THE COMPOSITE

 

These, then, were the people. The majority were devout, hardy, pioneer stock, some less pious and devoted than others. A few who were not Mormons and never had been, together with an even fewer number of Apostates made up the small minority.

Though there is evidence over the.years of apparent weaknesses, ethical and moral deficiencies and inconsistencies, most of them were of the trivial variety, reflecting normal human imperfections and prejudices. Careful searching reveals no evidence of wholesale, gross immorality or corruption in leadership such as existed on a grand scale in the European medieval church. There is nothing of any significance that can begin to compare with the clerical and ecclesiastical godlessness of some other systems of historical Christianity Rather, there was much for Clem to be proud of in the unsophisticated, home-spun dedication to the cause of righteousness among his people.