Two prominent Church members who served in high government positions were inducted posthumously into the Idaho Hall of Fame Sept. 20.
President Ezra Taft Benson and Terrel H. Bell - along with 10 other high profile people with Idaho ties - were honored during a ceremony at the University Inn in Moscow, Idaho. President Benson was honored for "outstanding achievement in government," and Brother Bell for "outstanding achievement in education."President Benson - president of the Church from 1985 until his death May 30, 1994 - was born in Whitney, Idaho. In addition to years of faithful Church service that included 42 years in the Quorum of the Twelve, he served as Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower Cabinet. Before his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, he helped organize the Idaho Cooperative Council and was executive secretary of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
Brother Bell, Secretary of Education under former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, began his career in education administration as superintendent of schools in Rockland, Idaho. He served in the Church as a regional representative and a member of the Sunday School General Board.
Both Present Benson and Brother Bell were represented at the induction ceremony by their family members.
Idaho's Hall of Fame, which has not yet been built, will be housed in Pocatello in a replica of the state's building that was entered in the 1893 world's fair in Chicago.
Speaking during the ceremony, Reed A. Benson, President Benson's son, said his father never forget his Idaho roots.
"Only two Mormon prophets are buried outside of the state of Utah - Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Ill., and Ezra Taft Benson in Whitney, Idaho," said Brother Benson. "He had requested that his remains lie in the sod of his rural roots, his beloved Idaho. He honored Idaho, and Idaho has honored him."
