With the Inquisition frequently breathing down her neck and excommunications flying to and fro, it was no easy endeavour.

ECONOMIST: Christian believers

Bishop Williamson was among four bishops whose excommunications were lifted by the Pope in an attempt to heal a split with traditionalists.

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In his letter, the Pope says the intention behind lifting the excommunications was to end the ongoing schism and bring good people back into the fold.

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Wherever they went, they infuriated the non-Mormon locals, and also managed to infuriate one another: the early history of the movement involves a bewildering series of excommunications, internal banishments, and the increasing threat of violence to enforce new rules as Smith received them.

NEWYORKER: I, Nephi