tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post8944567248734900096..comments2023-11-02T07:25:45.884-05:00Comments on Mormanity - a blog for those interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: New Respect for Brigham Young Leading the Mormon ExodusJeff Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-33049775046472735982012-09-16T02:59:48.846-05:002012-09-16T02:59:48.846-05:00According to members during Joseph Smith's tim...According to members during Joseph Smith's time Jos. Smith made various comments about his son taking the helm of the church one day. I am sure everyone knows the story after Jos. Smith was martyred. A young boy could not lead the Saints west; and some of the men who tried to take over would not have been strong enough leaders; Brigham Young was the one. There was a great lady in my church branch where I grew up, and she showed me the journal writings of one of her ancestors who was present when Brigham Young took on the appearance of Joseph Smith (when the members were fighting over who should lead the church) To read about it from someone who was actually there and in their handwriting was amazing. Janicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-92211155030060254992012-09-08T23:17:13.175-05:002012-09-08T23:17:13.175-05:00Truly he was an American Moses.
Well, OK, though ...<i>Truly he was an American Moses.</i><br /><br />Well, OK, though Moses never got to set foot in <i>his</i> Promised Land. And fortunately, unlike Joshua's Israelites, Young's LDS pioneers were never commanded by God to slaughter tens of thousands of innocent women and children....<br /><br />Personally, I think of Abraham Lincoln as the American Moses. Lincoln is as central to the American national myth as Moses is to the Jewish national myth. And, if we think of the American "promised land" as an America whose racial equality redeems its original sin of slavery, then we can see Lincoln, like Moses, as a hero who did not live to see the fruition of his work.<br /><br />I think of Brigham Young more narrowly as the Mormon Moses. And while he's not <i>the</i> American Moses I would agree that he's <i>an</i> American Moses. But there are others as well: just as impressive as Young (if not more so) is the Cheyenne chief Little Wolf, whose now largely forgotten story is recounted beautifully in Mari Sandoz's <i>Cheyenne Autumn</i>.<br /><br />-- EveningsunAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com