(Image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Joseph Smith, Founder of the Church
Nowhere in his new e-book on Joseph Smith’s 1844 presidential crusade does historian Spencer McBride mention existing politicians through a call as he explores the church founder’s struggle against discrimination.
But Tamarra Kemsley does so in her portrayal of “Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Murderers, and the Struggle for American Religious Freedom” in the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Of note, for example, Republican Donald Trump’s 2015 call for Muslims to be excluded from the United States and the LDS Church’s condemnation of such a policy. Kemsley also points out the contrasting positions of utah’s two Republican senators, whether latter-day Saints.
“Mike Lee Trump to a hero [Captain Moroni] directly from the Book of Mormon who came here to save the country from a tyrannical and secular left,” he wrote. “Like mainstream Protestants who hate Mormons before him, he translates devout freedom to signify the continued dominance of mainstream Christianity, of which he regards Mormonism as a member.
“Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has described Trump and Trumpism as an ethical and existential risk to the nation, as part of his tendency to make minorities scapegoats, adding devout minorities. “
So, Kemsley concludes, there’s a lot to report on McBride’s new volume beyond the situations provided by Smith’s long-term offer to the White House. He wondered if the church and its members had “fully embraced the tolerant views” of their first prophet. “In this context, ‘Joseph Smith for President’ is both a warning and a story. “
Listen to McBride talk about his eBook on a recent podcast from The Salt Lake Tribune’s “Mormon Land. “
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