Based on some timeline things, I think it's likely Chad did have a disciplinary council last spring, though it's unclear if it led to excommunication, disfellowshipment, probation, unofficial probation, or no disciplinary action. If it did happen, it could definitely be a factor in the events that have ensued. The rest of this is just for people who are curious about the LDS church and how it affects and intersects with this case. All MOO.
Members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often think or say the beliefs of splinter groups are far afield from those of the mother church, but there's ample evidence that many of these groups have in fact gone deeper into the lesser-known doctrines of the church, rather than astray from them. Unfortunately these doctrines can be misinterpreted, misapplied, or latched onto with an overly strong grip. *Or* can be accurately applied, as to their original/historical intent--the original intent now being downplayed/ignored by the main church (instead of outright disavowed by the church, which would be most helpful).
The church has made huge efforts toward mainstream acceptance, and this tends to ratchet some people in the opposite direction. Seeing as the church was founded by a visionary boy/man who was given special knowledge about the establishment church(es) had gone astray, the ground is very fertile for others to think the same thing is happening to them.
A useful site for understanding topics and trends within the church is the General Conference Corpus, where one can search nearly 200 years of church leaders' General Conference speeches (public twice-a-year conference where all high-up leaders speak), by word
Corpus of LDS General Conference Talks, 1851-2019.
For starter searches applicable to this case, try "prepare" "last days" "second coming" "youth battalion" "persecution" "the veil" (as well as the prevalent older spelling of this term "the vail") "earthquake" "earthquakes" "year 's supply" (has to be searched that way, with the space before the apostrophe) etc. You'll see that these topics have been prevalent throughout the life of the church, with peaks around the early founding, before the turn of the century (late 1800's), and before the turn of the millennium (late 1900s), continuing to now.
Church members are in general kind, generous, good, trusting, and perhaps a little naive. As a whole, the membership of the main church is more aware of what the church has told them about the history and doctrines of church than the actual history. Over time, a clean and accessible narrative was deliberately chosen and taught in church curriculum, obscuring some of the messier aspects of the past.
Access to the internet has started to change that, and the church in 2015 released a series of essays tackling many controversial church topics, available here on the church website
Gospel Topics Essays. Unfortunately the leadership has elected not to encourage awareness of this resource among the general membership. If any member reads these essays, consider chasing down the references in the footnotes as well to be sure you agree with how the essay writers interpreted the original words.
I saw a post on LDS Freedom Forum that really accurately portrayed what happens with those who go to the fringe and gain followers. "Apostasy" in this case refers to going against the church and putting yourself above the main church's higher leaders. It's one of the offenses that can lead to excommunication. This is from the LDSFF post about Chad Daybell's dream:
"After observing the likes of Denver snuffer, Chad Daybell and Julie Rowe over the past few years, I've gotten a better picture of how members of the church slide into apostasy.
At first the message is safe and simple : Follow the prophet, but hey, you know what happened to me?
Then it evolves into: I had an experience that makes me special, but you should still follow the Prophet.
Then: I have been given hidden knowledge concerning your safety or salvation, but you should pray about it and follow the prophet.
Then: I've been called on a mission to wake people up with secret information that is too dangerous for the prophet to say, so still follow the prophet, but pay attention to what I have to say.
Then: The Prophet has turned his back on my message because we must learn not to be spoon fed the gospel. God, in times of need gives revelation to those outside the system, in order to wake up the people.
Finally: The Prophet is fallen and lost. I have been commanded to right the ship. Follow me."
