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Buchanan’s and Other Blunders, Etc.

Buchanan’s and Other Blunders, Etc.

Last updated on: January 22, 2018 at 10:22 pm by Dan Peterson

Buchanan’s and Other Blunders, Etc. 2018-01-22T22:22:47-07:00 Dan Peterson

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The Mountain Meadows Massacre as imaginatively envisioned by somebody who wasn’t there. The fear and insecurity created by President Buchanan’s dispatch of American army troops to put down a nonexistent rebellion in Utah contributed powerfully to that ghastly event.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain)

Latter-day Saints have never been especially fond of President James Buchanan. And that’s not because we don’t remember him. On the contrary, we remember him more than most Americans do, because of his role in the so-called “Utah War” (1857-1858), which is sometimes termed “Buchanan’s Blunder.”

But guess what? It appears that there are others, including serious non-LDS historians, who hold him in extremely low esteem — even without reference to his treatment of Utah and the Mormons:

“The Worst Presidents? Look at America’s Run-up to the Civil War”

***

I’ve previously mentioned here that the remarkable Jeff Bradshaw — currently serving with his wife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission — has prepared a helpful little item for the next lesson in the Gospel Doctrine classes of the Church that I’m sure both students and teachers will appreciate:

“An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 4: ‘Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Opened’ (Moses 4; 5:1–15; 6:48-62)”

And now he’s posted one for the lesson after that:

“An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 5: ‘If Thou Doest Well, Thou Shalt Be Accepted’ (Moses 5-7)”

***

By the way, I hope that one of the resolutions that many Latter-day Saints made for New Year 2018 was to give serious attention to the Old Testament during this adult curriculum year, which is focused on the Old Testament.

Some surveys — e.g., this one — suggest that Mormons tend to do considerably better in terms of religious literacy, on average, than do most other religious groups But we shouldn’t be boastful, since those other groups don’t do overly well:

“Have Bible Quoters Replaced Bible Readers?”

“Biblical Illiteracy = Cultural Illiteracy. The Bible molded modern English and shaped American society and culture. Now, as attacks on the Museum of the Bible suggest, it has been cripplingly tossed aside.”

We have the capacity to do much better. And this is a very good year to begin that move forward:

“An Old Testament curriculum year beckons to us (or threatens us!)”

***

The same old same-old, put forth as if it had even a shred of credibility or intellectual respectability:

“Mormonism Isn’t Christian / Definition of Christianity”

I’ve already written on this topic — see my book Offenders for a Word — and I see nothing especially new or noteworthy in this reiteration of one of the old tired arguments.

On the specific issue of the Trinity, though, I’ve recently published an essay that, among other things, demonstrates Mr. Armstrong’s use of the Trinity as an instrument with which to define Mormonism out of Christendom to be badly misguided:

“Notes on Mormonism and the Trinity,” in Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson, eds., “To Seek the Law of the Lord”: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2017).

The book isn’t available online or in electronic form yet, but that will eventually come.

***

On the general topic of Latter-day Saints being Christian or not, this piece by Robert Boylan is useful:

“Early Latter-day Saints on ‘Mormonism’ being ‘Christian'”

***

Finally, for those who have worried about Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf since he was not invited to join the new First Presidency of the Church:

“Church leaders announce new assignments for Elder Uchtdorf”

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