Ezra Taft Benson

submitted by: Anden Combs

---

---

The ancestor I chose to write about is Ezra Taft Benson. He is my 8th cousin 3 times removed. I chose him cus’ he was a prophet and because I was named after him. I was interested in him because he was just so much like me! It was like having another me, but older.

I love science! It’s awesome! Ezra loved science too. He liked the science of plants most and I admire that. This is just one reason I loved learning about him.

These are some traits I admire about him: he was the oldest; he was a prophet; he could make friends with anyone; and he never gave up! His biggest challenge was when he was 12 years old, his dad left on a mission for 2 years. Ezra had to be the man of the house. The rest of his family counted on him. He would do chores early in the morning & after school. He had to milk the cows, work in the field, and even comfort his siblings when they were sad. It was hard work, but he overcame it by never giving up.

Ezra was born on August 4th, 1899 in Whitney, ID and died on May 30,1994. He had 10 siblings, 6 brothers and 4 sisters. He married Flora Benson on September 10, 1926 and had 6 kids. He became prophet on November 10,1985. He died when he was 94 years old.

The impact I got after I read about him is now I want to work harder to achieve my life goals. Here is one memory of Ezra: when my dad was 5 years old, he attended a regional conference with my grandma & grandpa in Colorado. They sat in the bottom rows and the side of a huge arena at a University. They were about 30 feet away from President Benson. President Benson was smiling and waving to everyone. My dad remembers President Benson smiled right at him and waved to him. He remembers feeling something special being so close to the prophet and even wrote a letter to President Benson telling him he loved him. Now that you know more about Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, I hope that you’ll keep learning and never give up.