Lowell Lindsay Bennion (July 26, 1908 – February 21, 1996) was an American educator, sociologist, and humanitarian. He wrote extensively on religious living in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), and was an advocate for volunteer service in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Biography

Bennion was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, the son of

Milton Bennion Milton Bennion (June 7, 1870 – April 5, 1953) was an American educator and a university and educational administrator. Biography Bennion was born in Taylorsville, Utah Territory. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Utah in 1897 an ...

and Cora Lindsay Bennion. In 1928, Bennion graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, married Merle Colton and then left to serve in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

–German

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the LDS Church.. Bennion spent much of his mission in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, where he served as

branch president A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, the ...

. After serving two and a half years as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Bennion began studies towards his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

. His wife came to France to live with him at about this point. After earning his Ph.D. in sociology in 1933, Bennion returned to Utah and founded the

Institute of Religion An Institute of Religion is a local organization that provides religious education for young adults (ages 18–30) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Local institutes may function in church meetinghous ...

adjacent to the University of Utah in 1934. Bennion later founded the Teton Boys Ranch and served as its director for many years. He served as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the LDS Church. The first

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

and

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...

s in Utah were founded by Bennion.

Publications

* * * * * Expanded from his 1953 Sunday School manual. * * * * * * * *

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Lowell Bennion Community Service Center (University of Utah)

Inventory of the Lowell Lindsay Bennion papers (housed at University of Utah Library)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennion, Lowell L. 1908 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries 20th-century American educators American humanitarians American Latter Day Saint writers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Germany American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland American sociologists Church Educational System instructors Mormon studies scholars Sociologists of religion Sociology educators University of Strasbourg alumni University of Utah alumni University of Utah faculty Writers from Salt Lake City