Ezra Taft Benson, 13th President and Prophet of the LDS Church

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Ezra Taft Benson became the thirteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on November 10, 1985.

President Benson was born August 4, 1899, in Whitney, Idaho, and was the oldest of eleven children. He was named after his great-grandfather, Elder Ezra T. Benson, who had served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When he was a youth, his father was called on a mission. The family worked hard to keep up the farm while he was gone, but his father’s example touched the children, and all eleven served at least one full-time mission.

In 1918, Ezra Taft Benson enlisted in the army just as World War I was ending. He then pursued a career in farming and took courses from Utah State University in agriculture. In 1921, he was called on a mission to England. Following his mission, he attended Brigham Young University, where he was named the most popular man on campus and graduated with honors. He and his brother Orval also bought the family farm in Whitney and alternated running it.

On September 10, 1926, Benson married Flora Smith Amussen, a woman with many talents. She had won the women’s singles tennis championship in college and had served a mission to Hawaii. Together, they had six children.

To read more about him: MormonWiki