(22) Death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, enemies thought Church would fall

http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/pres-sm/pres-ch-01-03.htm

          The death of the Prophet and Hyrum was a shock to the Saints. No words can express the depth of their sadness. It was a time of great mourning. Weeping and despair were everywhere.  “What a time it was, dark and gloomy—the wind blew, the thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the very heavens poured forth their tears.”³⁹

(NOTE: A description of the burial of the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum mentions a storm similar to the one mentioned above. It reads: “After the bodies were interred, and the ground smoothed off as it was before, and chips of wood and stone and other rubbish thrown over, so as to make it appear like the rest of the ground around the graves, a most terrific shower of rain, accompanied with thunder and lightening, occurred, and obliterated all traces of the fact that the earth had been newly dug.”)⁴⁰

Evidently the enemies of the Church thought that the death of their Prophet would cause the Church to fall. And it is recorded that many Mormons did leave the Church. But the testimonies of the Saints who stayed faithful through those most trying experiences were not placed on any man—not even on the Prophet—but instead were on the Savior and in the doctrines of His gospel.

39- Cordelia Morley’s History - Mourning at death of prophet

40- History of the Church, Vol 6, p. 628 - Storm covers prophet’s grave