"In 1892, a deposition was taken in Salt Lake City, Utah, to gather evidence for a land-ownership issue between two offshoot branches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The dispute centered on ownership of land purchased to build a temple, known as the Temple Lot property, in Independence, Missouri. A key witness at the deposition, Joseph Bates Noble, had little knowledge of land purchases dating back to 1832, yet his testimony was critical for validation of standing for either the Reorganized Latter Day Saints Church (RLDS) or the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Author David Clark sets Noble's story in the context of his deposition, visiting the remarkable events in the life of this Mormon "foot soldier.""--Jacket.
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