Help--Sourcing a "quote"

[snoscythe]

I've been trying to source this quote that's been flooding my inbox the last week or two and is now taking over Mormon Facebook.

Problem is, I don't think Ezra Taft Benson ever said it. Can anyone find a source on this? Usually it's pretty simple to find sources on what apostles and prophets have said, but I'm coming up empty on this one:

[hawkwing]

Sounds made up.

[snoscythe]

As far as I can tell, the "quote" doesn't exist prior to 2012, when someone posted it on a blog and said it was "loosely attributed" to Ezra Taft Benson.

There's a number of Conservative LDS Blogs/articles out there from 2008 and before talking about voting and the lesser of two evils theory, and none of them ever mention this quote, much less attribute it to ETB.

My thinking is that this is a quote that, while I wish someone had said it, it just doesn't have the same precision as a political statement I would expect from Ezra Taft Benson, and its apparent genesis in 2012 and lack of sourcing lead me to believe it's something he never said.

[jvquarterback]

http://www.ldsliberty.org/why-you-vote- ... e-matters/

Person in the comments says it was a comment made by President Benson to some guy named Mike Thompson. She said to contact her if you had any questions.

[jvquarterback]

FWIW this was posted in 2011. No citation.

http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopi ... 6&start=60

Down in the comments someone posted this:

At this time, as we were talking, President Benson interrupted me and said this: “Mike, if you vote for the lesser of two evils you are still voting for evil and you will be judged for it. You should always vote for the best possible candidate, whether they have a chance of winning or not, and then, even if the worst possible candidate wins, the Lord will bless our country more because more people were willing to stand up for what is right.“

[BoiseBYU]

i think it sounds like something President Benson would say. Interestingly enough, I have also tried to nail down a source to verify and could not do so.

[snoscythe]

i think it sounds like something President Benson would say. Interestingly enough, I have also tried to nail down a source to verify and could not do so.

I don't think he ever said it, or at least the entire thing, because the last bit about the Lord blessing the country in my mind runs counter to some of the lessons in the Book of Mormon, most notably Mosiah 29:27--"And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." I don't see a follow-up verse where it says, 'unless some of you vote for the good guys, then forget what I just said about the voice of the people--I'll bless you all!'

I agree with the sentiment of what is attributed to President Benson, but I don't think he ever said it, and I disagree with the portion about the nation being blessed if they select wicked leaders if a small minority stands for morality. I think those who stand for morality will be blessed, but the nation as a whole will see the promise of Mosiah 29:27 fulfilled.

[jvquarterback]

Did some research on Mike Thompson. Apparently he was a state legislator from Orem. He wrote a letter to an Orem councilman in the 1980s saying he was chosen to save the constitution and someone sent out that letter to voters in the primary along with some personal correspondence he had received from President Benson. Thompson thinks that is why he lost the election. Not sure if that letter is the source of the quote or not but apparently he was in communication with President Benson.

[jvquarterback]

i think it sounds like something President Benson would say. Interestingly enough, I have also tried to nail down a source to verify and could not do so.

I don't think he ever said it, or at least the entire thing, because the last bit about the Lord blessing the country in my mind runs counter to some of the lessons in the Book of Mormon, most notably Mosiah 29:27--"And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." I don't see a follow-up verse where it says, 'unless some of you vote for the good guys, then forget what I just said about the voice of the people--I'll bless you all!'

I agree with the sentiment of what is attributed to President Benson, but I don't think he ever said it, and I disagree with the portion about the nation being blessed if they select wicked leaders if a small minority stands for morality. I think those who stand for morality will be blessed, but the nation as a whole will see the promise of Mosiah 29:27 fulfilled.

I don't know if President Benson said it and I hope you track down this Mike Thompson guy, but the attributed quote says "the Lord will bless our country more" so I don't think it's incongruent with the scripture you quoted.

[BoiseBYU]

i think it sounds like something President Benson would say. Interestingly enough, I have also tried to nail down a source to verify and could not do so.

I don't think he ever said it, or at least the entire thing, because the last bit about the Lord blessing the country in my mind runs counter to some of the lessons in the Book of Mormon, most notably Mosiah 29:27--"And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." I don't see a follow-up verse where it says, 'unless some of you vote for the good guys, then forget what I just said about the voice of the people--I'll bless you all!'

I agree with the sentiment of what is attributed to President Benson, but I don't think he ever said it, and I disagree with the portion about the nation being blessed if they select wicked leaders if a small minority stands for morality. I think those who stand for morality will be blessed, but the nation as a whole will see the promise of Mosiah 29:27 fulfilled.

I had not focused on the latter part of the quote. Focusing on the entire quote, I think you are right--I do not think President Benson said that, although I do note that had Lot found just five (or was it ten?) righteous people, the Lord would've sparred Sodom and Gumorrah..