-- 7 April 1962
In rebuttal to the publicity of Benson's remarks the previous December, Brown instructed the LDS general priesthood meeting in April 1962: "The degree of a man's aversion to communism may not always be measured by the noise he makes in going about and calling everyone a communist who disagrees with his personal political bias." Then in a more direct allusion to his dispute with Benson, Brown said, "There is no excuse for members of this Church, especially men who hold the priesthood, to be opposing one another over communism . . ." In an obvious allusion to the Birch Society, Brown concluded: "Let us not undermine our government or accuse those who hold office of being soft on communism. . . . [or] by destroying faith in our elected officials under the guise of fighting communism." (1)
One Mormon wrote that "Bro. [Hugh B.] Brown certainly was talking to Benson when he warned the Priesthood Saturday about the dangers of extremism & of charging our leaders as dupes of the Communist conspiracy." (1)
-- April 7, 1962
[Salt Lake Tribune] "The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Saturday reaffirmed the Church's long standing opposition to the evils of communism in the world today, but denounced extreme anti-Communist movements as more of a hindrance than a help. Speaking for the presiding body of the church, Hugh B. Brown, second counselor in the First Presidency, told a packed Tabernacle crowd of priesthood bearers [that] "the leaders of the church now, as has always been the case, stand squarely against the ideals of communism. We'd like the world to know that. However," he added, "we urge you not to become extremists on either side. There is no place in the church or the priesthood of God for men to be fighting each other over a menace such as communism." (2)
-- Apr 23, 1962
[Quorum of the Twelve] George Q. Morris dies. (3)
-- April 24, 1962
A UCLA graduate student wrote that the speeches and writings of Benson "have been the object of derision by competent scholars—not for being anti-Communistic, but rather because of apparent lack of scholarship in their analysis of current politics... [Brown's talk] which I interpreted to be a general censure of the 'Right Wing' trend in the Church." (4)
-- 25 Apr 1962
Of his April 1962 conference remarks, [Hugh B.] Brown confided: "While we do not think it wise to name names in our statements of Church policy, the cries which come from certain sources would indicate that somebody was hit by some of our statements and that was what we hoped would be the result." (5)
-- May 3, 1962
Nixon, the defeated presidential candidate in 1960, was competing against Democrat Edmund G. ("Pat") Brown for the gubernatorial chair. John M. Russon, president of the Los Angeles Stake, had given permission for Nixon to speak in the stake center and, as a result, other church members asked that Pat Brown be given equal time in the same venue. It turned out that Russon had not acted independently; rather, when the question of Nixon's speaking in the building came up, Russon had consulted the General Authority visiting at quarterly stake conference—Ezra Taft Benson. The apostle had approved it. Caught in a bind, McKay gave a qualified "yes" to the Democratic request: "I said that it is the rule of the Church that we do not open our houses for political purposes; that under the circumstances in this case, however, we should give Governor Brown the same privilege that was given to Nixon, and then tell them that this has to stop. (6)
-- May 7, 1962
Welch "To All Members Of The COUNCIL" - announces that the following individuals were being invited to attend the next Council meeting at Union League Club in Chicago on Saturday, May 26, 1962: Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker, Ezra Taft Benson, Strom Thurmond, and H.L. Hunt. (7)
-- May 18, 1962
McKay calls Stake President that will be hosting Benson, telling him, "All I wish to say to you is that Brother Benson is not under any cloud whatever regarding his attitude towards communism." (6)
-- May 22, 1962
... "I did not know Senator Joseph McCarthy well ... In the few contacts I had with him he usually made some comment regarding farm policy which was usually rather extreme. I do feel, however, that he rendered a service in emphasizing the insidious threat of the Communist influence in government.
The first Communist cell was organized in the Department of Agriculture in the 1930's. ... [Ezra Taft Benson to H. Roland Tietjen [Hawaiian Temple President], May 22, 1962] (8)
Endnotes:
1 - Brown & Benson; Buchanan diary, 7 Apr 1962. See Quinn, "Mormon Political Conflicts" for full cite and context.
2 - "LDS Hits Extremes in Anti-Red Battle," Salt Lake Tribune as referenced in Greg Prince, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
3 - Wikipedia, Chronology of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_Quorum_of_the_Twelve_Apostles_(LDS_Church)
4 - Harley R. Hammond to Hugh B. Brown as referenced in Greg Prince, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
5 - Brown & Benson; Brown to Morley Ross Hammond, 25 Apr. 1962, photocopy in Williams Papers. See Quinn, "Mormon Political Conflicts" for full cite and context.
6 - David O. McKay diary as referenced in Greg Prince, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
7 - Ernie Lazar, Documentary History of the John Birch Society, https://sites.google.com/site/ernie1241b/home
8 - ... "I did not know Senator Joseph McCarthy well ... In the few contacts I had with him he usually made some comment regarding farm policy which was usually rather extreme. I do feel, however, that he rendered a service in emphasizing the insidious threat of the Communist influence in government.//The first Communist cell was organized in the Department of Agriculture in the 1930's. ... [Ezra Taft Benson to H. Roland Tietjen [Hawaiian Temple President], May 22, 1962]
LDS History Chronology: Ezra Taft Benson
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Ezra Taft Benson
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
