I am very excited to study the
Teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson this year in Relief Society. I attended a
lecture by Sheri Dew last November about President Benson. I was inspired by his life, his faith, his love for the Lord, his focus, and his example. I know there is much to learn from his teachings.
BE AN INSTRUMENT
I loved our first lesson about him yesterday and how our teacher focused on the idea of "being an instrument." That is what President Benson was - an instrument in the Lord's hands. She shared verses from Alma about the mission and work of the sons of Mosiah - one of President Benson's favorite parts of the Book of Mormon (see
Alma 17 through
Alma 26). We also read some quotes from Elder Don R. Clarke's October 2006 talk,
Becoming Instruments in the Hands of God. and Sister Mary Ellen Smoot's talk October 2000 talk,
We Are Instruments in the Hands of God.
I was inspired to work to be an instrument in the Lord's as hands, and to learn from the life and teachings of President Benson. Here are a few of my favorites, so far:
LOVE THE LORD
Throughout his life President Benson had many things competing for his time, but he was consistently loyal to the Lord. He example of loving the Lord and putting Him first are inspiring.
April 1988 - The Great Commandment--Love the Lord
"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities."
FAMILY
Family was very important to President Benson. We see this from his early years how he helped to take care of his family while his father was away serving a mission and then as he married Flora and as their family home evenings were shared with the world. His teachings and example of the importance of family is admirable.
Flora and I
Marriage and Family
“God intended the family to be eternal. With all my soul, I testify to the truth of that declaration. May He bless us to strengthen our homes and the lives of each family member so that in due time we can report to our Heavenly Father in His celestial home that we are all there—father, mother, sister, brother, all who hold each other dear. Each chair is filled. We are all back home.”
October 1982 - Worthy of All Acceptation
"Once the families in the Church become organized as the prophet has counseled, and after we have done all we can as a church and as family organizations to identify our progenitors, then perhaps we may qualify for this prophetic blessing spoken of by President Brigham Young:
“You will enter into the Temple of the Lord and begin to offer up ordinances before the Lord for your dead. … Before this work is finished, a great many of the Elders of Israel in Mount Zion will become pillars in the Temple of God, to go no more out: they will eat and drink and sleep there; and they will often have occasion to say—‘Somebody came into the Temple last night; we did not know who he was, but he was no doubt a brother, and told us a great many things we did not before understand.He gave us the names of a great many of our forefathers that are not on record, and he gave me my true lineage and the names of my forefathers for hundreds of years back. He said to me, ‘You and I are connected in one family; there are the names of your ancestors; take them and write them down, and be baptised and confirmed, and save such and such ones, and receive of the blessings of the eternal Priesthood for such and such an individual, as you do for yourselves.’ This is what we are going to do for the inhabitants of the earth. When I look at it, I do not want to rest a great deal, but be industrious all the day long; for when we come to think upon it, we have no time to lose, for it is a pretty laborious work.” (Journal of Discourses, 6:295; italics added.)"
BOOK OF MORMON
President Benson didn't give just one talk about the Book of Mormon, but several and it was obviously a focus of his thoughts. Here area few of my favorites:
April 1975 - The Book of Mormon is the Word of God
April 1986 - Cleansing the Inner Vessel
"Unless we read the Book of Mormon and give heed to its teachings, the Lord has stated in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants that the whole Church is under condemnation: “And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.” (D&C 84:56.) The Lord continues: “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.” (D&C 84:57.)
Now we not only need to say more about the Book of Mormon, but we need to do more with it. Why? The Lord answers: “That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.” (D&C 84:58.) We have felt that scourge and judgment!"
October 1986 - The Book for Mormon--Keystone of Our Religion
"My beloved brethren and sisters, today I would like to speak about one of the most significant gifts given to the world in modern times. The gift I am thinking of is more important than any of the inventions that have come out of the industrial and technological revolutions. This is a gift of greater value to mankind than even the many wonderful advances we have seen in modern medicine. It is of greater worth to mankind than the development of flight or space travel. I speak of the gift of the Book of Mormon, given to mankind 156 years ago....
"There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony....
"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance."
October 1988 - Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon
"I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world....I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon....Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon."
What is the Book of Mormon?
This is not from President Benson, but I saw it recently and thought it was neat and immediately thought of him and his desire for all of us to know and love the Book of Mormon.
TALKS TO EACH GROUP
I think it's so sweet that President Benson spoke directly and specifically to many groups in the Church. God loves all of His children and so does His prophet. Here are an example of a few of his talks focused to specific groups:
I am already inspired by his simple, yet profoundly extraordinary life and mission. I look forward to learning more from President Benson's teachings and example.
