Spidel grew up within a mile of the Haun Mill Massacre site. His family has owned and worked the surrounding land since the 1840s. He explains that all through his childhood, he was told stories of what happened in Missouri during the 1830s, often from friends and family members with a strong bias against the Mormons. He tells their story and now, as an adult, tries to make personal sense of a series of events that have haunted the lives of his ancestors. He tracks the movements of the body of the Church from county to county from the time that they first entered the state and explains the events that led up to each expulsion until the body of the Church was completely driven from the state. He discusses that even now, the subject of the Mormons is often greeted with uncomfortable silence and embarrassment and states that he hopes his children and grandchildren investigate the truth before they swallow whole the tale that has been passed from generation to generation among the Missourians. The article offers an interesting, outside perspective of the history of the Saints during their time in the state of Missouri.