At a campaign rally in Arizona, Utah Senator Mike Lee tried to compare Donald Trump to the book of Mormon figure Captain Moroni:
Beginning at 0:26, Lee’s comments are: “To my Mormon friends, my Latter-day Saint friends. Think of him as Captain Moroni. He seeks not power, but to pull it down. He seeks not the praise of the world or the fake news, but he seeks the well-being and the peace of the American people.” (KUTV)
The practice of drawing comparisons is very common in public life—we regularly compare presidents, wars, and economic downturns. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often use the terms “apply” or “liken” to describe the process of making an analogy from a scripture passage or historical story to our present experience.
Despite being a common practice, the art and craft of analogy making is frequently muddled. It is helpful to think of analogies as things that must be built carefully. We must first define categories for comparing. Next, we identify correct information about the things we want to compare for each category. Then we compare the information, testing to be sure that the comparisons are valid.
How to Build a Sound Analogy
1. Define categories for comparing.
2. Identify correct information to compare.
3. Ensure that each comparison is valid.
Senator Lee’s attempt at an analogy does not make it through the first step. He loosely identifies categories, but then he simply turns the categories into assertions of his position. The Senator provides no information about the activities of Captain Moroni or Donald Trump as the evidence for his comparison (step 2) so we have no way to verify that his comparison is valid (step 3).
Lee’s categories come loosely from paraphrasing Alma 60:36, which records these words from Moroni: “I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country.” When observing analogies, always pay attention to the things omitted. Why does the Senator leave out interest in “the glory of my God” from his endorsement of President Trump? Also look for counter evidence—is there also evidence for seeking power or seeking the honor of the world?
Because Senator Lee did not finish the work of making a sound comparison, here is a tool you can use to complete all three steps! I’ve provided some information to get things started, but I’ve left some things blank for you to continue the work. For evidence about Captain Moroni’s life, see Alma 48:11-18 and Alma 43-62 generally. As you supply information, verify that your information is correct and verifiable in documented sources.
Good luck! May your analogies ever be sound, and may you never be fooled by those who make incomplete comparisons!
| Categories | Captain Moroni | Donald Trump |
| Seeks not for power | –Yielded command of the army to live in peace (Alma 62:43) | [Insert evidence here] |
| Seeks for power | –No evidence in Alma 43-62 | –Stated on multiple occasions he may not accept the results of the election or leave office if he loses (source) –Hosted a military parade with tanks to demonstrate power (source) –Frequently praises authoritarian rulers (source) |
| Seeks to pull down power | –Worked with allies to remove king men (Alma 62) | [Insert evidence here] |
| Seeks not for honor of the world | [Insert evidence here] | [Insert evidence here] |
| Seeks for praise of the world | –No evidence in Alma 43-62 | –Obsessed with TV ratings (source) –Expects praise in exchange for federal disaster assistance (source) |
| Seeks the glory of God | –His Title of Liberty opens with remembrance of God (Alma 46:12) | –Rarely attends church (source) –Mocks the faith of Latter-day Saints and others (source) –Posed for a photo-shoot at a church (source) |
| Seeks the well-being of people | –Prepared for war by building forts (Alma 48:8-9) –Led armies in defense of his people (Alma 43-62) | –Ignored scientific evidence to hold rallies that likely killed an estimated 700 people (source) –Never served in the military, despite multiple opportunities (source) |
