The Internal Threat to the American Way of Life

By Ezra Taft Benson

The Internal Threat to the American Way of Life was a talk given by Ezra Taft Benson at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on December 11, 1961. Benson had served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture from January 21, 1953 to January 20, 1961.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Papamoa Press
• Release date: Dec 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781789125528

Ezra Taft Benson

Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and as the 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1985 until his death in 1994. Born on August 4, 1899 on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, he was the great-grandson of Ezra T. Benson, who was appointed by Brigham Young a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1846. He began his academic career at Utah State Agricultural College (modern Utah State University), alternating quarters at USAC and working on the family farm. He served as a Mormon missionary in Britain from 1921-1923 before attending Brigham Young University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1926. He earned a master of science degree in agricultural economics in 1927 from Iowa State University. Benson returned to Whitney to run the family farm and later became the county agriculture extension agent for Oneida County, Idaho. He later was promoted to the supervisor of all county agents and moved to Boise in 1930. In 1939, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he became the first president of a new church stake in Washington. In 1943 he was appointed to the ranks of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, second in rank to the First Presidency. Benson gained national prominence while serving as secretary of agriculture in the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953-1961, and he became the first Mormon to attain Cabinet status. After returning to the church, Benson ascended to the presidency of the Council of the Twelve Apostles in 1973, and succeeded Spencer Kimball as president of the of the church in 1985. In August 1989, Benson received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President George H. W. Bush. Benson died in Salt Lake City on May 30, 1994, aged 94.

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Text originally published in 1961 under the same title.

© Papamoa Press 2018, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

THE INTERNAL THREAD TO THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE

BY

EZRA TAFT BENSON

Former Secretary of Agriculture and

Member of the Council of the Twelve

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Talk given at the Shrine Auditorium,

Los Angeles, California, December 11, 1961

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

THE INTERNAL THREAT TO THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE 4

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 17

THE INTERNAL THREAT TO THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE

My Fellow Americans

We are in the midst of continuing international crisis. The outlook for world peace and security is dark indeed. The gravity of the world situation is increasing almost daily. The United Nations seem unable to settle the troubles of the world. In truth we are faced with the hard fact that the United Nations seems to have largely