I wish that we had more people like Bob Bennett in Congress.
I had some personal (and even professional) contact with former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett over the years, and the more I came to know him, the more I respected him.
I think I’ve mentioned this before: In the wake of the 11 September attacks, Senator Bennett decided that, like most Americans, he knew very little about Islam and the Middle East. Unlike most, though, he undertook a serious program of self-education on the subject — and I saw the fruits of that self-education more than once. I particularly recall a dinner at a private home in the DC suburbs, at which he offered an impromptu summary of the principal elements in the history of Islam. “Dr. Peterson will correct me if I’m wrong,” he said at several points. But I never needed to. His grasp of the history was genuinely impressive — far better, I think, than that of some Middle East Studies majors that I’ve taught. And I know that members of the Arab/Islamic diplomatic corps in Washington were impressed as well — and moved — by his seriousness in learning about them and about the great civilization to which they were heirs.
I also had occasion to read the manuscript of his book on the Book of Mormon, Leap of Faith, prior to its publication. Yet again, I was surprised and impressed.
And now, once again, I’m impressed — though, at this point, scarcely surprised — by his impassioned reaction to the bigoted and demagogic xenophobia of Mr. Donald Trump:
Bob Bennett was — and remains — a very good man. I disagreed with him sometimes. I was saddened to see him ousted in such an unceremonious way from public service, though I’m happy, too, with the service now offered by Mike Lee. At the most fundamental level, though, I’m proud that such a man as Bob Bennett represented my adopted home state in the Senate, and I’m proud of the way, on this issue and on others, that he represented me, my Church, and my fellow Latter-day Saints.
Posted from Richmond, Virginia
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