Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...
Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ... Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...
the Messiah. Indeed, both Benson and Woodruff seem to acknowledge that this will nothappen until after the gathering prophecy is fulfilled. This is not to imply that Benson, orMormons in general, had no intention of sharing his unique Christian faith with hisJewish brothers. Quite the contrary. He ends his message to the members of the LDSfaith in 1950 with an assurance that Christ will appear to the Jews at the Mount of Olives,during their “last great struggle,” and fight their battle for them, 107 and at that momentthey “shall know that [He] is the Lord.” 108 Likewise, in his message to the Jews in 1976,Benson ends with a testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and urges“all to give heed to the message given by God through him.” 109 Thus while reaching outto Jews in brotherhood, and espousing views common to many Christians, he also shareshis own understanding of the sense of fulfillment of prophecy relating to the Jews andtheir homeland. The difference is that Benson's support of Israel and the Jewish people isnot influenced by their acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ.Another aspect that contrasts with Benson's perspective was the guilt manyChristians felt at the horror of the Holocaust. While Benson felt keenly and personally itsdevastation, a point which he raises in all three of the talks discussed, and which appearsin various other political documents, he clearly does not share in the guilt for itsoccurrence. Indeed, he remains distinctly separate from it. His biographer, Sheri Dew,notes that upon visiting the crematorium in Dachau in 1946, he wrote in his journal: “Thescenes and statistics given made us shudder to realize how far men will go in evil and sin107108109Zechariah 14:1-21.Benson, “Jews Return to Palestine,” 5; see also Doctrine and Covenants 45:53.Benson, “Message to Judah”, 12.38
when they discard the eternal truths of the gospel.” 110Benson, having been raised andremained an active member of a faith that had long supported Jews as the chosen people,felt deep sorrow for his Israelite family, but takes no blame upon himself for their terriblesuffering.In examining Ezra Taft Benson's views on Israel through a religious lens, we mustconclude that those views are clearly affected by the Christian beliefs of hiscontemporaries, but are essentially the result of the traditional teachings of his Mormonfaith. His professed and unequivocal kinship with the Jews, along with a confidence thattheir “old-new” 111 homeland was the fulfillment of both ancient and modern prophecy,make him both comparable to and yet distinctive among Christian leaders of the day.However, although Mormon, and specifically Benson's, perspectives may have echoedChristian sentiments, Latter-day Saints generally remained outside of the Protestant-Catholic-Jew ecumenism that prevailed in the 1950s. It is also interesting to note thatBenson's professed kinship with the Jewish people, while certainly appreciated (as will bedemonstrated in the subsequent chapter), was somewhat one-sided. But it never wavered.Benson's doggedly religious approach to Israel accompanied him into his politicalwork as well. As Secretary of Agriculture, his religious sense of purpose revealed itselfin his combating what he saw as socialist government policies in farming. In Israel it wasreflected in his comments and descriptions of his visits, and the unique delight he took in110111Dew, Biography, 212.Term borrowed from Theodore Herzl, in the title of his book, Altneuland, 1902, which means “old-newland.”39
- Page 2 and 3: AcknowledgementsI am indebted to Pr
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- Page 64 and 65: sending “two Mormon Books,” and
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- Page 82 and 83: BibliographyAlteras, Isaac. Eisenho
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<strong>the</strong> Messiah. Indeed, both <strong>Benson</strong> <strong>and</strong> Woodruff seem to acknowledge that this will nothappen until after <strong>the</strong> ga<strong>the</strong>ring prophecy is fulfilled. This is not to imply that <strong>Benson</strong>, orMormons in general, had no intention <strong>of</strong> sharing his unique Christian faith with hisJewish bro<strong>the</strong>rs. Quite <strong>the</strong> contrary. He ends his message to <strong>the</strong> members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> LDSfaith in 1950 with an assurance that Christ will appear to <strong>the</strong> Jews at <strong>the</strong> Mount <strong>of</strong> Olives,during <strong>the</strong>ir “last great struggle,” <strong>and</strong> fight <strong>the</strong>ir battle for <strong>the</strong>m, 107 <strong>and</strong> at that moment<strong>the</strong>y “shall know that [He] is <strong>the</strong> Lord.” 108 Likewise, in his message to <strong>the</strong> Jews in 1976,<strong>Benson</strong> ends with a testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet <strong>of</strong> God, <strong>and</strong> urges“all to give heed to <strong>the</strong> message given by God through him.” 109 Thus while reaching outto Jews in bro<strong>the</strong>rhood, <strong>and</strong> espousing views common to many Christians, he also shareshis own underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sense <strong>of</strong> fulfillment <strong>of</strong> prophecy relating to <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>and</strong><strong>the</strong>ir homel<strong>and</strong>. The difference is that <strong>Benson</strong>'s support <strong>of</strong> <strong>Israel</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish people isnot influenced by <strong>the</strong>ir acceptance or rejection <strong>of</strong> Jesus Christ.Ano<strong>the</strong>r aspect that contrasts with <strong>Benson</strong>'s perspective was <strong>the</strong> guilt manyChristians felt at <strong>the</strong> horror <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust. While <strong>Benson</strong> felt keenly <strong>and</strong> personally itsdevastation, a point which he raises in all three <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> talks discussed, <strong>and</strong> which appearsin various o<strong>the</strong>r political documents, he clearly does not share in <strong>the</strong> guilt for itsoccurrence. Indeed, he remains distinctly separate from it. His biographer, Sheri Dew,notes that upon visiting <strong>the</strong> crematorium in Dachau in 1946, he wrote in his journal: “Thescenes <strong>and</strong> statistics given made us shudder to realize how far men will go in evil <strong>and</strong> sin107108109Zechariah 14:1-21.<strong>Benson</strong>, “Jews Return to Palestine,” 5; see also Doctrine <strong>and</strong> Covenants 45:53.<strong>Benson</strong>, “Message to Judah”, 12.38
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