....Michael T. Benson. I know him personally (spent a couple hours with him on 3 different occasions).
After stints as President of Snow College and Southern Utah U, he is now the top man at Eastern Kentucky.
This dude counts as friends senators, a couple of foreign leaders, extremely wealthy aristocrats; yet can hang with freshman students or the average Joe on the street. He has such an amazing, likeable personality-----people seem to be naturally drawn to him.
Mike can play basketball, run cross-country, golf, play the piano and other things.
ANY achievement in life that Michael desires, would not surprise me if he realizes it.
He is surely LDS....but I strongly sense that there is a crack in the armor somewhere. I would not refer to him as a TBM. I may be dead wrong, but I really do sense that he has some doubts. My guess is that the possibility of him leaving the faith sometime in the next 15 years is real.
He makes accomodations, as necessary, to his Mormon family/cultural reality but he is an independent and intelligent thinker. He is a well-rounded, well-traveled, action-oriented individual who places high value on using one's critical faculties in problem-solving and for standing by one's own convictions.
I have a pretty good sense of where Mike is on his personal journey. (We have always had good, honest communication, even when we disagree; that said, we don't always disagree).
It would not surprise me if Mike at some point essentially puts Mormonism on the shelf in terms of his personal belief situation but I'm not sure that he would actually leave the Church.
Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2013 12:04AM by steve benson.
I attended Snow College during his first year as president. He was indeed very popular, great speaker although I never attempted to speak to him (there were a couple occasions where I could have.) I did hear him play Gershwin the first year the performing arts building opened. Good to know he's Steve's brother-- was wondering how they are related.
Reflecting on my past life I can with all honesty state that I have never met a Morgman who was not a batshit-crazy-control-freak willing to lie to children to maintain their status in the cult.
It's the only true cult. All other cults are an abomination.
AnointedOne, for sure. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for his pure heart which led him to sacrifice comfort and community for truth and integrity. His example of doing the right thing encourages me to become more authentic in my life's journey.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2013 03:32AM by oldwoman.
After being on this board for a while, I realize she must have been riddled with guilt about dating me, a non-mo. A lot of guilt. :) A whole lot of guilt. :)
My Grandparents, who live/lived mormonism about as wholely as it can be lived. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to devote their lives to service in the church without ever leaving any of their kids or grandkids feeling neglected. (And they have a LOT of kids and grandkids) They walked the walk, not just the talk. For all its faults and scamminess, whoever said mormonism doesn't produce anything good never met my grandparents.
I don't "know" in the present-tense any Mormons, as they are all shunning me. Many are accomplished, but when someone is rude, arrogant, or mean to my children, I can't possibly consider them to be any kind of human being I would emulate. I've become very un-impressed by Mormons as a group and individually.
I knew Steve Covey well, and he was the real deal. His overconfidence alienated some people--especially the old-school BYU professors--and he lived a rather frantic life (he shot himself in the foot) and simply bit off more than he could chew--too many children, too much traveling, everything in excess. But a nice guy, who always was friendly to me, even when I was "nothing." His books contained good common sense, and I worked in an office (non Mormon office) which followed his business model in how to handle employees--and it really worked! The Mormons who were upset with Steve were the old-school MOrmons who didn't want to change. "Win-win", "An abundance mentality". He taught generosity and cooperation. What's not to like?
I met Rick Searfoss, retired astronaut. He seemed like a sharp enough guy but had donut powder on his face. Still flies rocket planes for XCOR Aerospace. Cool, I guess, but I wasn't that impressed with his astronautdom. A fews years later I found out he was a Mormon. Figured that might explain something.
My husband. Then my children: They are not all Mormons now, but they conduct their lives in a manner that is impressive. (Next are my grand children!)
He understood his religious beliefs and practiced them in an honorable manner. Our marriage relationship lasted for over 50 years because he lived his religion, particularly the 11th Article of Faith: We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
He also epitomized the Boy Scout Law: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
The Scout Law was printed on his program for his services. Anyone that knew him in any capacity whatsoever knew he was all of those things, always.