H. Michael Marquardt,William Shepard
Before the LDS Church was organized, Joseph SmithÂ received a revelation telling him that twelve men wouldÂ be called as latter-day apostles. Their assignment wouldÂ be to warn men and women that the end was near.Â Although the determination of who would fill theseÂ positions was delayed for five years, when it finally happened,Â God reiterated that these men were to â€œpruneÂ the vineyard for the last timeâ€ because the Second ComingÂ was nigh. In fact, â€œfifty six years would wind up theÂ scene,â€ they were told.,Of the twelve men selected, nine would eventuallyÂ be pruned from the vineyard themselves, to varyingÂ degrees. Seven were excommunicated, one of whomÂ was reinstated to his position in the Twelve. Of the otherÂ six, the subjects of this book, none returned to the apostleshipÂ and four never came back to the Church at all.Â Those who left faded into obscurity except for when theyÂ are occasionally still mentioned in sermons as cautionaryÂ tales. But two of them made their marks in other areasÂ of society, John Boynton becoming a successful dentist,Â a popular lecturer, geologist, and inventor with dozensÂ of important patents to his name, while Lyman JohnsonÂ became a prominent attorney and business owner.Â Even though Luke Johnson, Thomas B. Marsh, WilliamÂ McLellin, and William Smith became religious wanderersÂ and tried unsuccessfully to adjust to life outside ofÂ the Church, their experiences were interesting and compriseÂ valuable case studies in belief and disaffection.Â Â 
Religion,Lds,Mormonism,Nonfiction
Lost Apostles: Forgotten Members of Mormonism's Original Quorum of the Twelve