Ben E. Rich (1855–1913) was a leading missionary and spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the early 20th-century. He was also a publisher, novelist, and an active participant in politics.
Rich was born on November 7, 1855, the son of
Charles C. Rich
Charles Coulson Rich (August 21, 1809 – November 17, 1883) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He led one of the first groups of Mormon pioneers west from Illinois under the leadership of Brigham Young after Joseph Smith's mur ...
and his plural (polygamist) wife Sarah D. Pea. He first served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Great Britain from 1881 until 1883. For part of this time he oversaw the emigration of Church members from Britain to the United States. He worked as a salesman for Z.C.M.I and then as a store manager for the Goden Equitable Co-operative Store. In 1893 he moved to Rexburg, Idaho where he owned and operated the ''Rexburg Press'', later renamed the ''Silver Hammer'' and relocated to
St. Anthony, Idaho
St. Anthony is a city in and the county seat of Fremont County, Idaho, Fremont County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,542 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 3,342 in 2000.Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1898 he was made president of the Southern States Mission. When the mission was divided two years later, Rich continued as president of the newly formed Middle States Mission based in Washington, D.C. Upon the death of the president of the Southern States Mission, the Middle States Mission was dissolved and Rich was again assigned to preside over the Southern States Mission. In 1908, he was assigned to the Eastern States Mission, serving there as its president until the time of his death in 1913. As mission president in these areas, he was at the forefront of evangelizing the LDS Church during the Reed Smoot hearings and was involved in several highly publicized debates with leading Protestant preachers, most notably his debate with A. A. Bunner of the Church of Christ. Rich also authored a number of missionary tracts, often drawing on his experience with opposition to the Church, including calls often made by Protestant ministers to forcibly drive out the missionaries.Patrick Mason, ''The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South'', p. 167-168
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Andrew Jenson
Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...
, ''
LDS Biographical Encyclopedia
''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (abbreviated ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'') is a four-volume biographical di ...