Join us as historian Matthew Harris returns to discuss what happens when members of the Mormon Church First Presidency go rogue. We explore George Romney's support of Civil Rights versus Ezra Taft Benson's involvement with the John Birch Society. We'll also dive into the impact of white church members marching in the Civil Rights Movement and how figures like Stewart Udall, Cleon Skousen, Robert Welch, and Hugh B. Brown challenged the Brethren at Church Headquarters with their views and publications. We are thrilled to announce that we have reached our donation goal to compensate Dr. Matt Harris for his contributions to this series. We sincerely thank everyone who supported this effort. While the goal to pay Matt has been met, producing this series incurred significant costs for the Open Stories Foundation. If you find value in this content and want to help cover these expenses and support future productions, we encourage you to donate at https://www.mormonstories.org/donate/ Your generosity makes a difference—thank you! Purchase Matt Harris’ book “Second Class Saints” https://www.amazon.com/Second-Class-Saints-Mormons-Struggle-Equality/dp/019769571X/ Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/mormon-politicians-confront-racism/ 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:17 George Romney 00:08:55 Apostle Legrand Richards submits Romney’s name for the Quorum of the 12 00:13:12 Letter from Delbert Stapley 00:17:25 Contradictions with legal rights 00:19:57 Reading from Stapley’s letter 00:25:35 Context for this quote 00:30:35 Romney on the church’s race teachings 00:38:00 Benson also runs for office, it looks bad for the church 00:46:14 Hugh B. Brown 00:56:00 Segregation in Utah and Salt Lake 01:02:12 Why Brigham Young instituted the ban 01:09:46 Reading the statement “presenting it as his own” 01:19:50 White Mormon allies picketing 01:27:18 Reading the account of Kimball 01:37:33 Ezra Taft Benson 01:43:45 Robert Welch 01:49:05 W. Cleon Skousen 01:54:40 Why did people think King was a communist? 02:06:03 Brown and Benson interaction 02:20:30 Stewart Udall 02:30:37 Udall writes the article with the help of McMurrin and Benion 02:44:00 Publications by Benson against Civil Rights 02:48:35 Preview for what they will talk about next ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117