Pa.
Well; who cares what people think?
You better care.
Joshua.
Joshua!
He did try to warn us.
You"ve ruined me. Do you hear me?
You"ve ruined me. The baby.
Did Joshua do this to you?
l"ll never forgive my son Joshua for what he did.
We were a family before Joseph Smith
and his Mormon religion divided us.
Then came the mobs and the lies and the hatred.
Joseph Smith and the Mormons were driven off their land
in Missouri by the mobs.
God"s land of Zion was lost.
So the Mormons put all their faith
into finishing their Holy Temple in ohio;
three hard years of work and sacrifice.
Today is March 27; 1836;
and Joseph is dedicating the Temple to the glory of God.
o Lord God of lsrael;
accept this house; the workmanship of thy servants.
We have done this out of our poverty.
Remember Thy suffering saints; o our God;
and we will rejoice in Thy name forever.
We"ll sing;
and we"ll shout with the armies of Heaven.
Hosanna; hosanna to God and the Lamb.
Let glory to them in the highest be given
henceforth and forever; amen and amen.
Zion shall be redeemed with judgement
and her converts with righteousness.
That"s chapter one of lsaiah.
That"s right;
chapter 1 verse 27 in your old Testament.
lt"s very good; Mr. Smith.
Do you believe that?
Zion; yes; it"s in the Scripture.
Yes; l believe it.
Your turn; Mr. Young.
Why do l do this?
l have a hard enough time with English.
Excuse me.
oh; no; no; no;
but someone would like to say good night to her papa.
l"ll put her down.
one moment; gentlemen.
And you; Mr. Smith;
do you believe that Zion will be redeemed?
l know it will be.
Nathan; get some water.
WIlliam; come with me.
You there!
Come back.
Did they do this because l am here?
No.
They do this because l"m here.
Any ideas who it might be?
You remember Symonds Ryder?
l do.
l remember when he was baptised.
He grabbed your hand with both of his;
and he said;
Joseph; l"ll stand by you come hell or high water.
And then l spelled his name wrong in a revelation;
with an l instead of a Y.
Sometimes l don"t know who my friends are.
We got the fire out.
Do you have any idea who it was?
Could have been worse.
Joshua.
What are you doing out of bed; son?
What hurt your back?
A man a long time ago.
Why"d he do it?
All right; that"s enough; Joshua.
Lydia.
Come here.
l just went to try and talk some sense into someone once.
lnstead; l said some really mean; hurtful things;
and then l got hurt.
Does that man live in Kirtland?
No; Joshua; he"s a long way from here.
That"s Mr. Richard Wesley.
Pardon?
Best cotton factory in all of Savannah.
You see that?
That means Mr. Wesley wants that load.
Well; what if someone else wants it?
lf Mr. Wesley wants it; he"ll get it.
ln a week or so; that cotton will be on its way
to England or Boston; l"ll bet you.
or Missouri.
ln the market for cotton?
What you need is someone who knows
the ins and outs of this business.
And who would that be;
your pa?
My pa"s dead; sir.
l"m sorry.
l"m talking about me.
ln the cotton business; it"s who you know.
l suppose you know just about everybody.
Pretty much.
Now; l"m guessing this service isn"t for free; is it?
l won"t be charging you anything.
of course; when we"re done...
Will!
lf my services are worth something--
WIll?
Will!
WIll; where on Earth have you been?
Did l or did l not tell you to stay where l could see you?
You are in trouble; mister; believe you me.
l"m up there trying to keep a roof over our heads;
and l don"t need you running off like an l-don"t-know-what.
Ma"am;
it"s not his fault.
Excuse me?
l just arrived here from Missouri;
and Mr. WIll was kind enough to be showing me
the ins and outs of the cotton business.
Will; give it back.
Mister...
Joshua Steed.
l"m sorry; Mr. Steed. How much did he take from you?
Excuse me?
How much did he charge you for showing you the ins and outs?
Not a penny.
Honest; Mama; l wasjust trying to help him out.
Honest.
All the same; it"s time you were coming home.
Pleased to meet you; Mr. Steed.
Now; ma"am; l don"t know how they do things down South;
but where l"m from; when a man gives his word;
he"s expected to keep it.
Now; l gave my word to Mr. Will as a gentleman
that he would show me
the ins and outs of the cotton business.
Now; l know l did that without asking you;
and for that; l apologize.
But a man"s word is his bond.
Excuse me; l didn"t catch your name.
lt"s Caroline; Caroline Mendenhall.
Well; l don"t know how it is out West;
but here; gentlemen don"t take 12-year-old boys with them
to do their business.
Well; heck; Mrs. Mendenhall; in Missouri;
we have 12 -year-olds running for governor.
How long are you in town; Mr. Steed?
As long as it takes.
Will; you be home in time for supper.
Now; Mr. WIll; l believe you were going to show me something.
You did pretty good... for a first timer.
Thanks to you; Mr. WIll.
l just got your foot in the door.
You did the rest.
You sure this is all right?
of course; she"d be offended if you didn"t come.
Evening; sir.
WIll you be staying for dinner?
l; uh--
Yes; he will; Eli.
Will; honey--
Ms. Mendenhall.
Mr. Steed.
Will was just saying that...
You"ll stay for supper; Mr. Steed?
l don"t mean to come waltzing in unannounced.
Nonsense; it wouldn"t be any trouble at all.
Then l accept.
You run and wash up; young man.
Eli; would you set another place; please?
Yes; and thank you; ma"am.
Come on; little fella.
You"re sure it"s not a problem?
Quite sure.
Come on; you heard your mama.
Come on; wash up.
Thank you. Thank you; Eli.
This is really quite good; ma"am.
l enjoy some time in the kitchen now and again.
Which is every day since we let the help go.
More wine; ma"am?
Except for Eli.
She"s getting better; though.
William...
l can most definitely tell
that you"re not from around these parts.
Maryland until about seven years ago.
l never thought l"d be staying this long;
but then my husband died; and; well;
here we are.
Well; isn"t that something.
You folks being from Maryland; me from Missouri.
And here we are.
Yes; isn"t that something.
Did you grow up in Missouri?
Uh; no; Vermont; mostly.
Really?
My late husband was from Vermont.
What part are you from?
Rutland.
And your family"s still there?
No; not any more.
How do you like Savannah; Mr. Steed?
What l"ve seen so far; l like very much.
Tell me about Missouri.
lt"s got a rugged beauty all its own
with wide-open spaces and deep skies;
deep skies that can turn on you in a heartbeat.
ls it very dangerous?
No; not very; once you get to know it.
See; the future of these United States
is in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
The future is in lndependence.
How does a man like you stay a bachelor this long?
What kind of a question is that?
An honest one.
Well; l guess l just haven"t found the right gal.
Gal?
How do you like Savannah; Mr. Steed?
What l"ve seen so far; l like very much.
Come on; love.
Papa Steed?
l"ve got something to say.
And what might that be?
l"ll be heading back to Missouri.
There"s a group heading out next Thursday.
Me and Rachel--Rachel and l will be riding with the owens.
Jessica.
lt"s something l"ve been thinking about for a while.
A letter came from Bishop Partridge.
He says that things are settling down.
They need a schoolteacher.
lt"s gonna be tough on Joshua.
He"s got nothing to do with this.
l meant little Joshua.
He"s gonna miss Rachel.
Father Steed; l have to go.
l just can"t see why anybody would want to go back there.
There"s still saints there.
Maybe not in Jackson County but in Missouri.
They still hope for Zion.
Zion.
lf there is such a place; it"s not in Missouri.
l feel like l"m supposed to be there;
like there"s something there waiting for me.
Why are you going back to Missouri?
Please tell me that it"s not for him.
Tell me that that door"s closed.
The Lord will open the way.
Well; this is it.
lt isn"t much; but we do all right.
There"s your name; big as anything.
There"s our name.
Congratulations; Joshua; Mrs. Steed.
Caroline.
And you must be obadiah.
Yes; ma"am. Pleased to meet you.
Well; now l can see why he"d want to bring you home with him.
For the life of me;
l can"t figure out why you"d want to come.
Bobby.
Hey.
Robert Johnson; Justice of the Peace; ma"am.
Ah; l"ve heard stories.
What has he been telling you?
l"m sorry. This is my son; Shane.
This is WIll.
Hi.
The cotton arrived safely in Saint Louis.
Great; l just want to show them around the freight yard
before l take them up to the house.
Everything in order?
Will; what do you say we take a look around?
Yes; sir.
Gentlemen.
Looks like we"re gonna have a new governor; maybe you heard.
That was Joshua Steed; wasn"t it?
Not sure.
Let"s take a look.
Well; this isn"t Savannah.
No; it isn"t; but it"s beautiful.
Thank you.
There l was building this big empty house for myself.
What l didn"t know was that the entire time;
l was building it for you.
Fire.
Mrs. Steed;
l"m Annie Shaw;
your boy WIll"s schoolteacher.
Mrs. Shaw; nice to finally meet you.
l hope Will"s no trouble.
oh; he"s no trouble at all.
Smart as a whip; that boy.
Heck; he"ll be teaching me one of these days.
Now; l"m notjust fooling you neither.
Welcome to the frontier; Mrs. Steed.
You"ve done wonders for Mr. Steed; l might add.
He"s a changed man.
lndeed.
Well; you know; l mean; not that he"s--
That"s my cue.
Excuse me.
How's that?
lt"s not bad
if we want to get there sometime tomorrow morning.
Give them a little whip of the wrist. Ya.
There you go.
12 years old; just learned to drive a team.
City boy.
Ha.
How old were you?
l don"t know; three; four at the most.
Nuh-uh.
Uh-huh.
And who taught you?
Pa; l guess. l don"t really remember.
ln Vermont?
oh; yeah; it was years before we moved to New York.
New York?
ls that where your family lives now?.
l suppose.
l don"t really know.
There; just like that.
There are people in this town who never owned a cow
until they came here.
But now they"ve got a few cows and a sheep or two.
They become puffed up in pride and selfishness;
and their minds have become attached
to the things of this world.
They"ve become covetous.
Thanks for coming; Ben.
l know how much you wanted to be here.
This much we do know
The acreage that has been purchased
was bought mostly on credit.
Brother Brigham; brethren; that"s because we was told
that as more saints gathered to Kirtland;
they"d buy the land from us.
We all bought on credit.
Joseph did too; did you not; Joseph?
Well; now they"re all gathering;
but they"re so dirt poor; nobody is buying nothing.
That"s true;
but there"s also been some high living among us.
l"m seeing plenty of new wagons
and new dresses bought on credit too.
Now; l am not pointing any fingers.
l am just saying
that with the amount of speculating that"s going on;
the church as a whole is finding itself in serious debt;
and it"s crippling us.
We still owe $13; 000 in unpaid notes on this Temple.
lf we don"t pay that; we could lose it.
Brother Joseph.
Yes; Brother Parrish?
What do you think we should do?
l think we should charter a bank;
print our own currency;
create a stronger cash economy.
Would that be just for the saints?
Not exclusively.
We"ve already looked into applying
to the legislature for the charter.
Brethren; l think this could really help us;
help get the church back on its feet financially.
Yes; Brother Parrish?
ltjust concerns me that a charter could take months;
if not longer.
l"m not sure we could hold our creditors back that long.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Far be it for me to question
how He may or may not answer a prayer.
That was interesting.
Joseph has never been good with handling money.
We all know that.
lt has nothing to do with his calling as a prophet.
That boy is still God"s mouthpiece.
Hejust needs to let someone else
handle the financial affairs of the church; that"s all.
Let him spend his time on more important matters.
Hey; Will; that"s a pretty shirt you got.
My sister"s got one just like it.
Did your pa buy it for you?
My pa says he"s a Mormon killer.
What?
A Mormon killer.
Get him. Get him; WIll.
Get him. Get him.
Punch him in the face!
Get him.
You look beautiful.
Did those wagons make it in time from Santa Fe?
Yeah; barely.
Fenton"s gonna hear about it too.
That"s cutting it too close.
Have a seat.
They"re heading downriver later today.
How you feeling? You ready for tonight?
l suppose.
l know what Bobby likes;
but l"ve never fed a governor before.
Ah; a juicy steak and some sipping whiskey;
he"ll be fine.
Will got in a fight today.
Did he win?
Who are the Mormons?
They"re a bunch of religious fanatics
living out in Clay County.
Bobby"s been kind of keeping an eye on them.
And your brother"s one of them?
Why do l feel like l"m pulling teeth here?
What do you want to know?.
My mother; my family got involved with them
before l came out West.
l haven"t seen much of them since.
Seven years; don"t you miss them?
Wouldn"t you?
What about your father?
He could be dead for all l know.
Brothers and sisters; welcome to Zion.
l"m Brother John Griffith.
Bishop Partridge asked us to come out and meet you.
The state of Missouri"s making a place for us
in Caldwell County just north of here.
There"s a lot of good soil
and a pretty little settlement at Haun"s Mill.
Well; things are looking up in Zion.
Mrs. Steed;
that was some of the best steak l"ve ever eaten;
including my wife"s.
But don"t tell her l said that.
Do you hear that; Miranda?
Yes; ma"am.
l really mean it.
l want to thank you for your hospitality.
Well; you are most welcome.
Now; we don"t want to keep you.
l"m sure you have things to do.
We"re just gonna sit here and chew the fat for a bit.
Ah; that"s right.
Caroline; thank you so much.
oh; l"m fine.
Aren"t you tired?
Why don"t you go upstairs?
No; really; l"m fine.
Good then.
l"d be pleased to bore you
as long as you"d care to be bored.
Not at all.
Well; l"ll get right to it then.
You know under Governor Dunklin; the militia was lacking;
more a collection of a local militia than anything else.
But all that is about to change.
l"ve allocated the funds to create a true militia;
an army to protect the state of Missouri
from enemies without or within.
Joshua; you know the lndian threat is always here.
A strong militia just makes the boundary lines more clear.
l mean; think about it a real army;
the uniforms; the weaponry; everything.
We need you; Mr. Steed.
The men around here respect you.
They"ll follow you.
And l know we see eye to eye on things.
l want to offer you a captaincy
in the state militia of Missouri.
Well; thank you; Governor;
but l have a freight company to run
and a baby on the way.
Joshua; this won"t take all that much time.
We"re just keeping the peace than anything else.
l"m sure you"re aware of the situation
with our friends up north.
Would that be the Mormons?
Yes; that would be the Mormons.
We"ve given them their own county
to do with what they want; within reason;
as long as they agree to stay there
and not settle outside of it.
Can you do that?
Caroline.
No; she"s right.
There are constitutional issues here;
but it"s an unfortunate necessity of the times;
for their protection as much as anything.
See; but they ain"t staying put.
Joshua; you understand the complexities of all this;
and l need you to help me contain it;
to keep these folks--
well; like Bobby said; within their boundaries.
l don"t think we"ve got him.
No; he"ll come around.
You better be right.
We need him.
This thing goes the way it should;
you"ll find the governor most grateful.
You"d be surprised the doors l can kick open.
Ya.
He"s a nice man.
So...
This isn"t a good time for me; Bobby.
Well; l would be honored to serve under you; Captain.
l"ve got other reasons
for wanting to contain this situation.
This has been floating around for the last few weeks.
A band of Mormons are calling it their manifesto.
They"ve got a list of names there;
and they"re swearing vengeance in the name of Joe Smith
on some of us that pushed them out of Jackson County.
You"ll notice that my name
isn"t the only one on that list.
Joshua; it's not just us they want to kill.
lt"s our families too.
l seen someone lurking around my place two nights ago.
Got Margaret and the children scared to death.
But l"m not gonna run away from this.
l can"t.
This is my home.
You help me on this one; Joshua; as a friend?
No; keep it.
Let"s get home.
Get down.
Stay put.
Get up.
Are you all right?
Yeah.
Good.
Let"s go out the back.
Don"t tell your mom about this.
That was close; Bobby.
Did he see you?
l don"t think so.
l-l-l-l don"t like taking potshots at a friend.
Well; l don"t either;
but l just don"t think our little manifesto
is gonna be enough.
Joshua"s gonna need another push in the right direction.
How do l look?
Like a soldier.
Ben; l need to ask you a question.
Shoot.
You"ve heard of the bank we"ve started;
the Kirtland Safety Society.
l have.
A lot of people are buying stock;
notjust saints;
but not you.
Can l ask why?
l think you"ve got problems.
From what l understand;
most of the bank"s capital is in land.
Land"s not liquid.
You can"t buy potatoes
or carry it in your saddlebags.
They have gold and silver to back it up; Pa.
We have $15; 000 in hard money reserves.
That should shore up our reserves
and pay off a lot of our creditors.
And how much of the banknote value
do you plan on circulating?
A lot more than that.
All banks do that.
lt"s risky.
You still got some enemies out there;
and one of them could use this bank business
against you to embarrass you.
The value of the banknote falls;
someone could buy up a slew of them;
bring them in and demand face value;
put you in a fine pickle.
You think someone"s gonna buy a bunch of money
just to make it worthless?
They"d lose as much as anyone else.
l"m not saying that it"s likely; Nathan.
l"m just saying that it could happen.
Well; we"ll just have to pray it doesn"t;
right; Ben?
l think we"re ready.
Gentlemen; if we"ll follow the principles of righteousness;
this endeavor will be a great blessing to the saints.
They"ve started settling down here along the Missouri
out in Carroll County.
But what"s really got me bothered
is; they"ve started forming alliances
with some of the border tribes out there.
As the militia of the state of Missouri;
you are to use all peaceable means of coercion
to get these renegades back where they belong
by means of the spoken word and the printed word.
Get rid of this Mormon problem that we have here in Missouri.
Yeah!
People of Missouri are to be made aware
of where the battle lines have been drawn.
Now; if this sounds like a military campaign; it is.
Keep them in their box; boys;
otherwise what we have on our hands is civil war.
This way; run.
But when you put the T and H together;
you get a thh sound.
The; this; that.
Sister Steed.
Ah; l"m sorry to interrupt your teaching.
You gotjust a minute you could read something over for us?
l can get the gist of it; but...
Where did you get this?
Well; they"re all over the place.
What"s it say?
Well; for one thing;
it says the Mormonites have been in cahoots
with the lndian for some time;
plan to attack the true Missourians
and drive them out.
That"s not true.
Well; it ain"t.
But that don"t really matter; does it?
The damage is done.
What does this mean?
Well; it ain"t good.
No; it means we step one foot outside of Caldwell County;
and it"s liable to get shot off.
Thank you.
Brother Rawson; you can wait outside.
l"m sorry; Sister Steed.
l"ll come back later;
make sure the children get home safe.
Thank you.
We bought that land fair and square.
Now you"re telling us to give it up.
We"re not telling you to walk away from it.
You sell your land; you get what you can for it.
Buy yourself a little piece in Caldwell County.
When; this winter?
No; of course not this winter.
This week.
l just planted.
Who"s gonna pay for our lost crop; you?
Governor Boggs?
Listen up.
We"re not your enemies here.
We"re doing this for your protection
and the protection of your families.
l know you; Joshua Steed.
l know what you did
to our families back in Jackson County.
What else do you know?.
l know you"re no friend to the Mormons.
You should worry about your family;
and l"ll worry about mine.
This ain"t the time.
Get out of the way.
Get inside.
oh.
You can"t be part of something like this;
no matter what the Mormons believe.
You don"t understand. lt"s getting worse.
lt"s as dangerous for them as it is for us.
Dangerous; how?
Making someone stay put is one thing;
but now; burning their homes; beating them?
Boggs is taking this too far.
He can"t ask you to do this.
He"s not asking; Caroline.
They have little children just like we do; Joshua.
Please tell me you won"t do this.
Why would you?
Fine.
You want to know?.
Here.
Why didn"t you tell me?
l don"t know.
l thought you might--
What; leave?
WIth WIll.
Don"t you know me?
Do you think l came here on a whim?
This goes a lot deeper than that for me.
l hope it does for you.
l didn"t come here for security
or even for Will to have a father.
l came here for you.
Brothers and sisters;
the last thing we need to do right now is panic.
Let"sjust keep cool heads;
and we will work through this.
Please; please; let me assure you;
we are doing everything we can to resolve these problems.
l"ve just returned from the bank of Geauga
in an effort to secure an additional guarantee;
but as you know;
financial crisis has hit banks all across the United States.
Now; what we need to do is not panic.
We trusted you; Brother.
You told us to.
l told you based upon the principles of righteousness
that you would be blessed;
but there has been much greed and corruption among you.
Calm down.
Word got out this morning that the value had plummeted.
People started cashing out for hard monies.
l tried to keep a handle on it; but word spread like fire.
How far into our reserves?
They"re gone; Brother Joseph.
lt"s all gone.
How did this happen?
Why didn"t you shut the door?
l tried; but...
What are we going to do? We believed in you.
You can"t stay in there forever!
What have you done; Brother?
You"ve stolen from the reserves.
You"ve stolen much.
Don"t blame this on me.
Don"t you blame this on me.
Warren.
Where are you going?
l know where you live!
What is it?
Joseph.
Burning up.
May we come in; Brother Harris?
As much as he can drink of it.
Thank you.
oh; you--
Shh; don"t talk.
You carry too much of the load.
Let your friends help you.
My friends?
Yes; your friends
Hyrum; Brigham;
your father; Nathan Steed; your friends.
Good day; Sister Steed.
Ben.
What did Martin and Brother Parrish want?
Well; there"s a meeting at the Temple tonight;
and they want me to go.
WIthout Joseph there?
They didn"t say.
Ben; he won"t be there.
They almost lost him last night.
l"m sorry to hear that.
Brigham and Nathan will be there.
l can"t believe Martin is in with Parrish and his group.
Thought he had better sense than that.
And so is David Whitmer; WIlliam Smith.
l don"t think Joseph has too many friends right now.
And you;
are you his friend?
Seems like Martin wants you on their side.
Well; l got Martin and Parrish wanting me to go;
Nathan and Brigham asking me to go;
and l"m not even a member of the church.
What l got to say about Joseph"s got nothing to do with anything.
Why do they want me to go?
Because you"re Ben Steed...
And that means a lot.
What are you going to do?
lt"s not my affair.
Ben; you"re the most honest man l know.
Why can"t you be honest with yourself?.
l see you when you talk to Joseph.
l see it in your eyes.
After all these years;
don"t you think l know you by now?.
Why can"t you admit it to yourself?.
Remember when Joseph got pulled from his house;
tarred and almost beat to death;
and then his son died because of the mob?
Then he and Brigham had to go into hiding
because someone wanted to kill him.
l know a couple ex-Mormons
that would hang Brigham from the nearest tree
if they got the chance.
Since we"ve been here;
have you ever felt threatened or in danger?
Rebecca or Matthew?.
No.
Nathan?
Melissa; any of the grandchildren?
No; Ben.
Do you think it would stay that way if l joined your church?
Joseph is dying.
l may be late.
Pray for your pa; children.
Emma.
oh; hello. Thank you so much.
ls he any better?
No; his fever hasn"t broken yet.
l am worried.
Please; don"t stay long.
Thank you.
Mary Ann said that you weren"t doing so well;
so l thought that l would; um; come by.
Seems like a long ways from Palmyra; doesn"t it?
l always thought that l would live my days out there.
Joseph Smith; farm boy.
Farm boy talking about angels and prophets
and expecting people to believe you
and teaching me forgiveness.
Even my family following after you as if--
as if you were led by God himself.
l don"t want my family hurt;
and l don"t know what to do about it.
Joseph Smith is a good man.
No one is saying otherwise.
He"s meant well;
and he"s tried hard;
but he"s lost his prophetic gift.
And what"s happened with the Kirtland Safety Society
is just one more unfortunate proof of that.
No thanks to you; Brother Parrish.
How much did you run off with?
You can choose to believe what you want;
but l believe it"s time;
and l propose that Joseph Smith be removed
from his office as Prophet
and our good brother David Whitmer;
one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon;
be sustained to take his place.
Brethren; brethren; we will have order;
or we will clear this room.
l wonder why we don"t have the courage to do this
when Joseph is present.
lt"s no accident this meeting was called
when he couldn"t be here.
And why isn"t he here?
Because he is on his deathbed;
not expected to make it through the night;
unable to speak.
Now; why do you think
the Lord would want to silence him; Brother Steed?
Silence him?
Let"s not make every illness a curse from God.
Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet.
He promised the saints their money would be safe;
and he lost it all.
He brought us to this crisis.
This is a crisis; brethren;
a time when Earth and hell are in league
to overthrow the Prophet in the Church of God.
Joseph Smith is a prophet.
Have you all forgotten what that means?
He was called of God;
and only God can release him.
Do you think that you can just vote him out of office
like some kind of petty politician?
You may rail at him
and slander him as much as you choose;
but you cannot destroy the appointment of a prophet of God.
l could tell you things
that would make you question Joseph"s prophetic calling.
Then don"t tell me.
Because what l know...
l know.
But l"ll tell you what you can do.
You can cut the thread that binds you to the Prophet;
and you can sink yourselves to hell if you choose.
Enough.
Enough!
This man; this man is nothing
but a lick skillet to Joseph Smith.
Who is he to talk to us this way?
You; boy...
Brother Bump;
if you think it would give you any relief;
why don"t you come forward and try to lay your hands on me.
Just leave me out of this; Martin.
Ben; he promised in the name of the Lord
that if we put our money there; it would be safe.
He promised.
And you heard him say that?
Warren Parrish did; and l believe him.
Now look at it.
Whole church is on the verge of bankruptcy;
never mind my own losses.
ls this about money?
oh; Ben; you know me better than that.
He promised.
ln the name of God; he promised.
There"ll be no fence-sitters on this one; Ben.
You"ll have to decide one way or the other.
What?
Brother Joseph.
How is he?
Better than he was last night.
We"ll leave you two alone.
You don"t look so good.
My friend.
Stand still and see the salvation of God.
All this talk of prophets and revelation.
You believed that God used to talk to man.
There"sjust no room for doubt.
A man has to give up everything he"s got.
What are you so afraid of?
Why can"t you be honest with yourself?
one of these days; you"re going to have to make a choice.
Cold; Pa?
l don"t feel it.
You coming in for dinner?
Well; l"m almost done.
Mary Ann.
What?
l"ll be in soon.
Brothers and sisters;
my son Joseph is out of town on church business
and has asked me to conduct today"s Sunday service.
But my heart is heavy.
Bitterness has entered our church;
bitterness and betrayal.
objection.
We resent the insinuations
Brother Smith has leveled upon us.
He speaks of betrayal
and looks right at us.
Step aside; sir;
and let Brother Whitmer speak to the saints.
Brother Parrish; may l remind you
that l hold the floor.
Let him be heard!
Silence!
This is the house of the Lord;
and you come in here like armed thugs;
even my own son William.
And you; Warren Parrish;
you"re nothing but a thief and a liar.
How dare you come in here and demand to be heard.
How dare you.
How dare you?
Have you no shame?
Warren; don"t.
Halt; l kill the first man that moves.
Martin.
What now?.
We go forward;
try to understand the Lord"s will in all this;
and then try and do it.
What about Parrish and his group;
Martin Harris?
We forgive them.
Forgive?
After what they"ve done here in the house of God
and what they tried to do to your father;
you just want to forgive them?
The Lord said;
Pray for them which do spitefully use you
and persecute you.
Until Martin humbles himself and repents;
his path will only lead to bitterness
and eventually to hell.
But that"s his lot.
ours is to forgive.
And how do you do that so easily?
lt"s not easy;
especially when someone close to you has been hurt.
This work is bigger than you and me; Ben.
lt"s bigger than Martin.
lt"s bigger than Warren Parrish.
lt"s bigger than this Temple.
The kingdom rolls forward.
You just have to decide where you stand.
l stand with you.
You"ll have to stand with me in Missouri.
We left some things undone there; you and l.
This door is closing;
but another is already opening.
Papa;
l love you.
l"m gonna miss you.
lsn"t she the cutest thing?
Look at that hair.
Ruth; she"s beautiful. What"s her name?
Savannah.
Savannah; that"s a perfect name.
Mrs. Steed; you must be about the happiest mama around.
l"m sure l am.
Say hello to Mr. Steed. Bye-bye.
l bet she doesn"t know what happened
to the first Mrs. Steed.
Pardon me.
Missouri.
Grandpa!
Hello!
oh; my goodness.
Hello.
Welcome to Zion; Papa Steed.
Ben Steed.
John Griffith.
There"s about 500 more that"ll be here in a week.
Joe Smith is leading them.
lt"s Jackson County all over again.
Just a matter of time
before he"s got them all fired up
to go and get their land back.
lt"s not their land anymore;
never was.
l know that.
Smith doesn"t.
Last time l spoke to Mr. Smith; he threatened me.
l think it"s time to send him a very clear message.
Scatter the flock.
Do it before he arrives.
Well; it could get messy; Governor.
These are people that swear
they"d give their lives for their Zion.
Well; now they can prove it;
but you make sure Mr. Steed is with you.
Steed goes along;
you won"t have trouble getting others.
How was Savannah today?
She was fine.
She come to town?
You didn"t stop by.
l must have forgotten.
lt"s just you usually stop by.
Why; is that what you like your women to do;
stop by when they"re in town?
What?
Miranda; will you take the baby; please?
Yes; ma"am.
What?
You tell me what.
What do you want me to tell you?
l want you to tell me about you.
l want you to tell me what happened
between you and your brother.
Will; sit down.
Between you and your father;
between you and the Mormons;
between you and God knows who else.
l want you to tell me
so l don"t have to find out from some biddy on the street
who knows more about my husband than l do.
l said sit down!
l want you to tell me about Jessica
and Rachel.
How long does this have to go on?
l mean; what do these Mormonites want?
We"ve given them their own county.
What we need to do is;
we need to come together as Americans.
We need to do something.
We need to get up as a group;
as a people; and resist this plague.
l wanted to tell you so many times
every day.
Then why couldn"t you tell me?
Those things are dead and gone.
Everything"s different now.
Mr. Johnson is here.
Caroline;
l"m sorry to call so late.
See she"s got you busy there.
What can l do for you; Bobby?
Well...
Maybe we could talk in private for a bit.
l"ve kind of got my hands full here.
of course.
lt"s just; uh; more of our friends are moving in up north.
Well; that"s been going on for a long time.
No; not like this.
l don"t need to remind you of...
certain threats that have been made.
She knows; Bobby. What is it?
Joe Smith is coming back.
We really need to talk.
Alone.
Caroline; can you take Savannah upstairs?
Joshua...
Take her upstairs.
So you sleep on it; and l"ll swing by tomorrow.
Good night; Caroline.
oh; there is one other thing.
The word is that there"s a whole clan of Steeds
running around up there.
l didn"t know your daddy was a Mormon.
Good night; you two.
Eli;
leave us; please.
Joshua;
it"s your family; your father.
Don"t you want to see them?
Because they"re Mormons?
What could the Mormons have possibly done to you
to make you hate them so much?
What did they do to me?
They took my girl.
They took my family.
They took my daughter.
They took my wife.
Your wife?
What; are you going to hit me too?
Joshua; where are you?
Don"t you walk out on us.
You going home; Mr. Steed?
Are you the Steeds?
Yes; ma"am. l"m Nathan Steed.
l"m Caroline Steed.
l"m married to your brother Joshua.
What have you done to your son?
That was 1 ; 200 pounds.
Next one will be double that.
Good; good.
You look awful; Mr. Steed.
Must be on the outs with the missus.
You going already?
You coming?
No.
Aw; come on; Steed; come with us.
Now; look;
Joshua; Boggs wants you with us on this one.
There"s gonna be a whole lot of open land
when those Mormons are gone.
l thought this was about protecting our families.
lt is.
Right.
Now; come with us.
Not this time; Bobby.
Well; if you"re worried about losing her;
you"re too late.
Stopped by your place on the way in;
and old Eli said she"s already gone.
lsn"t that what he said; George?
That"s what he said; young uns too.
Come on; go with us; Joshua.
l gave you my answer.
Suit yourself.
Well; l"ll be sure to say hi to your brother
when l see him.
Let"s go. Ya.
Caroline!
God; please; don"t let me lose her.
Just give me one more chance;
please; just one more chance.
What are you doing here?
The things l said that night--
l meant to make peace.
Nathan;
you have to go.
You have to go right now. They"re gonna attack Far West.
When?
Now; right now. You have to go.
You have to go and get Mom and the others.
You need to go.
Joshua; Joshua; come with me.
l can"t.
l got my own family to deal with.
Joshua. l can"t.
Caroline"s in Far West.
Well; look who showed up.
Turn around and go home; Bobby.
That ain"t gonna happen tonight.
Listen; the Mormons know you"re coming.
They"re waiting for you.
Come on; boys; use your heads.
Am l gonna have to go back
and tell the governor of this state
that the men of Missouri are afraid of a few Mormonites?
Why don"t you tell them who else is there; Joshua.
Seems Mr. Steed here"s been keeping a dark secret from us.
That"s right His daddy"s a Mormon.
lsn"t that right; Joshua?
Yeah; that"s right.
So is my mother and my brothers and my sisters.
Right now; Caroline and my children are in Far West.
l"m just asking you to turn around tonight.
Listen Bobby;
it"s not what l signed up for.
Steed"s always been straight with me.
l"m not gonna hurt his family.
This ain"t right.
l don"t know about this.
Well; then l am sorry to hear that;
l truly am.
Don"t do it; Bobby.
Get rid of it.
Now!
Joshua...
Bobby; l got the shot.
Forget it; George. You might miss.
You"re still a little bit outnumbered; Mr. Steed.
Yeah; you"re right.
l"d only have time to take out one of you.
Are you willing to die for the Mormons?
Funny; Bobby; l was about to ask you the same thing.
Now tell them to turn around and go home.
Bobby.
George; forget about it.
Mr. Steed"s not going to hurt anybody tonight.
l should have shot you that night.
Shut up!
Go home!
My good friend; Bobby Johnson.
Go home; Bobby.
okay.
Mama.
Joshua"s here.
Papa.
No.
l can"t.
The Lord will open the way.
Pa;
He will.
Maybe this place really is Zion.
Pa.
When l saw the cuts on Nathan"s back;
l said; There"s no forgiveness for this.
So did l.
We were both wrong.
l don"t know what the future holds for us;
for my family; or for the Mormon people;
but for me; this place is Zion.