I was
bullet-proof, that no Gentile ball could ever harm me or any
Saint, and I believed that a Danite could not be killed by
Gentile hands. I thought that one Danite would chase a thousand
Gentiles, and two could put ten thousand to flight.

Alas! my dream of security was over. One of our mighty men had
fallen, and by Gentile hands. My amazement at the fact was equal
to my sorrow for the death of the great warrior apostle. I had
considered that all the battles between Danites and Gentiles
would end like the election fight at Gallatin, and the only ones
to be injured would be the Gentiles.

We had been promised and taught by the Prophet and his Priesthood
that henceforth God would fight our battles, and I looked as a
consequence for a bloodless victory on the side of the Lord, and
that nothing but disobedience to the teachings of the Priesthood
could render a Mormon subject to injury from Gentile forces. I
believed as our leaders taught us, that all our sufferings and
persecutions were brought upon us by the all-wise God of Heaven
as chastisement to bring us together in unity of faith and strict
obedience to the requirements of the Gospel; and the feeling was
general that all our sufferings were the result of individual
sin, and not the fault of our leaders and spiritual guides.

We, as members of the Church, had no right to question any act of
our superiors; to do so wounded the Spirit of God, and would lead
to our own loss and confusion. Still, I was thunderstruck to hear
Joseph the Apostle say at the funeral of Capt. Patton that the
Mormons fell by the missiles of death the same as other men. He
also said that the Lord was angry with the people, for they had
been unbelieving and faithless; they had denied the Lord the use
of their earthly treasures, and placed their affections upon
worldly things more than upon heavenly things; that to expect
God's favor we must blindly trust him; that if the Mormons would
wholly trust in God the windows of heaven would be opened and a
shower of blessings sent upon the people; that all the people
could contain of blessings would be given as a reward for
obedience to the will of God as made known to mankind through the
Prophet of the ever-living God; that the Mormons, if faithful,
obedient, and true followers of the advice of their leaders,
would soon enjoy all the wealth of the earth; that God would
consecrate the riches of the Gentiles to the Saints.

This and much more he s