His mother, who was an old woman, his wife, and some younger members of the family, gathered round.
The light fell sideways upon his thickset form and large hairy face.

His manner was the result of struggle between effort for heroic pose and an almost overmastering alarm.

His matter was the evil conduct of the surrounding Gentiles toward the Saints.

It seemed that in this and neighbouring places, evangelistic meetings had been held in which Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists had joined, and Rigdon averred that the preachers had used threatening and abusive language with regard to the Saints.

A series of such meetings had begun in Hiram, small as it was; and Joseph Smith, like a war-horse scenting the battle, had set aside his arduous task of correcting the Old Testament and gone forth to preach in the open air.