The adventures and inner conflicts of a Mormon family in 1840 reflect the events surrounding the founding of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, as a place where Mormons could live and worship in peace.

"Joshua," said Brigham, "three years ago, Joseph wrote to a Mr. John Wentworth, and one of the things he said was this. 'The standard of truth has been erected, and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. It will not stop until the purposes of God are accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say to us, the work is done!'"

Now Brigham's voice quivered with excitement; his eyes burned with intensity. "That's what we're offering

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America exits the War of 1812 battered but determined as a new religious reformation dawns in America. The Pearsons and Snowdens become involved with a young man from Hannah's past -- Joseph Smith -- whose accounts of visions and dealings with angels strain tender relationships and test the Constitution's guarantees of religious liberty.