In 1965 Reed Benson endorsed the claim of Robert W. Welch Jr., that former President Dwight D. Eisenhower had been a Communist agent. Benson was critical of the civil rights movement, which he felt was being controlled by communists. In July 1965, the NAACP called for all Third World nations to refuse to grant visa to missionaries of the LDS Church for its "doctrine of non-white inferiority," and planned to protest the churches October general conference. In response, Benson wrote a memorandum to all Birch Society chapters instructing them to spread rumors that the protesters planned violent riots:  ""It is common knowledge that the Civil Rights Movement is Communist controlled, influenced and dominated. ... when necessary we must adopt the communist technique in our ever present battle against Godless Communism. It is urged that in the coming weeks the Utah Chapters begin a whispering campaign and foster rumors that the Civil Rights groups are going to organize demonstrations in Salt Lake City in connection with the forthcoming LDS conference. ... A few well placed comments will soon mushroom out of control and before the conference begins there will be such a feeling of unrest and distrust that the populace will hardly know who to believe. The news media will play it to the very hilt. No matter what the Civil Rights leaders may try to say to deny it the seed will have been sown and again the Civil Rights movement will suffer a telling blow."" Soon a near-hysteria was created in Utah over imminence of feared upcoming riots. Rumors of professional demonstrators and rioters prompted the Utah National Guard to begin riot control maneuvers. The NAACP issued a statement in an effort to calm fears that they were planning a riot, stating, "The NAACP deplores the malicious and totally irresponsible rumors circulating in many sections of the state to the effect that Negroes are planning a riot at the LDS conference." There were no riots or demonstrations at the 1965 general conference, and the Birch Society's role in creating the rumors created resentment among many in the LDS Church. Benson wrote his 1981 Ed.D. dissertation at BYU on the development of a home school. This was one of the first doctoral dissertations written in the United States on the subject of homeschooling. From 1975 to 1978, Benson served as president of the Louisville Kentucky Mission of the LDS Church. Benson lived in the Pleasant View neighborhood of Provo, Utah. In 2001 Benson and his wife, May Hinckley Benson, were honored with the Elijah Award for their contribution to the advancement of homeschooling. Benson fathered nine children, all of whom were home schooled.