-- 20 Apr 1965
[A] Birch student-[spy] had been involved in the 1965 monitoring of Professor Richard Poll and had publicly accused Poll ... of having a Communist subversive speak to his classes. (1)
-- 22 Apr 1965
Reed Benson publicly endorsed Birch Society founder Robert Welch's accusation that U.S. president Eisenhower had been a Communist agent. Then the loyal son probably consulted Apostle Benson in advance about his apparent plan to use the Birch Society to disrupt the next general conference with rumors of a violent demonstration by African- Americans. Ezra Taft Benson's official biography is silent about Benson's and his son's devotion to the Birch Society but observes that in 1965-66 Reed Benson "continued to be involved in the fight for freedom which his father supported . . ." (2)
-- 26 Apr 1965
Covert surveillance by BYU-Birch student in the form of either correspondence, classroom questioning, or private meetings to extract "pro-Communist" views from their professors. (3)
-- 27 April 1965
Ernest Wilkinson wrote to Apostle Benson's son Mark for "any specific information that will be helpful to me respecting Richard Poll and his associates . . ." This demonstrates Wilkinson's belief that Mark A. Benson (also a Bircher) was involved with his brother Reed in the BYU campus espionage which their father had proposed five years earlier. (4)
-- 5 May 1965
A Birch student-spy complained to President McKay that Poll was "the most vocal leader of this opposition" to "Bro. Skousen and Elder Benson." (5)
-- May 14, 1965
[Upon request of the First Presidency Elder [Delbert L.] Stapley called and presented samples of the new ceremonial garment which is to take the place of the string garment now being used in the Temples. (6)
-- May 17, 1965
Ezra Taft Benson wrote to Hoover with a plea. "Word has come to me, not yet fully confirmed, that some of our liberal 'soft-on-communist' groups are planning to put pressure on you to come out with a statement against the John Birch Society." He urged Hoover not to do so. "It is my conviction that this organization is the most effective non-church group in America against creeping socialism and godless communism," Benson wrote.
Hoover, however, in response to a question at a news conference soon thereafter, said he had little respect for the society or its founder, Robert Welch.
After Hoover's disavowal of Welch, Benson decided to meet with Hoover to explain his support of the society and how Welch's writings had convinced him that Eisenhower aided communism.
Files show that Hoover's aides twice told Benson that he was unavailable for such a meeting — as memos had advised them to do. So Benson wrote Hoover the sensitive "personal-confidential" letter of May 28, 1965, outlining his conclusions about Eisenhower.
Benson also soon sent a book by Welch titled The Politician, noting it was what led him to his conclusions about Eisenhower.
In the book, Welch argues that Eisenhower was either ignorant, a politician blinded by opportunism or was "consciously aiding the communist conspiracy" — and said it really didn't matter because "they all come to the same end … namely tragedy."
Benson wrote Hoover that he inscribed the following words on the flyleaf of the book after he first read it:
"Have just finished this shocking volume. ... While I do not agree with all or the extent of some of the author's conclusions, one must agree that the documented record makes the thesis of the book most convincing.
"How can a man [Eisenhower] who seems to be so strong for Christian principles and base American concepts be so effectively used as a tool to serve the communist conspiracy?
"I believe the answer is found in the fact that these godless communist conspirators and their fellow travelers are masters of deceit — who deceived the very elect. How our people need to be alerted and informed."
Benson added that he hoped the $1 book would be made available widely.
"This story must be told even at the risk of destroying the influence of men who are widely respected and loved by the American people. The stakes are high. Freedom and survival are the issues," he had written in his copy of the book.
Benson also wrote of Eisenhower: "I presume I will never know in this life why he did some of the things he did which gave help to the [communist] conspiracy. It is not my divine prerogative to know the motives of men. It is easier, however, to judge the consequences of man's actions." (7)
-- June 1965
The official publication of April 1965 conference talks deleted Benson's reference to LDS "traitors," as well as his assessment of the civil rights movement as Communist and revolutionary. (8)
Endnotes:
1 - E. Eugene Bryce, "Campus Speaker Affiliated With Subversive Groupings," Provo Daily Herald, 20 Apr. 1965, 10 -- 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 - "Reed Benson Says Welch Was Correct in Calling Eisenhower Communist," Provo Daily Herald, 22 Apr. 1965, 2; Dew, Ezra Taft Benson, 391. 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
3 - Whittaker and McClellan, "The Collection: Description," 2, register of Hillam Papers; Stephen Hays Russell to Ernest L. Wilkinson, 26 Apr. 1965. 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
4 - Ernest L. Wilkinson to Mark Benson, 27 Apr. 1965, Wilkinson 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
5 - Lisle Updike to Ernest L. Wilkinson, 5 May 1965, Curt Conklin to David O. McKay, 29 Jan. 1965 [1966], also referred to in Clare Middlemiss to Ernest L. Wilkinson, 3 Feb. 1966, Conklin to Wilkinson, 16 Feb. 1966, all in Wilkinson 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
6 - David O. McKay diary, May 14, 1965 as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship
7 - "Ike and the Birch Society," Lee Davidson, Salt Lake Tribune, November 16, 2010 (provided by Joe Geisner)
8 - "President McKay Emphasizes Individual," with subheading for Elder Benson's talk: "Restored Gospel," Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Apr. 1965, A-5; compare with Improvement Era 68 (June 1965): 539. However, in 1968 Deseret Book Company published (and reprinted in 1969) Benson's Civil Rights: Tool of Communist Deception, 3, which stated: "The so-called civil rights movement as it exists today is used as a Communist program for revolution." The addition of "used as" softened his original words. 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
LDS History Chronology: Ezra Taft Benson
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Ezra Taft Benson
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
