Since its organization in 1830 the Mormon Church has been extremely active in proselytizing. Believing themselves representatives of a unique and chosen people—the bearers of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ—Mormon elders, encouraged both by the New Testament admonition “to teach all nations and baptize them” and by Joseph Smith's injunction that “the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel,” have proselytized indiscriminately among Christians and non-Christians. Their missionary zeal eventually prompted them to attempt to make converts in the Habsburg monarchy, which, with the exception of Spain, was the most loyal pro-Catholic power in Europe. In Austria, where the movement was usually branded either as an emigration scheme or as a contrivance to recruit women for “Mormon harems,” the elders were confronted with an apathetic public and a hostile government that denied them permission to preach. Harassed, imprisoned, and expelled, they faced one discouragement after another. No amount of discouragement and persecution, however, daunted the Mormons for long. Constant difficulties came to be expected and considered normal.