Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...

the Messiah. Indeed, both Benson and Woodruff seem to acknowledge that this will nothappen until after the gathering prophecy is fulfilled. This is not to imply that Benson, orMormons in general, had no intention of sharing his unique Christian faith with hisJewish brothers. Quite the contrary. He ends his message to the members of the LDSfaith in 1950 with an assurance that Christ will appear to the Jews at the Mount of Olives,during their “last great struggle,” and fight their battle for them, 107 and at that momentthey “shall know that [He] is the Lord.” 108 Likewise, in his message to the Jews in 1976,Benson ends with a testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and urges“all to give heed to the message given by God through him.” 109 Thus while reaching outto Jews in brotherhood, and espousing views common to many Christians, he also shareshis own understanding of the sense of fulfillment of prophecy relating to the Jews andtheir homeland. The difference is that Benson's support of Israel and the Jewish people isnot influenced by their acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ.Another aspect that contrasts with Benson's perspective was the guilt manyChristians felt at the horror of the Holocaust. While Benson felt keenly and personally itsdevastation, a point which he raises in all three of the talks discussed, and which appearsin various other political documents, he clearly does not share in the guilt for itsoccurrence. Indeed, he remains distinctly separate from it. His biographer, Sheri Dew,notes that upon visiting the crematorium in Dachau in 1946, he wrote in his journal: “Thescenes and statistics given made us shudder to realize how far men will go in evil and sin107108109Zechariah 14:1-21.Benson, “Jews Return to Palestine,” 5; see also Doctrine and Covenants 45:53.Benson, “Message to Judah”, 12.38