If he could hold them together under the alluring tales of gold-finds that were brought over the mountains, he had no longer any fear that they might fall away under mere physical hardship.

And he held them,--the supreme test of his power over the bodies and minds of his people.
This passing of the gold-seekers was not, however, a blessing without drawbacks.

For the Saints had hoped to wax strong unobserved, unmolested, forgotten, in this mountain retreat.

But now obscurity could no longer be their lot.

The hated Gentiles had again to be reckoned with.
First, the United States had expanded on the west to include their territory--the fruit of the Mexican War--the poor bleak desert they were making to blossom.