After serving a mission near his home with Erastus Snow, he moved to the Latter Day Saint community at Kirtland, Ohio in 1836.

[1][4] In 1838, while living in Far West, Missouri and serving in the church's High Council there,[1] Avard witnessed the heated conflict between the growing Mormon population and the established non-Mormon Missourians.

He was the founding organizer and leader of the Danites, a secret paramilitary vigilante militia, bound by oaths and intent on retaliating for Mormon injuries and losses.

It remains unclear the extent to which Joseph Smith was aware or in favor of Avard's activities, although he recognized the Danites and encouraged them to be lawful.

[5] Danite militaristic activities intensified the 1838 Mormon War and drew the attention of state government and militia.