I am a big, big fan of Lowell Bennion, even though he was a bit before my time. I’ve decided to post a quote from Brother B. now and again–to help express not only his, but my views on the gospel. I hope you enjoy.

From “The Best of Lowell L. Bennion: Selected Writings 1928-1988”, Edited by Eugene England, p. xxiii

“Learn to like what doesn’t cost too much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different…different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple, and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.”

–Lowell B. Bennion

3 Comments

  1. Anne Hutchinson December 22, 2005 at 6:28 pm

    John,

    Excellent quote from Bennion. (I don’t have this book .. so this is the first time I’m reading this quote.) Ironically, the first time I even read / “heard” about Bennion was through Sunstone magazine.

    His writings don’t seem to get much attention from the official LDS publications .. was he on some red-letter ‘list’ ?

    Recently, I downloaded Sunstone Symposium MP3 # SL88138 – Bennion’s “Moral Component of Religion” and thoroughly enjoyed his thoughful / non-dogmatic view of religion. Perhaps this MP3 would be a worthy addition to the Sunstone Podcast line-up.

    I’m not sure if Gen-X has a “Lowell Bennion” to enjoy in the 21st century; therefore, I look forward to more Bennion material…

  2. Faith-Promoting Rumor » Blog Archive » March Mormon Doctrine Madness: The Play-in game February 27, 2006 at 11:27 am

    […] Lowell Bennion was the first director of the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah and a professor of Sociology. His biography is reviewed here and here and who is quoted here. A brief biography is given here and here is a collection of works by him. […]

  3. Gideon March 16, 2006 at 9:08 pm

    I thoroughly enjoyed this quote from Lowell L. Bennion and would appreciate hearing more about him and others that were before my time.

    I’m not even sure if I fit into the Generation-X category and in fact our teachers referred to us as Generation-Y. Where does one go to find out more of these men.

    Thanks for the quote and I echo the remark of Anne, looking forward to more….

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