Talk:Ezra Taft Benson

message: You are absolutely right.  This was my first time to actually edit an article, and as soon as I posted my comments/deletion, I realized how rude my comments/action appeared.  Please forgive...I'm new to this.  I'm actually a direct descendant of Ezra T. Benson (Ezra Taft Benson's grandfather), so to me there is obviously no confusion between ETB and Lloyd Bentsen--but I totally acknowledge that I'm not the "average" reader.  
Thanks for your patience with me.  I will use much more tact/patience/collaboration in the future.
::[Two 'graphs by User:207.46.238.136 precede this. --Jerzy(t)]
:Just a friendly note, please sign all your posts.  You can do this by typing three tildes, thus: ~~~.  Using four tildes, ~~~~, adds a time stamp.  The latter form is what most Wikipedians use.  Cheers! —Frecklefoot 18:57, May 20, 2004 (UTC)
: 207, i didn't find you rude or unreasonable, and i apologize if my agnostic approach to this came across as irony intended to make you look bad. What i said about eyeballs means that even when two of us agree, we don't know we've got it right.  The effectiveness of Wiki lies in our "editing boldly", making lots of mistakes, and getting lots of feedback.
:You edited boldly, and were off to a good start by doing so; don't get embarrassed or whatever, and start holding back.
:And by the way, i'm not sure i've ever seen a note quite like the one i wrote; i'm waiting to see if others think it was "encyclopedic".  Your edit called my attention, indirectly, to that issue, and further thot resulted in another way of attacking the same issue, which you'll see if you link via the "What links here" link on Lloyd Bentsen; probably still the last item on that list by the time you look at it.   (I thot i had already done the equivalent re Ezra Taft Benson, but i'll get to that soon.)  I probably wouldn't have gotten around to thinking of it soon, if you hadn't enhanced  the discussion by offering your opinion. So accept my thanks, instead of my accepting your apology, OK? 
:--Jerzy(t) 23:29, 2004 May 20 (UTC)
It's a deal.  Btw...though a newbie, I am quickly realizing how Wikipdedia can become a religion.  Consider this my baptism.  :)  Thanks!!!  Brolap 21:53, 21 May 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes. See the Taft family entry. Acsenray 19:31, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Lloyd Bentsen

message: Hi, why are there two interwiki links to Japanese? --Amir E. Aharoni 17:10, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Japanese IW

message: I changed the term "outed" to "ousted;" the term "outed" is confusing, as it generally relates to one being discovered to be a homosexual, whereas "ousted" is generally the term used in politics for one who is forced out of his position. BarrettBrown 03:16, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: "Outed" vs. "Ousted"

message: : The following was origionally posted to Talk:Ezra Taft Benson/Comments, but should have been posted here, so moved. -- 208.81.184.4 (talk) 16:27, 13 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  From Talk:Ezra Taft Benson/Comments 

message: I would like to add the following link to the external resources part of this page. It has several relevant quotes from P. Benson. I have to get consensus before I add it, or it will be considered spam; so if anyone is familiar with P. Benson, please review the link and comment up or down in this talk page. Link. Thank you. -Micahburnett 05:09, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Does it strike anyone else as excessive that this article contains external links to apparently every General Conference talk that President Benson ever gave? -- 159.182.1.4 00:27, 25 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: External links

message: I am starting this subject to try and clear up a confusing misplaced modifier in the Biography section of the article. The relevant confusing paragraph states: "Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Benson was the oldest of eleven children. He was the great grandson of another Ezra Taft Benson, now known as "Ezra T. Benson", who was appointed by Brigham Young as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1846 on. Beginning his academic career at Utah State University, he was a 1926 graduate of Brigham Young University (after serving a church mission in Britain from 1921 to 1923)." The way it is currently worded, it sounds as if President Benson's great-grandfather, Ezra T. Benson, was the one who began his academic career at Utah State University, graduating from BYU in 1926. I know that's not the meaning we were trying to convey, but I don't know how we could fix that. Any thoughts? --Jgstokes-We can disagree without being disagreeable (talk) 19:53, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Beginning his academic career at Utah State University, the younger Benson was a 1926 graduate of Brigham Young University..." ? Just a suggestion ... Good Ol’factory (talk) 00:15, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I like that rewording. If there are no objections within the next few days, let's go with that. --Jgstokes-We can disagree without being disagreeable (talk) 16:46, 2 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Confusing misplaced modifier in article. 

message: you can use this one   —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.180.63.89 (talk) 02:50, 25 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  picture 

message: Benson was not a member of the John Birch Society. He was a supporter of the organization’s cause and members of his family were in the Society, but he was not on the rolls of the organization.  (Matthew R. Lee) 15:03, 10 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Not a member of the John Birch Society 

message: It may be possible that Spencer W. Kimball was ordained an apostle before Ezra Taft Benson as a result of age but I find no evidence to support this claim. 
Spencer W. Kimball was extended the called 18 days before Ezra Taft Benson. He is senior to Benson in both his calling and ordination. Here are two sources on the timing of the calls: 
Kimball was extended the called to “fill one of the vacancies in the Quorum” of the Twelve by 
President J. Reuben Clark Jr. on July 8, 1943 (Kimball, Edward L., Kimball, Andrew E. Spencer W. Kimball. Bookcraft, Inc. 1977, p.188-189).
Benson was extended the called to be a member of the Council of the Twelve by President Heber J. Grant on July 26, 1943 (Dew, Sheri. Ezra Taft Benson: A Biography. Deseret Book Company. 1987, p. 174).
Both were ordained by President Heber J. Grant in the Salt Lake Temple on October 7, 1943. 
It could be true that age was the factor in who was called first but I find no evidence to support this claim. 
I understand that this is a completely different issue than whether or not Benson was called to fill vacancy in the Quorum created by the death of Sylvester Q. Cannon or Rudger Clawson. Because Cannon died first it is my opinon that Kimball filled the vacancy created by Cannon's death and Benson fileld the vacancy created by the death of Clawson. Until this, like the claim related to age about, is verified it is only opinon.
Removing the text: “a decision that was made because Kimball was older than Benson” due to lack of evidence.
(Matthew R. Lee) 01:53, 2 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  No evidence for age as a factor in ordination 

message: The quote attributed to Benson regarding Martin Luther King, Jr. was from the student newspaper of the University of Utah.  I think a more reliable source should be used for a quote like that. Alanraywiki (talk) 05:36, 17 October 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: I've added an additional source ~ David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A. Prince & William Robert Wright, University of Utah Press, 2005, , pgs 72-73, 92-93, 473. The partial passages can be seen on google books ---> here.   Redthoreau -- (talk) 13:53, 17 October 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: That's a much better source. School newspapers may be okay as a reference for school events, but I believe the consensus is that they are not reliable sources beyond that.  Thanks for finding the new reference. Alanraywiki (talk) 14:12, 17 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reliable source? 

message: Is it time to archive this talk page? -- 208.81.184.4 (talk) 21:02, 2 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Archive?

message: I agree with User:FyzixFighter's edit here, which removed the suggestion that only Benson and Brigham Young held a U.S. federal office while they were an apostle of the LDS Church. In addition to Reed Smoot, there was also George Q. Cannon, who was delegate to the House of Representatives from Utah Territory beginning in 1873. If I'm not mistaken, Thomas S. Monson was also appointed by Ronald Reagan to be on a Presidential commission on community service and volunteerism, though that may not qualify as quite the same thing as a "federal office". Good Ol’factory (talk) 21:37, 10 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Apostle/U.S. federal office holder

message: The article states that Benson recommended all Mormons read the above titled tract. A keyword search of the general conference address cited reveals neither the name, "None Dare Call it A Conspiracy," nor the author's name, Gary Allen. Josephah8 (talk) 14:12, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: I have since watched the footage of this talk, and indeed he does bring up Gary Allen's "None Dare Call it A Conspiracy." It doesn't seem to be in the text of the address.Josephah8 (talk) 14:58, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

text: Ad hominem criticisms and assumptions about Steve Benson & D. Michael Quinn are not of any real value to the content of this article, and should be avoided. -- 208.81.184.4 (talk) 00:05, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  "None Dare Call it A Conspiracy" 

message: Jgstokes reverted my edits. Why is a book by Merlo J. Pusey, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Washington Post editorial-page writer (and LDS, who knew Benson during his two stays in DC) not considered a reliable source? The book's URL is in the edits so anyone can verify that I cited it accurately. Ylee (talk) 15:06, 8 November 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: The edits look good to me, and Pusey is certainly a reliable source. Good Ol’factory (talk) 18:04, 8 November 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Let the record show I never impugned the source. My explanation was that the edits were taken out of context and were inaccurate. In rereading the source, I can see that I was in error. I was basing my judgment on the first part of what I had read, which says nothing about Benson's call. The later pages do, however, so that was a major oversight on my part. I ask forgiveness for my hastiness in jumping to this conclusion. I will be more careful in the future. Sorry. --Jgstokes (talk) 00:11, 9 November 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why is Merlo Pusey not considered a reliable source? 

message: Propose changing to Infobox Officeholder, as appears here.  Please note that this continues to accommodate the specific features and religious terminology included in the LDS Infobox in a clear, aesthetically pleasing and respectful way, while also far better accommodating Benson's political career.  The current infobox features his tenure as Agriculture in a clunky, and frankly inappropriate way; the bizarre "in office" stripe looks more like an "Incumbent" stripe as featured in Infobox Officeholder, and his partisan affiliation is included with his predecessor and successor, rather than with personal information as seen in nearly all other infoboxes.  While it could be argued that the use of an LDS Infobox is standard for all church presidents, I would argue that the use of Infobox Officeholder is standard used across the articles of all Agriculture Secretaries!  Quite frankly, this seems like a specific case where Infobox Officeholder would appropriately be used.--Ministre d'État (talk) 19:07, 19 July 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: As noted in the edit summary I did, I feel efforts to alter and not use the long-standing, existing infobox template doesn't make a significant difference.  It moves the information up for his service as Sec of Ag up and plops it square in the middle of various church service roles he had.  That seems more clunky than it not shows.  It would limit the consistent use with other church presidents and places where inserting the template into a listing or other situation would not be possible.  I would not characterize the current use as inappropriate, but I would note that it would be good to include Eisenhower in the portion of the box about Benson's service. ChristensenMJ (talk) 16:11, 9 August 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Infobox

message: Benson wrote the forward to a book that is controversial both due to its cover and content.  I'd thought about posting the book cover in the article, but it is a bit disturbing.  I thought I'd ask the Wikipedia community for their thoughts.  My vote is to put it in the article.  Here is the image: Epachamo (talk) 19:36, 14 March 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Apparently, I can't legally post a book cover on the talk page.  I've been bold and put it in the article in as NPOV way as possible, trying to explain Benson's motivations in a way that he would have agreed with.  Epachamo (talk) 20:59, 15 March 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: The Black Hammer