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.
For the fractious Tea Party movement, Beck a former drive-time radio jockey, a recovering alcoholic, and a Mormon convert has emerged as both a unifying figure and an intellectual guide.