me. It's important to see these men as men and not put them up on a pedastal. It's helpful to see why certain things stood out to them. Revelation doesn't just stream down and prompt every word they say. It's messy. God works through imperfect men to get his work accomplished on this earth (and that isn't just through the LDS church, so many leaders in the history of the world have done good things mixed with not so good, and I'd be fine chalking up any good to be inspired by God).

It was rather disturbing to see how much Benson supported the Birch Society, how much he saw the Civil Rights movement as a communist driven event hellbent on destroying agency, which should be something that can't ever be taken away (e.g., Not sure if he ever read Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning on his experiences and reflections on the hardships he experienced and that even in the depths of hell on earth, concentration camps, hope could exist because man's agency cannot be destroyed.). Martin Luther King Jr. was the Anti-Christ? Really?!

I had read the Naked Communist just prior to this book and it was helpful to get a perspective along the lines that Benson espoused, given that he and Skousen were neighbors and promoted each other's work. I just didn't agree with the politicizing of the concept of agency, and felt that's what a lot of the hype was about and is about currently. Staunch republicans are afraid that Joe Biden is a Trojan Horse for the evil socialists in our country, which, according to Skousen, is the same as Communism just without the violence, and will serve to bring about Satan's plan. Conflating religion and politics can go too far and ends up turning into hyperbole in a lot of instances.

The chapter on Women and Gender was a bit more pointed against the church's teachings, specifically about women and their roles in the home and how that essentially shaped the Proclamation on the family. Again, though, it puts a lot of what is taught in the church into perspective. The historical context does play a role in what was prescribed. Again, everything that we have in the Church wasn't just laid out verbatim from God, it was filtered through imperfect men, and is good enough to keep us going in the right direction (towards Christ).

The final chapter discussing his presidency was a great one to end on. Nowhere near the controversy of his earlier years. I had no idea that he was absent from the public eye for so many years, I guess that was the intent. I was afraid that they'd go into how his push for taking the BoM more seriously was just an underhanded way of continuing to promote his anti-communist views and conspiracy theories about modern day Gadianton Robbers, but I was pleased and relieved to hear his genuine concern and see how it likely had a strong influence on how the world viewed Mormonism - essentially seeing that it was really a Christ-centered religion. I think we may have over-corrected to a degree given that we're now well versed in the BoM (to a degree), but lacking in our studies of the Bible.

I'm not sure I would recommend this book to everyone. I can see how it could be construed as anti-Mormon, but in order to provide a better balanced read, I think you'd need to bring in faith and religious beliefs and that makes for a different sort of book all together. There are plenty soft books that don't mention the messy details in order promote faith, but I've found that I, personally, appreciate brutal honesty that balance the faith-filled stories I'm familiar with - though I know that hasn't always been the case and I may have rejected this book at an earlier time.

[David Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today have the recollection of the political activities of Elder Benson. I was aware of much of this because my father was active in Democratic politics and friends with several of the Brethren who were Democrats. The angst among many members and fellow members of the Q12 was real and justified.

I have had conversations with several GAs including members of the Q12 about the era and statements, actions a commentary of Elder Benson that were just plain inappropriate. In some regards I am amazed at the patience of the Brethren with Elder Benson and especially his repeat offender status after being privately and sometimes publicly chastised.

It is nothing short of embarrassing that Elder Benson was supportive and affiliated with such racists as Storm Thurmond and George Wallace. I wonder how it would have set the church back if Pres. McKay had been persuaded to allow Elder Benson to be the running mate of Wallace.

I was in law school when Pres. Kimball died and recall the concern of the faculty, even at BYU, and many of my fellow students, as we speculated at the direction Pres. Benson would take the Church. The final essay was a fitting capstone to the book and the life of Pres. Benson. As the mantle of the prophet feel upon him the firebrand of the past was gone, fears dissipated and he moved the church toward greater compassion and humility. A fitting capstone to a sometimes controversial ministry.

I very much enjoyed the book. I give the book 4 stars only because there was a great deal of overlap and repeated information that could have been skipped.

[Russell Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This period of Mormon history isn't my favorite, but I'm nonetheless glad I read this book; its eight short chapters are filled with historical insights and fascinating nuggets of information about the man I most associate with the church I knew when I was a teenager and young adult. I have no respect for the paranoid, arch-conservative lens through which Benson viewed the world, but, in connecting the observations of a few of these chapters together (particularly Brian Cannon's history of Benson's engagement with farming and agriculture policy as a member of President Eisenhower's cabinet, and Matt Bowman's exploration of how Benson's notion of "free agency" become more ideological and individualistic over the decades), I feel like I understand his peculiar, very patriarchal, Christian libertarianism better. So a good book, overall.

[Kirsten (lush.lit.life) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent and thorough examination of the way Ezra Taft Benson’s political leanings influenced his leadership in the church. I’ve long wondered how much of church policy might have its foundations in the John-Birch-Society-style conservatism of the last century, this helped connect a lot of those dots for me. As a member of the church he led, I still support the idea of modern-day-prophets, but I am aware that God allows his prophets tremendous mortal leeway in how they choose to lead. For me to function in this faith, it’s essential for me to try to good-naturedly seek out what sources and ideas have influenced these leaders. My review might make some members of the church hesitant to read this, but it’s written with academic objectivity, not an anti-prophet agenda. I found it incredibly useful.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Kendal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is derivative and repetitive of Quinn’s “The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power,” and Harris's subsequent tome, “Watchman On The Tower.” If you’ve read either (or both) of these, you’ve read this book.

With the exception of the last three standout essays.

Matthew Bowman’s paper explains The Why: why Benson was so forcible on freedom, communism, and the Constitution. It goes back to the doctrine of Christ, the war in heaven, and Benson’s two European treks: his post-WWII humanitarian mission, and his 1959 trip to the USSR. “Both were traumatic.” (168) His fire was both theological and experiential—as Patrick Henry blazed “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.” Or, as the Book of Mormon said about Christ, Benson “knew according to the flesh.” (Alma 7).

Yes, Benson could have done better on US civil rights. But he was dead right with the civil and human rights violations in the USSR. Just read the Communist Manifesto, The Gulag Archipelago, and then Herbert A. Philbrick’s “I Lead 3 Lives.”

Andrea G. Radke-Moss covers the distaff discourse. She marries Benson’s teachings on sex roles (i.e. Family Proclamation same-o, same-o) with Flora Benson’s voice. Having heard Flora in person, she has spunk, as evidenced by her serving a mission in her own right. Of course, in all discussion of sex roles, we have a “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” undercurrent to the flow of dialogue.

J. B. Haws focuses on Benson’s prophetic years, and debates the $64,000 question: why was Benson’s prophetic passion so different—radically different—from his apostolic cold warrior communications?

And this brings us full circle back to Harris’s introduction, and this rather acute angle to his academic geometry: When Harris talks about Benson, he is almost exclusively talking about the apostolic cold warrior Benson, not the soft and soothing seer we saw for nine years.

That is crucial: Harris has locked himself into a version of Benson that lasted 43 years. Yes, four decades is more than enough to understand anyone. But there are these elusive nine years, where we see a complete different person with a different agenda, and a different voice. Similar to Malcolm X’s post-hajj enlightenment.

Ezra Taft Benson: there is more to the man than his cozy relationship with the John Birch Society—as if that were the unpardonable sin. Hopefully in his heart, as well as his scholarship, Harris will let Benson bloom.

[GRANT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good review of several aspects of Benson's political and religious influence. It helps shed light on how leadership in the LDS Church is a mostly collegial and group effort among the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. President McKay always tried to walk the fine line to allow freedom in ideas in fairness to all among the leadership. He and his successors often counseled Apostle Benson to tone down the extremism, especially his involvement with the Birchers. When Benson became President of the Church, he apparently knew he was then responsible to "tone it down" concentrating on the Book of Mormon and broader moral issues rather than his political views. These essays are very fair to Benson while they still dive deep into the sources to explain the connections of history. I always found it odd that discredited Bircherism that evolved into rank conspiracy theories about the "Illuminati" had any followers at all. But humans will be human. And while Pres. McKay shared the strong anti-communist sentiments, he seemed to know that the ends do not justify the means. This is my main problem with Benson's followers in the Church. He had his problems following charlatans (crack-pots) like Welch and Skousen. His heroes were Hoover (J. Edgar), along with George Wallace and Strom Thurmond. Anti-civil-rights and racism go right along with extremist right-wing views. In stead of Commies and "liberal" fellow travelers subverting America, it was really the right-wingers all along!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little bit of overlap, but each author had interesting approaches Did not get the sense of strong apologetics from them. Benson, I think, deserved credit for being a decent man, and like anyone who chooses to judge him harshly, he had his human weaknesses. I doubt that anyone who lowers himself to a profane approach to Benson could rise to the level of Benson's achievements. Not a perfect man by any means, but by most accounts, a decent man. Very much h a product of his times

[Nathan Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY interesting history of how one person, fixated on the threat of communism, really impacted moving a religion much more to the right.

I have to assume those that are only in their 30's probably don't know how this history and assume "the LDS church has always been way on the right politically."

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s difficult to overstate what a ridiculous shit buffoon Benson was, and how much damage he did to this country. If you’ve tried to run for President twice, and your preferred running mates were Strom Thurmond and George Wallace, then you’re a fucking piece of shit. Full stop.