THE VINDICATOR

by Iris Griffiths

This true story centers around the life of a young man whose only wish was to live according to his own desires. Refusing to bow down to the Welsh nobility, he came to America. Freedom, he soon learned, was something he had to fight for wherever he was.

He traveled west to Salt Lake Territory and was separated from the woman he loved. Warmed by the friendly reception of the Mormons, he worked willingly and gained great favor, soon climbing to a high position in the LDS Church. Slowly, however, as new doctrines were adopted, he began to see it as not as it had appeared at first.

When he refused to carry out orders that would torment his conscience, he was threatened and held prisoner. He and his wife and children fled in the night. They crossed the desert in the heat of summer and through Indian country, ill prepared for the great hardships they suffered. At last they reached California, where they found a measure of security and a new faith.

The Vindicator deals with a family's confrontation with life and its many problems. It is a touching story of hope and frustration, achievement and defeat, love and loss—an account of pioneer America never before told.