How can one possibly sum up and assess in only a few words a life as long and filled with accomplishment as that of the late President Ezra Taft Benson?
Should the measurements be made simply in terms of how much responsibility he held and how well he fulfilled it? Or in terms of how much prominence and favorable attention he received, not just for himself, but for the people, organizations and causes he served? Or in terms of the number of individuals he helped and the extent of his impact on their lives?By all such standards, the life and work of President Benson can only be described as historic - and it could have been said of him even before he became the 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Through careers that carried him to the top in agriculture and government, as well as church service, President Benson exerted a major influence for good on the values many of us cherish, on the goals we pursue in worldly as well as spiritual realms and even on the food Americans eat. Those values and goals can be capsulized in terms of God, family and country - in just that order. May we all keep those essentially simple, but simply essential, priorities firmly in mind long after our memories of President Benson's passing this week have dimmed.
Meanwhile, the way he will be remembered seems bound to vary from person to person and from place to place.
To some, he will be remembered not for the high positions and responsibilities he held, but for the way he personified some of the best traits of a man of the soil, with the farmer's fierce independence, but also humble recognition of man's reliance on God. Like so many farmers and servants of God, he was a living example of the principle that it's better to wear out than to rust out.
Many will remember President Benson for his outstanding work as U.S. secretary of agriculture in the Eisenhower administration and for the national attention that assignment focused on him before he became more widely know as an outspoken but loving religious leader.
Historians may recall that when President Benson became secretary of agriculture in 1953, he was the first religious leader to enter the Cabinet in some 100 years.
Those who benefited from the work that took him throughout the world may recall how he helped to provide food for starving people in an emergency and how he worked to teach other nations to do a better job of raising their own crops and feeding themselves.
Others will long recall him as an outstanding and steadfast champion of freedom. Freedom from the restrictions and subsidies with which the federal government alternately hampers and lures farmers. Freedom from oppression in many forms and places. Freedom for people everywhere to use and develop their God-given abilities.
Still others around the country will fondly remember the appearance of the Benson family on national TV, even though it happened more than three decades ago. It was a glimpse not just of a particular family but of family life as it should be; of a family whose members enjoyed each others' company; a family full of charm, talent and natural warmth.
No wonder one of his favorite themes from the pulpit - in addition to his strong emphasis on the Book of Mormon - was the need for family members to love and respect each other, and that a strong family can be one of the greatest fortresses against the evils of our day.
Those of us in the newspaper business will remember President Benson as a constant source of important news. For many decades, whatever he did or said made headlines.
In a significant sense, President Benson himself was not only a generator of news but a purveyor of the greatest news of all time. That overarching news, of course, is that the Son of God lives, that Christ's atoning sacrifice took place for all people, that when they put their trust in Jesus and obey his commandments, there is a way for them to gain salvation and exaltation.
In this vein, some will remember President Benson as he himself wished to be recalled. Not for his accomplishments in government, agriculture and politics - important as they were - but for his love for the gospel, for missionary work, and for the Book of Mormon as a key to converting people to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and a guide to living more righteously.
Finally, no assessment of President Benson's life would be complete without mentioning his devotion to Scouting. That devotion was reflected in the fact that he received all of Scouting's highest awards. The program appealed to him, of course, not just as a way of diverting youthful energies into constructive outlets or as a way of building young people's confidence by developing their skills. More important is the great impact Scouting has on building a strong personal character.
Which of these images reflects the real Ezra Taft Benson and how are they to be put in perspective? Although a definite answer would be both premature and presumptuous, one supremely important fact seems to provide a key. That fact involves the way President Benson centered his entire life on Jesus Christ. It also means that whenever Ezra Taft Benson had to make a choice as to which path to take, the work of God always came first.
One of President Benson's major challenges, like that of his immediate predecessors, has been coping with the worldwide expansion of the LDS Church. Since 1978, church membership has increased by 3 million. It topped 8.7 million by May 1994. Among other reasons, such rapid growth can be attributed to the church's strong emphasis on proselyting, with more than 48,700 full-time missionaries in the field, and its emphasis on the supreme importance of the family as an eternal unit and in helping to make society more stable and beneficial.
With his death this week, President Benson's historically important earthly work has now come to an end - but only as man usually measures such things. In a higher and truer sense, his outstanding accomplishments will keep going forward as his successors build upon the solid foundation he laid and as they continue the work of making the world better by helping people everywhere live more righteous and constructive lives.