It seems to be an ever-recurring truism that after people have been enlightened by the Spirit of God and attain great knowledge of righteous things, then fall away and become sinful, they become more hardened, and their condition is worse than if they had never learned those things in the first place. Dissenters and apostates in all ages leave the Church, but they cannot leave the Church alone. According to Daniel Tyler, an early Church member, the Prophet Joseph Smith “emphasized the fact that a man or woman who had not taken sides either with Christ or [the devil] could maintain a neutral position, but when they enlisted under either the one or the other they left the neutral ground forever” (see also Alma 47:36; 2 Peter 2:20–21). 37 Of course, practically speaking, it is impossible not to take sides. Every choice we make leads us to take sides.