Flora Amussen Benson (July 1, 1901 – August 14, 1992) was the wife of

Ezra Taft Benson Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and ...

, the 13th

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), and mother of

Reed Benson Reed Amussen Benson (January 2, 1928 – August 24, 2016) was an American academic and professor of religion at Brigham Young University who was the national director of public relations for the John Birch Society. During his career, Benson was no ...

, political activist. Flora Amussen was the daughter of jeweler Carl Christian Amussen and his wife, Barbara McIsaac Smith. Flora was born in Logan, Utah. Her father died when she was only 15 months old, however he was able to leave a good legacy and so she was raised in relative comfort. She attended elementary school in California and Utah, and graduated from

Brigham Young College Brigham Young College was a college and high school in Logan, Utah. It was founded by Brigham Young on 6 August 1877, 23 days before his death. He deeded several acres of land to a board of trustees for the development of a college. This was ...

. Amussen attended Utah State Agricultural College, now

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

, where she met Benson. At Utah State, she was a tennis player, winning the colleges women's singles title. She also served as student body vice president and president of the Women's Athletic Club on campus. She served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the LDS Church in Hawaii. As part of her mission, she taught in the LDS Church-run elementary school in

Laie, Hawaii Laie ( haw, Lāie, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Koolauloa District on the island of Oahu () in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, means " leaf" ( is a climbing screwpine: ''Freycinetia arborea''). The p ...

. Her mother was later called on a mission to Hawaii and they served as companions in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. After her return from her mission, Flora dated Benson again and they were engaged within two months of her return. They were married in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

by Orson F. Whitney who had been Ezra's

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...

. At the time of their marriage Flora gave up control of many stocks and bonds to her mother so that she and Ezra would earn all their money together. Immediately after their marriage the Bensons traveled to Iowa in a Model-T, camping along the way. In Ames, Iowa Benson studies home economics at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

while her husband worked on his master's degree. After that the Bensons returned to Ezra's home town of

Whitney, Idaho Whitney is a small unincorporated community in the Cache Valley of Franklin County, Idaho, United States. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. Close to the border with Utah, Whitney lies on U.S. 91 between Pres ...

where they ran a farm. While her husband was Secretary of Agriculture, Flora on one occasion declined an invitation to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

so that she could attend a choir performance by one of her daughters. She was however heavily involved in the 1956 Eisenhower reelection campaign. On occasion she would host Mrs. Eisenhower and the wives of cabinet members in her home. She would do so with only her daughters helping to prepare the meal, never hiring outside help. She also attended all press conferences and congressional hearing where her husband spoke. Benson served with her husband in Europe during the 1960s, when he was

of the European

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 ...

, based out of

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

. In the LDS Church, she also served in a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

presidency, as what would now be called ward Young Women president, as a member of a stake Young Women board, and as a teacher in both the Primary and Sunday School organizations. In 1955, she was named Homemaker of the Year by the Washington D.C. chapter of National Home Fashion Magazine. In 1992, Benson was given

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

's Exemplary Womanhood award.''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...

'', April 18, 1992

Notes

References

*''

'', Aug. 22, 1992 * Sheri L. Dew. ''Ezra Taft Benson: A Biography''. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1987) p. 67-79, 84-88. *Derin Head Rodriguez
"Flora Amussen Benson: Handmaiden of the Lord, Helpmeet of a Prophet, Mother in Zion"
''

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

'', March 1987, p. 14 *''Deseret News'', Aug 15, 1992. ''Flora Benson Comes to the End of a Full Life''
''Salt Lake Tribune'' obituary for Flora Benson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Flora 1901 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries Female Mormon missionaries Brigham Young College alumni American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Mormon missionaries in Hawaii Latter Day Saints from Idaho American Mormon missionaries in the United States People from Logan, Utah Latter Day Saints from Washington, D.C. Utah State University alumni Iowa State University alumni Latter Day Saints from Iowa Benson family Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from California American expatriates in Germany Idaho Republicans