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Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right
Contributor(s): Harris, Matthew L. (Author)
ISBN: 1607817713     ISBN-13: 9781607817710
Publisher: University of Utah Press
OUR PRICE:   $53.96  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: September 2020
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Christianity - Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints (mormon)
- Biography & Autobiography | Religious
Dewey: B
LCCN: 2019049800
Physical Information: 0.8" H x 6.2" W x 9.3" (1.00 lbs) 288 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Ezra Taft Benson is perhaps the most controversial apostle-president in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For nearly fifty years he delivered impassioned sermons in Utah and elsewhere, mixing religion with ultraconservative right-wing political views and conspiracy theories. His teachings inspired Mormon extremists to stockpile weapons, predict the end of the world, and commit acts of violence against their government. The First Presidency rebuked him, his fellow apostles wanted him disciplined, and grassroots Mormons called for his removal from the Quorum of the Twelve. Yet Benson was beloved by millions of Latter-day Saints, who praised him for his stances against communism, socialism, and the welfare state, and admired his service as secretary of agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Using previously restricted documents from archives across the United States, Matthew L. Harris breaks new ground as the first to evaluate why Benson embraced a radical form of conservatism, and how under his leadership Mormons became the most reliable supporters of the Republican Party of any religious group in America.