Everything changes when disaster strikes.
To be fair, their Lord seemed aware of the cold coming and told them, though with the added drama and flair.
He acted like some sort of prophet, and this indeed increased his prestige among the people.
Of course, telling them was one thing, but whether he actually helped them through the upcoming disaster—or even made decent territory-wide preparation—was another thing entirely.
Spoiler alert: He didn't. Not really.
People knew an Extreme Cold was coming, and they gathered firewood and things like that. However, they had no idea how intense it'd be. Many people froze while gathering resources outside, and too many people starved to death within the first week.
At the time, many blamed the Lord, and many tried to get food, especially when people saw them living well. They obviously had more than enough food. There was even warmth and insulation, and this was revealed by some servants who were kicked out in the midst of the disaster.
