Ensign:

5/1975:63-65
President Ezra Taft Benson

[Note: Shortly after becoming President of the Church, Pres. Benson re-read on at least one occasion his speech given 11 years earlier (in the Ensign). It contains the critical passage:]

"Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book (Book of Mormon) to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, etc." (p. 65 ibid)

[By May 1987 (e.g. Wilford Regional Conference, SLC, unpublished) two of these items had been dropped from the list. In January 1988, the speech, in this amended form, was published as the formal message from the President of the Church (Ensign Jan 1988:3-5):]

"Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, rationalism, etc." (p. 5)

[On at least one occasion since, he has delivered the speech (unpublished) in virtually its original form.]


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