Reed Amussen Benson (January 2, 1928 – August 24, 2016) was an American academic and professor of religion at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

who was the national director of public relations for the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

. During his career, Benson was noted for his political conservatism and advocacy of

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

Early life and education

Benson was the son of

Ezra Taft Benson Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 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 a ...

and his wife, Flora Benson. Benson was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

but raised in Whitney and

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, and in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Benson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history from

, followed by a Master of Arts in communication and a Doctor of Education. From 1947 to 1949, he served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Benson was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Career

Anti-Communism activism

In 1960, Ezra Taft Benson made a proposition to

president Ernest L. Wilkinson that his son Reed be used as a spy to "find out who the orthodox teachers were and report to his father." Reed had targeted LDS

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and political scientist J. D. Williams for surveillance. Wilkinson declined the offer, stating "neither Brother Lee nor I want espionage of that character." Later in the 1960s and 1970s, members and advocates of the

did conduct espionage at BYU. In October 1962, Ezra Taft Benson sought permission from LDS Church President David O. McKay to join the John Birch Society but was denied. Shortly afterwards, Reed joined the society and was appointed Utah coordinator with McKay's tepid approval. In 1963, Reed was appointed coordinator for

Southern Idaho Southern Idaho is a generic geographical term roughly analogous with the areas of the U.S. state of Idaho located in the Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Unive ...

. In 1964, he became the Birch Society coordinator in Washington, D.C., and eventually the national director of public relations. Benson's activities within the Birch Society came under the scrutiny of the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

of the LDS Church for using its meeting houses for recruiting and political meetings, issuing a statement in January 1963 directly condemning the activities of the Birch Society. Ezra Taft Benson complained to McKay that the statement seemed to be directed against him, and "his son, Reed, and Brother Skousen," McKay confirmed that it was.

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

Hugh B. Brown Hugh Brown Brown (October 24, 1883 – December 2, 1975) was an American attorney, educator, author and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency ...

, Assistant to the Twelve Henry D. Taylor, and apostle Henry D. Moyle were all critical of Benson's activities. The LDS Church called Ezra Taft Benson on a mission to Europe in late 1963 in the hopes that his political zeal would be tempered. At the Ezra Taft Benson's farewell address on 14 December 1963, Reed Benson said that his father had been "stabbed in the back". In 1965, Reed Benson endorsed the claim of

Robert W. Welch Jr. Robert Henry Winborne Welch Jr. (December 1, 1899 – January 6, 1985) was an American businessman, political organizer, and conspiracy theorist. He was wealthy following his retirement from the candy business and used his wealth to sponsor ...

, that former President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

had been a Communist agent.

Civil rights movement opposition

Benson was critical of the civil rights movement, which he felt was being controlled by communists. In July 1965, the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

called for all Third World nations to refuse to grant visa to

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

of the LDS Church for its "doctrine of non-white inferiority," and planned to protest the churches October general conference. In response, Benson wrote a memorandum to all Birch Society chapters instructing them to spread rumors that the protesters planned violent riots:

"''It is common knowledge that the Civil Rights Movement is Communist controlled, influenced and dominated. ... when necessary we must adopt the communist technique in our ever present battle against Godless Communism. It is urged that in the coming weeks the Utah Chapters begin a whispering campaign and foster rumors that the Civil Rights groups are going to organize demonstrations in Salt Lake City in connection with the forthcoming LDS conference. ... A few well placed comments will soon mushroom out of control and before the conference begins there will be such a feeling of unrest and distrust that the populace will hardly know who to believe. The news media will play it to the very hilt. No matter what the Civil Rights leaders may try to say to deny it the seed will have been sown and again the Civil Rights movement will suffer a telling blow.''"

Soon a near-hysteria was created in Utah over imminence of feared upcoming riots. Rumors of professional demonstrators and rioters prompted the

Utah National Guard The Utah National Guard consists of the: * Utah Army National Guard **19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) **65th Field Artillery Brigade **85th WMD CST **97th Troop Command **115th Engineer Group (CBT) **204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade **211 ...

to begin riot control maneuvers. The NAACP issued a statement in an effort to calm fears that they were planning a riot, stating, "The NAACP deplores the malicious and totally irresponsible rumors circulating in many sections of the state to the effect that Negroes are planning a riot at the LDS conference." There were no riots or demonstrations at the 1965 general conference, and the Birch Society's role in creating the rumors created resentment among many in the LDS Church.

Homeschooling activism and later life

Benson wrote his 1981 Ed.D. dissertation at BYU on the development of a

home school Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

. This was one of the first doctoral dissertations written in the United States on the subject of homeschooling. From 1975 to 1978, Benson served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Louisville Kentucky

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

of the LDS Church.

Personal life

Benson lived in the Pleasant View neighborhood of

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. In 2001, Benson and his wife, May Hinckley Benson, were honored with the Elijah Award for their contribution to the advancement of homeschooling. Benson adopted nine children, all of whom were homeschooled.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

A history of the Homeschooling movementReed Benson Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Reed 1928 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American military chaplains United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Korean War chaplains United States Air Force airmen American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Homeschooling advocates Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in England People from Boise, Idaho People from Franklin County, Idaho People from Provo, Utah Academics from Washington, D.C. Benson family John Birch Society members 2016 deaths Latter Day Saints from Idaho Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Washington, D.C.