Alexander McRae wrote:

We never suffered ourselves to go into any important measure without asking Brother Joseph to inquire of the Lord in relation to it. Such was our confidence in him as a prophet that when he said, "Thus saith the Lord," we were confident it would be as he said. The more we tried it, the more confidence we had, for we never found his word to fail in a single instance.

A short time later in Gallatin, Missouri, Alexander continued:

When we arrived at the place where the court was held, I began to think he was mistaken for once, for the people rushed upon us en masse crying, "Kill them: [expletives deleted] them, kill them." I could see no chance for escape, unless we could fight our way through. And we had nothing to do it with.