“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 here, Joshua. Those men with their painted faces stormed Carthage Jail and thought they had stopped the work. Well, what an enormous shock this will be to them! They're driving us from the state, thinking that will end it. But give us ten years. Fifteen years! And then even a blind man will know that no unhallowed hand can stop this work.”
Picking up the story shortly after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, No Unhallowed Hand — volume 7 in the series The Work and the Glory — takes the saga of the Restoration the the fictional Steed family from the end of June 1844 to February 1846.
As this volume opens, it is a time of great sadness and of uncertainty. Having lost their beloved prophet, the Saints witness a series of power plays by those who would use the opportunity to further their own interests. It is not long, however, before the Lord's purposes are made apparent and the Twelve take their rightful position as leaders of the Church, with Brigham Young at their head. For a time, an uneasy peace seems to prevail in Illinois, but then the Nauvoo Charter is revoked, anti-Mormon hatred is again inflamed by those involved in the Prophet's death, mobs burn homes in small Mormon settlements, and eventually the Saints again find themselves faced with the threat of violent expulsion unless they agree to leave the state. The situation promises to divide the Steeds. Who among them will go west and who will stay? What will Joshua's and Melissa's part-member families do?
This installment in the series contains not only its share of fascinating real-life history, but also a number of plot twists involving the Steeds that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end. The story of their lives underscores the prophetic nature of Joseph Smith's words that, indeed, “no unhallowed hand can stop the work.”
