Ezra Taft Benson Quotes

“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Nothing will surprise us more than when we get to heaven and see the Father and realize how well we know Him and how familiar His face is to us.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The devil knows that if the elders of Israel should ever wake up, they could step forth and help preserve freedom and extend the gospel. Therefore the devil has concentrated, and to a large extent successfully, in neutralizing much of the priesthood. He has reduced them to Sleeping Giants.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The history of humanity has, to a large extent, been one of groping blindly in the dark, fearing for the future and yet resisting the guiding hand of inspired men who would willingly lead mankind in the path of safety.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The moment you begin a serious study of the scriptures, 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 straight and narrow path ... When you begin to hunger & thirst after those words, you will find life in greater abundance.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“We sometimes look among our numbers to find one to whom we can point who agrees with us, so we can have company to justify our apostasy. We rationalize by saying that someday the Church doctrine will catch up with our way of thinking. Truth is not established by Gallup polls.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Study the scriptures and study the mortals who have been most consistently accurate about the most important things. When your freedom and your eternal welfare are at stake, your information best be accurate.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high as or higher than we are.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden, and your own burden will be lighter.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“There will always be those little minds who, out of vanity or intellectual display, will attempt to destroy faith in the very foundations of life.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

No man is truly educated unless he knows where he came from, why he is here, and where he can expect to go in the next life.

— Ezra Taft Benson

Go on daddy-daughter dates and father-and-sons' outings with your children. As a family, go on campouts and picnics, to ball games and recitals, to school programs, and so forth. Having Dad there makes all the difference.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Sound principles and eternal truths need to be frequently repeated so that we do not forget their application nor become dissuaded by other arguments.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Efficient spending and saving will give the family more security, more opportunities, more education, and a higher standard of living.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Young people, you need the wisdom of age, just as some of us older ones need your enthusiasm for life.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Fear of men's judgment manifests itself in competition for men's approval.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Can human hearts be changed? Why, of course! It happens every day in the great missionary work of the Church. It is one of the most widespread of Christ's modern miracles. If it hasn't happened to you - it should.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

The seeds of divorce are often sown and the problems of children begin when Mother works outside the home.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Reading the Book of Mormon is one of the greatest persuaders to get men on missions.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Retirement from work has depressed many a man and hastened his death.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The condition of the physical body can affect the spirit.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“I have little need to remind you that water has become one of our major national concerns.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty of God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a Seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“We must share the gospel with others. That is our responsibility-every member a missionary. That is the call of prophets of God ... Member-missionary work is one of the great keys to the individual growth of our members. It is my conviction that member-missionary work will raise the spirituality in any ward where applied”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“There are some who apparently feel that the fight for freedom is separate from the Gospel. They express it in several ways, but it generally boils down to this: Just live the gospel; there's no need to get involved in trying to save freedom and the Constitution or stop communism ... Should we counsel the people, 'Just live your religion - there's no need to get involved in the fight for freedom?' No we should not, because our stand for freedom is a most basic part of our religion.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“One of the cardinal sins in our country is profanity
the taking of the name of the Lord in vain. Reverence for the name of Deity is enjoined in holy writ. Jesus made this clear when teaching His disciples to pray. He said, addressing the Father, "Hallowed be thy name: (see Matthew 6:9). Blaspheming the name of God separates man from his Creator."”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“When you choose to follow Christ,
you choose to be changed.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord's counsel, wheat should have high priority. Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

The high cost of low living.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“A missionary who is inspired by the Spirit of the Lord must be led by that Spirit to choose the proper approach to be effective. We must not forget that the Lord Himself provided the Book of Mormon as His chief witness. The Book of Mormon is still our most powerful missionary tool. Let us use it.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Do not be caught up in materialism, one of the real plagues of our generation-that is, acquiring things, fast-paced living, and securing career success.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“A man must not only stand for the right principles, but he must also fight for them. Those who fight for principle can be proud of the friends they've gained and the enemies they've earned.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Just as a man does not desire food until he is hungry, so does he not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true. The book is its own proof.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Happy and successful homes cannot be built on immorality.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Humility responds to God's will-to the fear of His judgments and to the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts. Someone has said, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man."”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“Have you ever asked yourself why one person is honorable and another dishonorable; why one is honest, another dishonest; why one is moral, another immoral? Most individuals do not intend to be dishonest, dishonorable, or immoral. They seem to allow their characters to erode by a series of rationalizations, lies, and compromises. Then when grave temptation presents itself, they haven't the strength of character to do what they know to be right.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“The Holy Ghost causes our feelings to be more tender. We feel more charitable and compassionate with each other. We are more calm in our relationships. We have a greater capacity to love each other. People want to be around us because our very countenances radiate the influence of the Spirit. We are more godly in our character. As a result, we become increasingly more sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and thus able to comprehend spiritual things more clearly.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“If you want to get the spirit of the gospel in your home, support the missionary program. Prepare your sons and daughters through your home evenings; through setting the proper example in your homes. Prepare to send them into the mission field. These young sons and daughters will bless your names forever if you help to make it possible through your training and your example and your willingness to sacrifice just a little, if you can call it sacrifice, to see them go into the mission field.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“To be a successful missionary one must have the Spirit of the Lord. We are also taught that the Spirit will not dwell in unclean tabernacles. Therefore, one of the first things a missionary must do to gain spirituality is to make sure his own personal life is in order.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Only Jesus Christ is uniquely qualified to provide that hope, that confidence, and that strength we need to overcome the world and rise above our human failings. To do so, we must place our faith in Him and live by His laws and teachings.

— Ezra Taft Benson

Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?

— Ezra Taft Benson

Woman was given to man as an helpmeet. That complementary association is ideally portrayed in the eternal marriage of our first parents - Adam and Eve. They labored together; they had children together; they prayed together; and they taught their children the gospel together. This is the pattern God would have all righteous men and women imitate.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“To the patriots I say this: Take that long eternal look. Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost. Stand up and be counted. It can help to save your soul-and maybe your country.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“"On my honor" - what an ennobling phrase! Three short words, nine letters, but the summation of all we call character. From the Boy Scout's Oath.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

“We have many responsibilities, and one cannot expect the full blessings of a kind Providence if he neglects any major duty. A man has duties to his church, his home, his country, and his profession or job.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

Making decisions is probably the most important thing people ever do. Nothing happens until someone makes a decision.

— Ezra Taft Benson

“When we set goals we are in command. If we know where we are going, we can judge more accurately where we are now and make effective plans to reach our destination.”

— Ezra Taft Benson