-- 13 Mar. 1967
Stephen Hays Russell, the student-leader of [the BYU spy-ring], signed a 1967 statement which made no reference whatever to the John Birch Society or to Ezra Taft Benson, even though the Birch connection appears in other sources.
Russell's 1967 statement acknowledged on page 3 that "if I 'got caught' at this, official university reactions would be that I was acting on my own," and on page 9 that Ernest Wilkinson expected Russell to be the "scapegoat". Although he implicated Wilkinson and two of Wilkinson's assistants already named by fellow-spy Hankin, all of Russell's other statements about BYU espionage were obviously intended to shield others beyond the BYU administrators who were involved. (1)
-- 14 Mar 1967
"Wilkinson Admits 'Spy Ring' Existence at 'Y,'" Provo Daily Herald (2)
-- March 24, 1967
[Letter to Hugh B. Brown] "I personally feel that Brother Benson is misusing his Priesthood Authority…. I am finding it increasingly difficult to raise my right hand in Quarterly Conference and sustain Brother Benson as an Apostle. Isn't there something that can be done to curb this type of political involvement of the Church in general?" (3)
-- 27 Mar 1967
BYU Spy-ring story: "Spies, J[unior]. G[rade].," Newsweek Magazine (2)
-- Apr 1967
Benson ... approved the use of a recent talk as the "forward" to an overtly racist book which featured the decapitated head of an African-American on its cover. The authors of The Black Hammer: A Study of Black Power, Red Influence and White Alternatives, Foreward by The Honorable Ezra Taft Benson wrote that the apostle "has generously offered this address as the basis for the introductory remarks to `The Black Hammer'."
Benson had given this talk to the anti-Communist leadership school of segregationist Hargis who had published it in his magazine.
Although they did not identify themselves as Mormons, The Black Hammer's authors (who lived in the San Francisco Bay area) referred on the dedication page to "all the Elders of the California North Mission for their interest and prayers." Their bibliography listed seven anti-Communist books including ones by Benson and W. Cleon Skousen. Two of Black Hammer's pro-Communist sources were cited as reprints by the John Birch Society's American Opinion, and page 78 encouraged readers to "pass on your current copy" of that Birch magazine. Page 91 also encouraged "every Negro" to study the "conservative philosophy" of Robert Welch.
Consistent with Benson's own statements, The Black Hammer (which he now tacitly endorsed) dismissed as Communist-directed all organized efforts for civil rights. On pages 32 and 35, the book warned about "the violent revolt which is part of the 100 year-old Communist program for the enslavement of America," and about the "well-defined plans for the establishment of a Negro Soviet dictatorship in the South." On page 51, The Black Hammer said: "The media would have the American public believe that the Black Power movement, with all its `militant overtones' (as the media so affectionately describes it) is frowned upon by the `moderate civil rights leadership'--more specifically, Martin Luther King. This is pure hogwash." Page 83 referred to "the Negro's need for complete subservience to the Great White Fathers in Washington." However, the authors insisted on page 90 that they were "ready and willing to take any Negro by the hand and help him into an era of self-proprietorship that every deserving American can achieve."
It does not seem coincidental that Benson endorsed this book in the midst of the Birch Society's effort to put him on the 1968 presidential ticket. He may have endorsed The Black Hammer: A Study of Black Power, Red Influence and White Alternatives to provide leverage with another presidential aspirant, George C. Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama. (4)
-- 1967
The Anti- Defamation League of B'nai B'rith specifically condemned the Birch Society's "despicable actions" in seeking to inflame anti- black fears "while southeast Los Angeles was aflame in mid- August, 1965." (5)
-- 15 Apr 1967
Apostle Mark E. Petersen wrote an editorial in the Church News: "Political extremists sow seeds of hate and discord. Extremism among them can hardly be less dangerous on one hand than on the other. Both can lead to dictatorship." (6)
-- April 18, 1967
After Robert Welch (founder of the John Birch Society) wrote McKay again encouraging him to allow Benson to serve on the National Council of the John Birch Society, McKay "explained to him, as I have on two other occasions by letter, that it would not be wise for Elder Benson to serve in this capacity." (7)
-- April 21, 1967
McKay showed Birch Society founder Robert Welch's letter to Mark E. Petersen, who upon reading it said: "President McKay, Elder Harold B. Lee has some hair-raising stories to tell about the Birch Society which I am sure he will tell you, which I think would scare you to death. We have the Church, and if we live up to its teachings, we do not need to worry about what will happen to this country!" (7)
Endnotes:
1 - Stephen Hays Russell statement, 13 Mar. 1967, typescript, signed at the bottom of each page by Stephen Hays Russell, folder 9, Hillam Papers, and box 34, Buerger Papers -- as referenced in D. Michael Quinn, "Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992) and Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3
2 - D. Michael Quinn, "Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992) and Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3
3 - Dorothy L. Skinner to Hugh B. Brown as referenced in Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Write, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press (2005)
4 - Wes Andrews and Clyde Dalton, The Black Hammer: A Study of Black Power, Red Influence and White Alternatives (Oakland, CA: Desco Press, 1967), 13, a copy of which is in the Church Library, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Ezra Taft Benson, "Trade and Treason," Christian Crusade 19 (Apr. 1967): 22-24. These are referenced in in D. Michael Quinn, "Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992) and Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3
5 - Schechter, How To Listen to a John Birch Society Speaker, 24; also Barbara Hogan, The Shake-Up America Campaign: Who's Wlio and What's Wliat in the Massive John Birch Society Propaganda Effort to Fan the Flames of Racial Tension (Washington, D.C.: Institute for American Democracy (1967). These are referenced in in D. Michael Quinn, "Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992) and Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3
6 - "Tendency Toward Extremes," Deseret News "Church News," 15 Apr. 1967,20 -- as referenced in D. Michael Quinn, "Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992) and Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3
7 - David O. McKay diary as referenced in Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Write, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press (2005)
LDS History Chronology: Ezra Taft Benson
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Ezra Taft Benson
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
