Rigdonite
Encyclopedia
Rigdonite is a name given to members of the Latter Day Saint movement
who accept Sidney Rigdon
as the successor in the church presidency
to movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the Latter Day Saint movement
, but as of the 1844 succession crisis
becomes distinct. Sidney Rigdon and other church leaders, including Brigham Young
and James J. Strang, presented themselves as leaders of the movement and established rival church organizations. Rigdon's group was initially headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. It was known at one point as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion, and its adherents are referred to as Rigdonites, or sometimes "Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints" or "Pennsylvania Mormons
." The only surviving organization that traces its succession back to Rigdon's organization is The Church of Jesus Christ
, founded by a group of Rigdon's followers led by William Bickerton
.
After the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, the history of the Rigdonites becomes independent from the other Latter Day Saint
organizations. There was a large amount of confusion about who should succeed their fallen prophet. After the martyrdom, Sidney Rigdon
claimed the right to lead the church as the senior surviving member of the church's highest ruling body, the First Presidency. The Quorum of Twelve Apostles, led by Brigham Young
, also claimed the right to lead the church. The Quorum of the Twelve's claim was derived from a revelation of Joseph Smith allowing them to stand equal to the First Presidency in attending to natural matters of the church.
Prior to the death of Joseph Smith, the First Presidency had made nearly all the major decisions and led the Church of Christ both naturally and spiritually. On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon had been ordained by Joseph Smith as a "Prophet, Seer and Revelator"—which was one of the same ecclesiastical titles held by Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ maintains that as First Counselor to Smith, Rigdon should naturally have been the leader of the church after Smith's death. With this understanding, The Church of Jesus Christ actively opposes the opinion that the Quorum of Twelve had the right to lead the church. The Church of Jesus Christ argues that Rigdon should have been allowed to be what he claimed to be — a "guardian" over the church until proper proceedings could decide the next president — and that proceedings which resulted in Brigham Young leading the church constituted a procedural violation.
On December 27, 1847, when Young organized a new First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve only had seven of its twelve members present to represent a council to decide the Presidency. William Smith, John E. Page
, and Lyman Wight
had previously denounced the proceedings and were not present. John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt
were in the Salt Lake Valley
and could not have known of the proceedings. This left just seven present, a majority of one meaning Young would have to vote for himself in order to gain a majority quorum vote in favor of his leadership. Young chose two of the other apostles, Heber C. Kimball
and Willard Richards
, as his counselors in the First Presidency. This left only four members of the Quorum of the Twelve present to vote in favor of creation of the new First Presidency: Orson Hyde
, Wilford Woodruff
, George A. Smith
, and Orson Pratt
. The Church of Jesus Christ views this action as a violation of church law compromising the authority of Sidney Rigdon without a majority quorum vote. The LDS Church actively opposes this view of the proceedings.
Undaunted, Rigdon relocated to Pittsburgh and established a rival organization of the church. Ebenezer Robinson, founding publisher of the Times and Seasons
, became publisher of a new church periodical, the Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, (later the Messenger and Advocate of the Church of Christ.) The Rigdonite paper, like the reformist Mormon paper before it, the Nauvoo Expositor
sought to expose and condemn the practice of plural marriage
. Church elder Benjamin Winchester
commented that Young and the Quorum of the Twelve had:
The Rigdonites came to believe that Joseph Smith had become a fallen prophet when he began to practice polygamy and that, as a result the "Lord smote him for this thing — cut him off from the earth." (Messenger and Advocate, Jan. 1, 1845)
Rigdon toured the eastern branches
of the church in late 1844 and early 1845, gathering leaders to his cause. He was joined by former members of the First Presidency
, John C. Bennett
and William Law
and also by former Apostle
William E. M'Lellin.
On April 6, 1845 — fifteen years after the original organization of the church — Rigdon presided over a General Conference
of Rigdonite Latter Day Saints in Pittsburgh, establishing a new hierarchy. He himself was sustained as President of the Church
. The new Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles consisted of: William E. M'Lellin, George W. Robinson
, Benjamin Winchester
, James Blakeslee, Josiah Ells, Hugh Herringshaw, David L. Lathrop, Jeremiah Hatch, Jr., E.R. Swackhammer, William Small, Samuel Bennett. Carvel Rigdon became Presiding Patriarch
, and a Standing High Council
, Quorum of the Seventy, Presiding Bishopric, and other quorum presidencies were established. In addition, Rigdon called seventy-three men and boys to a "Grand Council," perhaps an adaptation of the Council of Fifty
. Also at the conference, the new church organization formally returned its name to the 1830 church's original name, the "Church of Christ."
At a General Conference held that fall in Philadelphia
, Rigdon announced that the church would re-establish a communitarian society on what was named "Adventure Farm" near Greencastle, Pennsylvania
. Like many attempts to live the Law of Consecration in the Latter Day Saint movement
, this experiment proved a failure. Rigdonite apostles William E. McLellin and Benjamin Winchester grew disgusted with Rigdon's leadership and found a new church president and organization in the person of David Whitmer
and the Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
. One of the replacements in the Quorum was a certain William Bickerton
. Bickerton, however, disagreed with Rigdon's proposed move to Greencastle and severed his ties to the Church. Bickerton remained in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and never moved to Greencastle. By April 1847, the Adventure Farm community had collapsed and Rigdon had abandoned his flock, living out the rest of his life on the charity of relatives in New York state.
Bickerton continued to live in the Monongahela area and in 1849 began meeting informally with other believers whom he had converted to the faith, few of which had ever been associated with Rigdon. In 1862, he formally organized his Pennsylvania followers into The Church of Jesus Christ
.
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
who accept Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
as the successor in the church presidency
President of the Church (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed successors, such as Brigham Young, Joseph Smith III,...
to movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the Latter Day Saint movement
History of the Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches...
, but as of the 1844 succession crisis
Succession crisis (Mormonism)
The succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement occurred after the violent death of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., on June 27, 1844....
becomes distinct. Sidney Rigdon and other church leaders, including Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
and James J. Strang, presented themselves as leaders of the movement and established rival church organizations. Rigdon's group was initially headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. It was known at one point as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion, and its adherents are referred to as Rigdonites, or sometimes "Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints" or "Pennsylvania Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
." The only surviving organization that traces its succession back to Rigdon's organization is The Church of Jesus Christ
Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
The Church of Jesus Christ is a Christian religious denomination headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. The Church of Jesus Christ is a Restorationist church and is historically part of the Latter Day Saint movement...
, founded by a group of Rigdon's followers led by William Bickerton
William Bickerton
William Bickerton was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ , which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded...
.
History
Sidney Rigdon, who had been the first counselor in the first presidency under Joseph Smith, claimed to have received a vision, after the death of Joseph Smith, sustaining him as the leader of the Church. Although Joseph Smith taught that after the president in a presidency is released or dies the presidency no longer exists, Rigdon overlooked this teaching and returned to attempt to convince the other saints that he was to be the leader of the church. Unconvinced, because the other members were familiar with Smith's teachings, Brigham Young presented the doctrine taught by Smith that aside from the first presidency, the quorum of the twelve apostles was the governing body of the church. Most Latter-Day Saints followed Young as a result.Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
organizations. There was a large amount of confusion about who should succeed their fallen prophet. After the martyrdom, Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
claimed the right to lead the church as the senior surviving member of the church's highest ruling body, the First Presidency. The Quorum of Twelve Apostles, led by Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, also claimed the right to lead the church. The Quorum of the Twelve's claim was derived from a revelation of Joseph Smith allowing them to stand equal to the First Presidency in attending to natural matters of the church.
Prior to the death of Joseph Smith, the First Presidency had made nearly all the major decisions and led the Church of Christ both naturally and spiritually. On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon had been ordained by Joseph Smith as a "Prophet, Seer and Revelator"—which was one of the same ecclesiastical titles held by Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ maintains that as First Counselor to Smith, Rigdon should naturally have been the leader of the church after Smith's death. With this understanding, The Church of Jesus Christ actively opposes the opinion that the Quorum of Twelve had the right to lead the church. The Church of Jesus Christ argues that Rigdon should have been allowed to be what he claimed to be — a "guardian" over the church until proper proceedings could decide the next president — and that proceedings which resulted in Brigham Young leading the church constituted a procedural violation.
On December 27, 1847, when Young organized a new First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve only had seven of its twelve members present to represent a council to decide the Presidency. William Smith, John E. Page
John E. Page
John Edward Page was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.Born in 1799 in Trenton, New York, Page was the son of Ebenezer and Rachael Page. He was baptized into the Church of Christ, established by Joseph Smith, Jr., in Brownhelm, Ohio in August 1833 by missionary Emer Harris, brother...
, and Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr...
had previously denounced the proceedings and were not present. John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt
Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson Pratt...
were in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
and could not have known of the proceedings. This left just seven present, a majority of one meaning Young would have to vote for himself in order to gain a majority quorum vote in favor of his leadership. Young chose two of the other apostles, Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
and Willard Richards
Willard Richards
Willard Richards was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as Second Counselor in the First Presidency to church president Brigham Young in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death.Willard Richards was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to...
, as his counselors in the First Presidency. This left only four members of the Quorum of the Twelve present to vote in favor of creation of the new First Presidency: Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
, Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
, George A. Smith
George A. Smith
George Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
, and Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles...
. The Church of Jesus Christ views this action as a violation of church law compromising the authority of Sidney Rigdon without a majority quorum vote. The LDS Church actively opposes this view of the proceedings.
Undaunted, Rigdon relocated to Pittsburgh and established a rival organization of the church. Ebenezer Robinson, founding publisher of the Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly or twice-monthly at Nauvoo, Illinois, from November 1839 to February 15, 1846...
, became publisher of a new church periodical, the Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, (later the Messenger and Advocate of the Church of Christ.) The Rigdonite paper, like the reformist Mormon paper before it, the Nauvoo Expositor
Nauvoo Expositor
The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois that published only one issue, which was dated June 7, 1844. Its publication set off a chain of events that led to the death of Latter Day Saint movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
sought to expose and condemn the practice of plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
. Church elder Benjamin Winchester
Benjamin Winchester
Benjamin Winchester was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Winchester was the youngest adult member of Zion's Camp, an original member of the first Quorum of the Seventy, editor of the first independent Mormon periodical, the Gospel Reflector, president of a large branch of the...
commented that Young and the Quorum of the Twelve had:
- "Excited a certain portion of the Church to reject Elder Rigdon (which is a most horrid outrage upon the laws of the same) from a fear that he would bring them to...justice for teaching and practicing the doctrine of polygamyPolygamyPolygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
."
The Rigdonites came to believe that Joseph Smith had become a fallen prophet when he began to practice polygamy and that, as a result the "Lord smote him for this thing — cut him off from the earth." (Messenger and Advocate, Jan. 1, 1845)
Rigdon toured the eastern branches
Branch (Mormonism)
In denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement , a branch is the term used for what is called a congregation in other Christian denominations.-See also:*Bishop*Stake*Ward...
of the church in late 1844 and early 1845, gathering leaders to his cause. He was joined by former members of the First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
, John C. Bennett
John C. Bennett
John Cook Bennett was an American physician and a ranking and influential—but short-lived—leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, who acted as second-in-command to Joseph Smith, Jr., for a brief period in the early 1840s....
and William Law
William Law
William Law was an English cleric, divine and theological writer.-Early life:Law was born at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire in 1686. In 1705 he entered as a sizar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; in 1711 he was elected fellow of his college and was ordained...
and also by former Apostle
Apostle (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, an Apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an Apostle is a priesthood office of high authority within the church hierarchy. In many churches, apostles...
William E. M'Lellin.
On April 6, 1845 — fifteen years after the original organization of the church — Rigdon presided over a General Conference
General conference (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a general conference is a meeting for all members of the church for conducting general church business and instruction....
of Rigdonite Latter Day Saints in Pittsburgh, establishing a new hierarchy. He himself was sustained as President of the Church
President of the Church (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed successors, such as Brigham Young, Joseph Smith III,...
. The new Quorum of the Twelve
Quorum of the Twelve
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve was one of the governing bodies of the church hierarchy organized by the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr., and patterned after the twelve apostles of Christ In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the...
Apostles consisted of: William E. M'Lellin, George W. Robinson
George W. Robinson
George Washington Robinson was the first secretary to the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
, Benjamin Winchester
Benjamin Winchester
Benjamin Winchester was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Winchester was the youngest adult member of Zion's Camp, an original member of the first Quorum of the Seventy, editor of the first independent Mormon periodical, the Gospel Reflector, president of a large branch of the...
, James Blakeslee, Josiah Ells, Hugh Herringshaw, David L. Lathrop, Jeremiah Hatch, Jr., E.R. Swackhammer, William Small, Samuel Bennett. Carvel Rigdon became Presiding Patriarch
Presiding Patriarch (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Presiding Patriarch is a church-wide leadership office within the priesthood...
, and a Standing High Council
High council (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter-day Saint denominations...
, Quorum of the Seventy, Presiding Bishopric, and other quorum presidencies were established. In addition, Rigdon called seventy-three men and boys to a "Grand Council," perhaps an adaptation of the Council of Fifty
Council of Fifty
The Council of Fifty was a Latter Day Saint organization established by Joseph Smith, Jr...
. Also at the conference, the new church organization formally returned its name to the 1830 church's original name, the "Church of Christ."
At a General Conference held that fall in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Rigdon announced that the church would re-establish a communitarian society on what was named "Adventure Farm" near Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Greencastle is a borough in Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,722 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. Like many attempts to live the Law of Consecration in the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, this experiment proved a failure. Rigdonite apostles William E. McLellin and Benjamin Winchester grew disgusted with Rigdon's leadership and found a new church president and organization in the person of David Whitmer
David Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
and the Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
The Church of Christ was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement based on the claims of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates....
. One of the replacements in the Quorum was a certain William Bickerton
William Bickerton
William Bickerton was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ , which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded...
. Bickerton, however, disagreed with Rigdon's proposed move to Greencastle and severed his ties to the Church. Bickerton remained in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and never moved to Greencastle. By April 1847, the Adventure Farm community had collapsed and Rigdon had abandoned his flock, living out the rest of his life on the charity of relatives in New York state.
Bickerton continued to live in the Monongahela area and in 1849 began meeting informally with other believers whom he had converted to the faith, few of which had ever been associated with Rigdon. In 1862, he formally organized his Pennsylvania followers into The Church of Jesus Christ
Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
The Church of Jesus Christ is a Christian religious denomination headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. The Church of Jesus Christ is a Restorationist church and is historically part of the Latter Day Saint movement...
.
See also
- Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)The Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a schismatic sect that was created in 1914 from dissenting members of The Church of Jesus Christ . Like its parent church, the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a Rigdonite and Bickertonite organization: it traced the claim of succession to Latter Day...
: defunct Rigdonite/Bickertonite church - Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ was a schismatic sect that was created in 1907 from dissenting members of The Church of Jesus Christ . Like its parent church, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ was a Rigdonite and Bickertonite organization: it traced the claim of succession to Latter Day...
: defunct Rigdonite/Bickertonite church
Sources
- Van Wagoner, Richard S.Richard S. Van WagonerRichard S. Van Wagoner was an amateur historian who published works on the history of Utah and the history of the Latter Day Saint movement....
: Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess. - Rigdon, Sidney, et al.: An Appeal to the Latter Day Saints (1863).
- William H. Cadman, A History of the Church of Jesus Christ, Monongahela, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ, 1945.