The dethronement of Smith meant that there could be
no successor to Smith, for there would be nothing to which to succeed.
The whole church structure must crumble with him.
The time was psychologically right. Occasionally a contagion of
religious need seems to sweep the country. People demand manifestations
and signs, and will flock to any who can promise them. To this class the
Book of Mormon, with its definite sort of mysticism, appealed strongly.
The promises of a new Zion were concrete; the power was centralized, so
that people who had heretofore been floundering in doubt felt they could
lean on authority, and shake off the personal responsibility that had
weighed them down. The Mormon communities grew fast, and soon began to
send out proselyting missionaries. England was especially a fruitful
field for these missionaries. The great manufacturing towns were then at
their worst, containing people desperately ignorant, superstitious, and
so deeply poverty-stricken that the mere idea of owning land of their
own seemed to them the height of affluence. Three years after the
arrival of the missionaries the general conference reported 4019
converts in England alone. These were good material in the hands of
strong, fanatical, or unscrupulous leaders.
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