Sidney Rigdon
Encyclopedia
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement
.
, Allegheny County
, Pennsylvania
, about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh. (The area today is known as Library.) He was the youngest of four children of William and Nancy Rigdon. Rigdon's father was a farmer and a native of Harford County, Maryland
. William Rigdon died in 1810, and Sidney remained on the farm until 1818, when he apprenticed himself to a Baptist minister named Rev. Andrew Clark. Rigdon received his license to preach for the Regular Baptist
s in March, 1819. He moved in May to Trumbull County, Ohio
, where he jointly preached with Adamson Bentley from July, 1819. He married Bentley's sister Phoebe Brook in June, 1820, and remained in Ohio until February, 1822, when he returned to Pittsburgh to accept the pastorate of the First Baptist Church there under the recommendation of Alexander Campbell
.
Rigdon and Bentley had journeyed to meet Campbell in the summer of 1821, to learn more about the Baptist who was encountering opposition to his idea that the New Testament
should hold priority over the Old Testament
in the Christian church. They engaged in lengthy discussions, which resulted in both men joining the Disciples of Christ movement
associated with Campbell. Rigdon became a popular Disciples preacher in the Pittsburgh church. However, some disaffected members were able to force his resignation in 1824. For the next two years Rigdon worked as a tanner
to support his family, while preaching Campbell's Restorationism on Sundays in the Pittsburgh courthouse. In 1826 he was invited to become the pastor of the more liberal Baptist church in Mentor, Ohio
in the Western Reserve. Many prominent early Latter Day Saint leaders, including Parley P. Pratt
, Isaac Morley
and Edward Partridge
, were members of Rigdon's congregations prior to their conversion to the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith
.
along the Erie Canal
, Parley P. Pratt
stopped in Palmyra
where he first learned about the Book of Mormon
. In early September 1830, Pratt was baptized into Joseph Smith
's Church of Christ. In October, Pratt and Ziba Peterson
were called on a mission to preach to the American Indians or "Lamanites".
On the Pratt's way west, they visited Rigdon in Ohio. Rigdon read the Book of Mormon
, believed in its truthfulness, and was converted to the religion. He was baptized into the church and proceeded to convert hundreds of members of his Ohio congregations. In December 1830, Rigdon traveled to New York, where he met Joseph Smith. Rigdon was a fiery orator and he was immediately called by Smith to be the spokesman for the church. Rigdon also served as a scribe and helped with Smith's inspired re-translation
of the Bible
.
and merge with Rigdon's congregations there. Many of the doctrines Rigdon's group had experimented with, including living with all things in common, afterwards found expression in the combined movement.
When Smith organized the church's First Presidency
, he set apart Jesse Gause
and Rigdon as his first two counselors. Smith and Rigdon became close partners, and Rigdon tended to supplant Oliver Cowdery
, the original "Second Elder
" of the church. When vigilantes decided to tar and feather Smith at the John Johnson Farm
in Hiram, Ohio
, they also tarred and feathered Rigdon.
Rigdon became a strong advocate of the construction of the Kirtland Temple
. When the church founded the Kirtland Safety Society
, Rigdon became the bank's president and Smith served as its cashier. When the bank failed in 1837, Rigdon and Smith were both blamed by Mormon dissenters.
and established a new church headquarters there. As spokesman for the First Presidency
, Rigdon preached several controversial sermons in Missouri, including the Salt Sermon
and the July 4th Oration
. These speeches have sometimes been seen as contributing to the conflict known as the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. As a result of the conflict, the Mormons were expelled from the state and Rigdon and Smith were arrested and imprisoned in Liberty Jail
. Rigdon was released on a writ of habeas corpus
and made his way to Illinois
, where he joined the main body of Mormon refugees in 1839.
. Rigdon continued to act as church spokesman and gave a speech at the ground-breaking of the Nauvoo Temple
.
However, Smith and Rigdon's relationship began to deteriorate in Nauvoo. Rigdon's participation in church administrative affairs became minimal. He did not reside in Nauvoo and served in a local church presidency in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. He was also in poor health. In 1843, Smith intended to place Amasa M. Lyman in the First Presidency and release Rigdon. However, during his address at the October 1843 general conference, Rigdon asked that he remain in the Presidency. The congregation then voted to retain him as first counselor, contrary to Smith's expressed wishes. After the vote, Smith stood and stated, "I have thrown him off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me. You may carry him, but I will not."
When Smith began his campaign for the presidency
of the United States
in 1844, Rigdon was selected as his vice-presidential
running mate. After Smith's death, Rigdon was the senior surviving member of the First Presidency. (The only other members were John Smith, who was an assistant counselor, and Amasa Lyman, who was a counselor.) During this time, Rigdon's strong opposition to polygamy and other issues within the church decreased his popularity within the church membership at large.
was the rightful heir. Smith's wife, Emma
, argued for the claims of the President of the central stake
, the presiding High Council, William Marks
. Marks, however, supported Rigdon.
Before a large Nauvoo congregation meeting to discuss the issue on August 8, 1844, Rigdon argued that there could be no successor to the deceased prophet and that he should be made the "Protector" of the church."
Brigham Young
, president
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
opposed this reasoning and motion and asserted a claim for the primacy of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asserts Smith had earlier recorded a revelation that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were "equal in authority and power" to the First Presidency, so the decision of Smith's successor fell back to the Apostles even though Rigdon believed he was rightly next in line. A story eventually evolved that many in the congregation had witnessed Brigham Young's voice take on the sound of Joseph Smith's voice and that Young's face and mannerisms also appeared as the face and mannerisms of Joseph Smith. This occurrence, however, was not recorded in any of the contemporary journals or records from the meeting, and only emerged years after the succession crisis.
The Quorum of Twelve Apostles were scattered throughout the United States and Europe, many on missions, at the time of Smith's death. The five members of the quorum available in Illinois voted to deny Rigdon his claim for church leadership. Rigdon felt this action was done without proper order. One month later, on September 8, Rigdon was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by a Common Council of the Church
which had been convened by Presiding Bishop Newel K. Whitney
. Rigdon refused to attend this trial after which he, in turn, likewise excommunicated the members of the Twelve and fled Nauvoo, claiming that he felt threatened by Young's supporters. Rigdon relocated to Pittsburgh where he continued his own faction of Mormonism.
Later, in December 1847, at the Kanesville Tabernacle in modern day Council Bluffs, Iowa
, the Apostles and church members sustained Young as the new President of the church. This reinstatement of the First Presidency occurred three years after the death of Joseph Smith, during which time Rigdon claimed his right to govern the church.
s. The Latter Day Saints who followed Rigdon separated themselves and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. On April 6, 1845, Rigdon presided over a conference of the Church of Christ, which he claimed was the rightful continuation of the church founded by Smith. He then reorganized the First Presidency and called his own Quorum of Twelve Apostles.
Although Rigdon's church briefly flourished through the publication of his periodical, The Messenger and Advocate, quarrels among the Rigdonites led most members of the church to desert the senior leader by 1847. A few loyalists, notably William Bickerton
, eventually reorganized the church in 1862 under the name The Church of Jesus Christ.
Rigdon lived on for many years in Pennsylvania and New York. He maintained his testimony of the Book of Mormon
and clung to his claims that he was the rightful heir to Joseph Smith. He died in Friendship, New York
.
, and by reworking it and adding a theological component, had created the Book of Mormon
. A 2008 computer analysis of the Book of Mormon text supports this theory, although the study does not include Joseph Smith Jr. in the author sample on the ground that few pure examples of Smith's writings are extant. Critics of the theory point out that there is no record of any meeting between Rigdon and Joseph Smith Jr. until December 1830, nearly a year after the Book of Mormon was published.
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...
.
Baptist background
Sidney Rigdon was born in St. Clair TownshipSt. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was one of the original townships created with the incorporation of Allegheny County in 1788. The township was named after Arthur St. Clair, an American Revolutionary War general and president of the Continental Congress in 1787.The township...
, Allegheny County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh. (The area today is known as Library.) He was the youngest of four children of William and Nancy Rigdon. Rigdon's father was a farmer and a native of Harford County, Maryland
Harford County, Maryland
Harford County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 244,826. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.-History:...
. William Rigdon died in 1810, and Sidney remained on the farm until 1818, when he apprenticed himself to a Baptist minister named Rev. Andrew Clark. Rigdon received his license to preach for the Regular Baptist
Regular Baptist
Regular Baptists are a diverse group of Baptists in the United States and Canada. The presence of the modifier "Regular" in their names attests to the strong influence of the early Regular Baptists on the growth of Baptists in North America. Two strains of Baptists emigrated from England to America...
s in March, 1819. He moved in May to Trumbull County, Ohio
Trumbull County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...
, where he jointly preached with Adamson Bentley from July, 1819. He married Bentley's sister Phoebe Brook in June, 1820, and remained in Ohio until February, 1822, when he returned to Pittsburgh to accept the pastorate of the First Baptist Church there under the recommendation of Alexander Campbell
Alexander Campbell (Restoration movement)
Alexander Campbell was an early leader in the Second Great Awakening of the religious movement that has been referred to as the Restoration Movement, or Stone-Campbell Movement...
.
Rigdon and Bentley had journeyed to meet Campbell in the summer of 1821, to learn more about the Baptist who was encountering opposition to his idea that the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
should hold priority over the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
in the Christian church. They engaged in lengthy discussions, which resulted in both men joining the Disciples of Christ movement
Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement)
The Disciples of Christ were a group arising during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. The most prominent leaders were Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The group was committed to restoring primitive Christianity...
associated with Campbell. Rigdon became a popular Disciples preacher in the Pittsburgh church. However, some disaffected members were able to force his resignation in 1824. For the next two years Rigdon worked as a tanner
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
to support his family, while preaching Campbell's Restorationism on Sundays in the Pittsburgh courthouse. In 1826 he was invited to become the pastor of the more liberal Baptist church in Mentor, Ohio
Mentor, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 50,278 people, 18,797 households, and 14,229 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,878.2 people per square mile . There were 19,301 housing units at an average density of 721.0 per square mile...
in the Western Reserve. Many prominent early Latter Day Saint leaders, including 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...
, Isaac Morley
Isaac Morley
Isaac Morley was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and a contemporary of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He was one of the first converts to Smith's Church of Christ...
and Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge was the grandson of Massachusetts Congressman Oliver Partridge, Esq., and a member of a family noted for commercial, social, political, and military leadership in Western Massachusetts. One of the first converts to the Latter Day Saint movement, he was baptized in or near Seneca...
, were members of Rigdon's congregations prior to their conversion to the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
.
Introduction to the early Church of Christ
On a trip in New York stateNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
along the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
, 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...
stopped in Palmyra
Palmyra (town), New York
Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....
where he first learned about the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
. In early September 1830, Pratt was baptized into Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
's Church of Christ. In October, Pratt and Ziba Peterson
Ziba Peterson
Ziba Peterson was an early American Latter Day Saint best known as one of the four initial missionaries sent by Joseph Smith in 1830 to preach to Native Americans in Indian Territory...
were called on a mission to preach to the American Indians or "Lamanites".
On the Pratt's way west, they visited Rigdon in Ohio. Rigdon read the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, believed in its truthfulness, and was converted to the religion. He was baptized into the church and proceeded to convert hundreds of members of his Ohio congregations. In December 1830, Rigdon traveled to New York, where he met Joseph Smith. Rigdon was a fiery orator and he was immediately called by Smith to be the spokesman for the church. Rigdon also served as a scribe and helped with Smith's inspired re-translation
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Kirtland, Ohio, 1830–37
In December 1830, Smith received a revelation counseling members of the church in New York to gather to Kirtland, OhioKirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
and merge with Rigdon's congregations there. Many of the doctrines Rigdon's group had experimented with, including living with all things in common, afterwards found expression in the combined movement.
When Smith organized the church's 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...
, he set apart Jesse Gause
Jesse Gause
Jesse Gause was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the First Presidency as a counselor to Church President Joseph Smith, Jr. For decades Gause was generally unknown to LDS historians, and so could be considered Mormonism's lost counselor of the First Presidency...
and Rigdon as his first two counselors. Smith and Rigdon became close partners, and Rigdon tended to supplant Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, the original "Second Elder
Assistant President of the Church
Assistant President of the Church was a position in the leadership hierarchy in the early days of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. The Assistant President was the second-highest authority in the church and was a member of the church's governing First Presidency...
" of the church. When vigilantes decided to tar and feather Smith at the John Johnson Farm
John Johnson Farm
The John Johnson farm in Hiram Township, Portage County, Ohio, United States is a key location in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. accepted Johnson's invitation to reside on the farm in September 1831...
in Hiram, Ohio
Hiram, Ohio
Hiram is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It was formed from portions of Hiram Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 1,242 at the 2000 census...
, they also tarred and feathered Rigdon.
Rigdon became a strong advocate of the construction of the Kirtland Temple
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
. When the church founded the Kirtland Safety Society
Kirtland Safety Society
The Kirtland Safety Society was a quasi-bank organized in 1836 by leaders and followers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. According to KSS's 1837 "Articles of Agreement", it was intended to serve the banking needs of the growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio...
, Rigdon became the bank's president and Smith served as its cashier. When the bank failed in 1837, Rigdon and Smith were both blamed by Mormon dissenters.
Far West, Missouri, 1838
Rigdon and Smith moved to Far West, MissouriFar West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
and established a new church headquarters there. As spokesman for 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...
, Rigdon preached several controversial sermons in Missouri, including the Salt Sermon
Salt Sermon
The salt sermon was an oration delivered on June 17, 1838 by Mormon leader, Sidney Rigdon, against Mormon dissenters. Rigdon was First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and often acted as spokesman for Joseph Smith, Jr....
and the July 4th Oration
Rigdon's July 4th Oration
Rigdon's July 4th oration was a speech delivered by Mormon leader Sidney Rigdon during a 4th of July celebration in Far West, Missouri in 1838. Rigdon was first counselor to, and often spokesman for, Joseph Smith Jr.....
. These speeches have sometimes been seen as contributing to the conflict known as the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. As a result of the conflict, the Mormons were expelled from the state and Rigdon and Smith were arrested and imprisoned in Liberty Jail
Liberty Jail
Liberty Jail is a former jail in Liberty, Missouri, USA where Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of Latter Day Saint movement, and other associates were imprisoned from December 1, 1838 to April 6, 1839 during the 1838 Mormon War...
. Rigdon was released on a writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
and made his way to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where he joined the main body of Mormon refugees in 1839.
Nauvoo, Illinois, 1839–44
Smith was allowed to escape from his Missouri jail and went on to found the city of Nauvoo, IllinoisNauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
. Rigdon continued to act as church spokesman and gave a speech at the ground-breaking of the Nauvoo Temple
Nauvoo Temple
The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the...
.
However, Smith and Rigdon's relationship began to deteriorate in Nauvoo. Rigdon's participation in church administrative affairs became minimal. He did not reside in Nauvoo and served in a local church presidency 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...
. He was also in poor health. In 1843, Smith intended to place Amasa M. Lyman in the First Presidency and release Rigdon. However, during his address at the October 1843 general conference, Rigdon asked that he remain in the Presidency. The congregation then voted to retain him as first counselor, contrary to Smith's expressed wishes. After the vote, Smith stood and stated, "I have thrown him off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me. You may carry him, but I will not."
When Smith began his campaign for the presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1844, Rigdon was selected as his vice-presidential
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
running mate. After Smith's death, Rigdon was the senior surviving member of the First Presidency. (The only other members were John Smith, who was an assistant counselor, and Amasa Lyman, who was a counselor.) During this time, Rigdon's strong opposition to polygamy and other issues within the church decreased his popularity within the church membership at large.
1844 succession crisis
After Smith's murder in 1844, contention arose over the leadership of the church. Factions, based sometimes on doctrine and sometimes on administrative position, developed and church members began to align themselves with various leaders. Some members assumed that Rigdon, as the senior surviving member of the First Presidency, would succeed Smith as church president. Others, however, believed that Smith's young son, Joseph Smith IIIJoseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
was the rightful heir. Smith's wife, Emma
Emma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was married to Joseph Smith, Jr., until his death in 1844, and was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
, argued for the claims of the President of the central stake
Stake (Mormonism)
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations...
, the presiding High Council, William Marks
William Marks (Mormonism)
William Marks was a leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement and was a member of the First Presidency in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
. Marks, however, supported Rigdon.
Before a large Nauvoo congregation meeting to discuss the issue on August 8, 1844, Rigdon argued that there could be no successor to the deceased prophet and that he should be made the "Protector" of the church."
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...
, president
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In general, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve is the most senior Apostle in the church, aside from the President of the Church...
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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...
opposed this reasoning and motion and asserted a claim for the primacy of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asserts Smith had earlier recorded a revelation that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were "equal in authority and power" to the First Presidency, so the decision of Smith's successor fell back to the Apostles even though Rigdon believed he was rightly next in line. A story eventually evolved that many in the congregation had witnessed Brigham Young's voice take on the sound of Joseph Smith's voice and that Young's face and mannerisms also appeared as the face and mannerisms of Joseph Smith. This occurrence, however, was not recorded in any of the contemporary journals or records from the meeting, and only emerged years after the succession crisis.
The Quorum of Twelve Apostles were scattered throughout the United States and Europe, many on missions, at the time of Smith's death. The five members of the quorum available in Illinois voted to deny Rigdon his claim for church leadership. Rigdon felt this action was done without proper order. One month later, on September 8, Rigdon was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by a Common Council of the Church
Common Council of the Church
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Common Council of the Church is a body of the church that has the power to discipline or remove the President of the Church or one of his counselors in the First Presidency due to misbehavior. Its existence and status are uncertain and...
which had been convened by Presiding Bishop Newel K. Whitney
Newel K. Whitney
Newel Kimball Whitney was a prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an American businessman. He served as Bishop of Kirtland, Ohio, Far West, Missouri, and Nauvoo, Illinois. He also served as the second Presiding Bishop of the Church from 1847 until his death...
. Rigdon refused to attend this trial after which he, in turn, likewise excommunicated the members of the Twelve and fled Nauvoo, claiming that he felt threatened by Young's supporters. Rigdon relocated to Pittsburgh where he continued his own faction of Mormonism.
Later, in December 1847, at the Kanesville Tabernacle in modern day Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
, the Apostles and church members sustained Young as the new President of the church. This reinstatement of the First Presidency occurred three years after the death of Joseph Smith, during which time Rigdon claimed his right to govern the church.
As Church Leader, Pennsylvania and New York, 1845–76
After the succession schism, Rigdon solidified and led an independent faction of Mormonism, originally called the "Church of Christ", but at one point was called as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion This sect is often referred to as the RigdoniteRigdonite
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...
s. The Latter Day Saints who followed Rigdon separated themselves and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. On April 6, 1845, Rigdon presided over a conference of the Church of Christ, which he claimed was the rightful continuation of the church founded by Smith. He then reorganized the First Presidency and called his own Quorum of Twelve Apostles.
Although Rigdon's church briefly flourished through the publication of his periodical, The Messenger and Advocate, quarrels among the Rigdonites led most members of the church to desert the senior leader by 1847. A few loyalists, notably 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...
, eventually reorganized the church in 1862 under the name The Church of Jesus Christ.
Rigdon lived on for many years in Pennsylvania and New York. He maintained his testimony of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
and clung to his claims that he was the rightful heir to Joseph Smith. He died in Friendship, New York
Friendship, New York
Friendship is a town in Allegany County, New York, USA. The population was 1,927 at the 2000 census. The town's name was adopted to mark the resolution of earlier conflicts....
.
Spalding/Rigdon theory
During the nineteenth century, some opponents of Mormonism speculated that Rigdon had obtained from a Pittsburgh publisher a manuscript for a historical novel written by one Solomon SpaldingSolomon Spalding
Solomon Spalding was the author of the Manuscript Story, a work of fiction about the lost civilization of the mound builders of North America...
, and by reworking it and adding a theological component, had created the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
. A 2008 computer analysis of the Book of Mormon text supports this theory, although the study does not include Joseph Smith Jr. in the author sample on the ground that few pure examples of Smith's writings are extant. Critics of the theory point out that there is no record of any meeting between Rigdon and Joseph Smith Jr. until December 1830, nearly a year after the Book of Mormon was published.
External links
- Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
- The Rev. Sidney Rigdon Memorial Home Page
- 1840s Rigdon Messenger & Advocate
- 1863 pro-Rigdon publication
- Rigdon-authorship theory
- The pro-Spalding theory perspective
- The anti-Spalding theory perspective
- "Conclusion of Elder Rigdon's Trial", Millennial StarMillennial StarThe Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star was the longest continuously published periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being printed from 1840 until 1970....
(supplement), December 1844 : a contemporary account of the Common Council of the Church's trial of Sidney Rigdon