Top 200 Ezra Taft Benson Quotes (2024 Update)
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51. “Pride is characterized by “What do I want out of life?” rather than by “What would God have me do with my life?” It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

52. “Today the devil as a wolf in supposedly a new suit of sheep’s clothing is enticing some men to parrot his line by advocating planned government guaranteed security at the expense of our liberties.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

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

— Ezra Taft Benson

54. “If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self-esteem.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

55. “Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth; it is a matter of desire, diligence, and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

56. “The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

57. “I hope we can be happy where we are, be grateful for our blessings-now-here, accept the challenge that is ours and make the most of it, and don’t be envious of others. God help us to be grateful.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

58. “Clean hearts and healthful food, exercise, early sleep and fresh air, wholesome recreation and meditation combined with optimism that comes from fighting for the right and knowing you’ll eventually win for keeps – this is the tonic every true Christian patriot needs and deserves.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

59. “It is a truism that children need more of Mother than of money.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

60. “For years we have heard of the role the Elders could play in saving the Constitution from total destruction. But how can the Elders be expected to save it if they have not studied it and are not sure if it is being destroyed or what is destroying it.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

61. “Be cheerful in all that you do. Live joyfully. Live happily. Live enthusiastically, knowing that God does not dwell in gloom and melancholy, but in light and love.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

62. “Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does not mean fear. A man can be humble and fearless. A man can be humble and courageous.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

63. “I promise you that, with increased attendance in the temples of our God, you shall receive increased personal revelation to bless your life as you bless those who have died.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

64. “Temples are places of personal revelation. When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a prayer in my heart for answers. The answers have come in clear and unmistakable ways.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

65. “Families must spend more time together in work and recreation.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

66. “Some men are willing to die for their faith but will not fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us. By walking in his steps and through his atonement we can gain the greatest gift of all – eternal life – which is that kind of life of the great Eternal One, our Father in heaven.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

67. “God help us to be grateful for our blessings, never to be guilty of the sin of ingratitude, and to instill this same gratitude into the lives of our children.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

68. “Fidelity to one’s marriage vows is absolutely essential for love, trust and peace.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

69. “We must ever keep in mind that collectivized socialism is part of the communist strategy. Communism is fundamentally socialism. We will never win our fight against communism by making concessions to socialism.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

70. “Pride is the great stumbling block of Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block of Zion.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

71. “The Church has no double standard of morality. The moral code of heaven for both men and women is complete chastity before marriage and full fidelity after marriage.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

72. “We have a sacred responsibility to fulfill the threefold mission of the Church – first, to teach the gospel to the world; second, to strengthen the membership of the Church wherever they may be; third, to move forward the work of salvation for the dead.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

73. “Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else’s. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

74. “Mothers, take time to be a real friend to your children. Listen to your children, really listen. Talk with them, laugh and joke with them, sing with them, cry with them, hug them, honestly praise them. Yes, regularly spend unused one-on-one time with each child. Be a real friend to your children.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

75. “Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. ‘How everything affects me’ is the center of all that matters-self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

76. “A good name is still to be preferred over great riches. Especially it is to be preferred to the appearance of riches, aquired with nothing down and nothing to pay for 2 months.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

77. “Rights are either God-given as part of the divine plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

78. “What would God have me do with my life?”

— Ezra Taft Benson

79. “Periodic fasting can help clear up the mind and strengthen the body and the spirit.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

80. “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

81. “The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His Servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?”

— Ezra Taft Benson

82. “No true Latter-day Saint and no true American can be a socialist or a communist.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

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

— Ezra Taft Benson

84. “One of Satan’s greatest tools is pride: to cause a man or a woman to center so much attention on self that he or she becomes insensitive to his Creator or fellow beings. It is a cause for discontent, divorce, teenage rebellion, family indebtedness, and most other problems we face.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

85. “The proud wish God would agree with them. They are not interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

86. “Now, what of the entertainment that is available to our young people today? Are you being undermined right in your homes through your television, radio, slick magazines, and rock music records?”

— Ezra Taft Benson

87. “A young woman who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

88. “It is not enough simply to try to resist evil or empty our lives of sin. We must also fill our lives with righteousness.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

89. “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

90. “Freedom is an eternal principle. Heaven disapproves of force, coercion and intimidation. Only a free people can be truly a happy people.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

91. “You are the one who must decide whose thoughts you will entertain. You are free to choose-but you are not free to alter the consequences of those choices. You will be what you think about what you consistently allow to occupy the stage of your mind.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

92. “Take care of yourselves physically. Guard your health carefully. It is one of our greatest blessings. I especially encourage some type of exercise program so you can stay physically fit and physically capable in proportion to the demands on your body.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

93. “The God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government. And he has sent other choice spirits to preserve it.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

94. “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

95. “We do not find the Savior using force or coercion to accomplish His purposes.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

96. “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

97. “Every member of the priesthood should understand the divine plan designed by the Lord to raise up the first free people in modern times.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

98. “Records, radio, television, movies, magazines-all are monopolized by the money managers who are guided by one ethic, the words wealth and power.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

99. “Essentially, pride is a ‘my will’ rather than ‘thy will’ approach to life.”

— Ezra Taft Benson

100. “If we have any criticism of our leaders, we invite Satan into our lives and beliefs.”

— Ezra Taft Benson