The Standard of Truth: 1815–1846 (Saints, #1)

by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

William Law’s apostasy was upsetting but not unprecedented. “I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God,” Joseph told a congregation on a chilly Sunday early in 1844, “but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions.” Since the organization of the church, Joseph had seen men and women leave the faith when they disagreed with the principles he taught or when he fell short of their notions of what a prophet should be. Those who broke with the church often left peacefully. But as men like Ezra Booth, Warren Parrish, and John Bennett had shown, sometimes those who fell away fought against the prophet, the church, and its teachings, often leading to violence against the Saints. The course William would take was yet to be seen.