The Rough Life Arc of Sidney Rigdon
Without
a doubt, Sidney Rigdon is one of the most interesting characters in early Latter-Day
Saint history. He was gung-ho until he wasn't. He was Joseph Smith’s right-hand man – even his running mate
when JS took a stab at protecting his people from behind the desk in the oval
office. Smith was murdered before his name was scribbled onto any ballots –
and Rigdon came a bit unhinged. Actually, Rigdon unraveled a little
before Smith’s demise. Don’t get me wrong – he had been a very good man. He'd even experienced 'The Vision' with Joseph (also noted in #6 below). But then something happened. He felt entitled to what he wanted. What he wanted wasn't what God wanted, and Rigdon left.
Sidney Rigdon is fascinating. Below are some major points from his life-arc.
It is mostly chronological, but may not be completely chronological.
First
– his conversion. Some have accused him of being a secret member from the
beginning – ghost writing the Book of Mormon. This first bit shows that was
definitely not the case:
1)
“Rigdon’s
daughter Nancy Rigdon Ellis was eight years old at the time of these events. In
an interview with E. L. and W. H. Kelley in 1884, she said she remembered the
event “because of the contest which soon arose between her father and Pratt and
Cowdery, over the Book of Mormon.” She stated: “I saw them hand him the book,
and I am as positive as can be that he never saw it before. He read it and
examined it for about an hour and then threw it down, and said he did not
believe a word in it.”” (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1838&context=msr)
But
Wait! I said we were gonna talk about his conversion!
That
was the start – here is more:
2)
“The mission to Kirtland resulted in bringing
to the church many brilliant men who played active parts in its destiny, Sidney
Rigdon, Frederick Granger Williams, Orson Hyde, Lyman Wight, Luke and Lyman E.
Johnson, Newel K. Whitney, and others. But of all these none created such a
stir throughout the whole Western Reserve as the conversion of Sidney Rigdon,
the minister of the most popular church in Mentor, who was universally
recognized as "the great orator" of the Reform Baptist Movement in
Ohio, then in process of evolution into what has since been called the
Disciples of Christ.” (http://www.centerplace.org/history/misc/soc/soc11.htm)
And
more (he didn’t come alone):
3)
“Two weeks after
the sermon, the Rigdons were baptized along with more than 100 members of
Rigdon’s congregation. The group was formed into a new Mormon congregation and
Rigdon was quickly called to the ministry.”
Sidney
didn’t sit still long. He was put to work almost as soon as he shook Smith’s
hand:
4)
“In December of
1830, Rigdon traveled to New York to meet the founder of the Mormon movement.
Rigdon believed that Joseph Smith was chosen to be God's prophet in the last
days. A revelation given through Smith revealed to Rigdon that he had been
called to be Smith's counselor, scribe and spokesman: "Behold, verily,
verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I have looked upon thee and thy work. I
have heard thy prayers, and prepared thee for a greater work. Thou are blessed,
for thou shalt do great things. Behold thou wast sent forth, even as John, to
prepare the way before me" (D&C 11:2)” (https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V05N02_73.pdf)
The rumors of Rigdon pulling all the Church strings emerged pretty
quickly. He was a highly respected pastor – Joseph was a grunt worker from a
poor, simple family. Rigdon made a name early as far as his Church ladder climbing
goes. Here’s a sample of that:
5)
“I had heard it
remarked that Joseph Smith was Sidney Rigdon’s cat’s paw: soon after he returned
from the East he came to see Joseph, and the thought went through my mind: now
I will see, who the cat’s paw is.—well, I did see; after passing the usual
compliments, Rigdon said to Joseph:—”When I was preaching in Philadelphia after
I had finished my discourse a man stepped up to me and desired me to explain
something in John’s Revelation, mentioning at the same time what it was)—”Well,
I could not do it, how is it Joseph?” Joseph cited him at once right offhand to
a passage in Ezekiel and something in some other book of the old Testament,
saying that they explained all about it.” I thought to myself, that don’t look
much like Joseph’s being a cat’s paw.”
That is not to say Rigdon sat idly by. For instance – he once
peered into the afterlife with Joseph in front of many. At the conclusion of
which, spectators said Rigdon looked pale, sickly and exhausted:
6) "It had been over
a year since the Prophet Joseph
Smith began a revision
of the Bible,
and the months of January and February 1832 found him again involved in this
assignment.
"Through his study
of the scriptures, many questions and problems relative to the Biblical account
were resolved through revelation. One such question had to do with the
term heaven. The Prophet wrote: “Upon my return from Amherst
[Ohio] conference, I resumed the translation of the Scriptures. From sundry
revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points
touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it
was compiled. It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God
rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘Heaven,’
as intended for the Saints’ eternal home must include more kingdoms than one.
Accordingly, on the 16th of February, 1832, while translating St. John’s
Gospel, myself and Elder Rigdon saw the following vision: [D&C 76].”…
"… “Joseph would, at intervals, say: ‘What do I
see?’ as one might say while looking out the window and beholding what all in
the room could not see. Then he would relate what he had seen or what he was
looking at. Then Sidney replied, ‘I see the same.’ Presently Sidney would say
‘what do I see?’ and would repeat what he had seen or was seeing, and Joseph
would reply, ‘I see the same.”
““This manner of
conversation was reported at short intervals to the end of the vision, and
during the whole time not a word was spoken by any other person. Not a sound
nor motion made by anyone but Joseph and Sidney, and it seemed to me that they
never moved a joint or limb during the time I was there, which I think was over
an hour, and to the end of the vision.
“Joseph sat
firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney
sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which, Joseph remarked,
smilingly, ‘Sidney is not used to it as I am.’” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/section-76-the-vision-of-the-degrees-of-glory?lang=eng)
Rigdon had been nothing but a fine, upstanding member up until
this point. Here’s where is starts getting a little strange:
7)
“Sidney Rigdon
was left to preside at Kirtland and frequently preached to us. Upon one
occasion he said the keys of the kingdom were taken from us. On hearing this,
many of his hearers wept, and when someone undertook to dismiss the meeting by
prayer he said praying would do them no good, and the meeting broke up in
confusion.
“… The word went
abroad among the people immediately that Sidney was going to expose
"Mormonism."
“Joseph came up
to Kirtland a few days afterwards and held a meeting in a large barn. …
[He] arose in our
midst and spoke in mighty power, saying: "I can contend with wicked men
and devils--yes with angels. No power can pluck those keys from me, except the
power that gave them to me; that was Peter, James and John. But for what Sidney
has done, the devil shall handle him as one man handles another."
“Thomas B.
Marsh's wife went from the meeting and told Sidney what Joseph had said, and he
replied: "Is it possible that I have been so deceived? But if Joseph says
so, it is so."
“About three
weeks after this, Sidney was lying on his bed alone. An unseen power lifted him
from his bed, threw him across the room, and tossed him from one side of the
room to the other. The noise being heard in the adjoining room, his family went
in to see what was the matter, and found him going from one side of the room to
the other, from the effects of which Sidney was laid up for five or six weeks.
Thus was Joseph's prediction in regard to him verified.” (http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/PDibble.html)
Here's another incident that seems to point to a straining
Smith/Rigdon relationship:
8)
“…during mid
October 1838, a company of LDS militiamen, which included Joseph Smith, were
encamped at Adam-ondi-Ahman to counteract the activities of Missouri who had
been operating in the region. John D. Lee was a member of the Mormon company
and remembered that cold rain caused the men to become despondent and then
noted the following:
“The Prophet came
up while the brethren were moping around, and caught first one and them another
and shook them up, and said, “Get out of here, and wrestle, jump, run, do
anything but mope around; warm yourselves up; this inactivity will do nothing
for soldiers.” The words of the Prophet put life and energy into the men. A
ring was soon formed, according to the custom of the people. The Prophet
stepped into the ring, ready for tussle with any comer. Several went into the
ring to try their strength, but each one was thrown by the prophet, until he
had thrown several of the stoutest of the men present.
“During this
tournament, Sidney Rigdon, angered that the Prophet would encourage and allow the
brethren to take part in such an activity, particularly since it was the
Sabbath day, attempted to break it up, believing such conduct was
inappropriate. Joseph Smith intervened in behalf of the men and told Rigdon if
he did not allow the men their fun, he would throw him down. He then dragged
him out of the ring, tearing his coat and causing him to lose his hat in the
process. Rigdon complained about what happened to his clothing, but Joseph told
his counselor he was out of place and had no one to blame but himself.” (https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/joseph-smith-prophet-man/11-joseph-smiths-athletic-nature)
These next two accounts are eye witnesses telling what they saw at
a Church conference. The strain seems to have come to a head:
9)
“I [George Josiah Marsh] attended the
conference at Nauvoo when the Prophet Joseph informed the saints that he could
no longer uphold and sustain Sidney Rigdon.” (They Knew
the Prophet, Andrus, P. 132)
10) “…I remember when at a conference in Nauvoo, a
short time before his death, [Joseph Smith] called Sidney Rigdon to account for
some transgression. He said that he had labored with Sidney to induce him to
make proper amends but in vain, and then he said: “I am done with him and won’t
carry him and longer.” (They Knew the Prophet,
Andrus, P. 168)
Then
the martyrdom happened. Joseph was dead and leadership appeared to be up for
grabs. Here’s one account of what happened next:
11) “As is
well known, Sidney Rigdon, who had shirked his duties and moved with his family
to Pittsburg some time previous to Joseph’s death, took advantage of the absence
of the majority of the Twelve, to hasten to Nauvoo to lay claim to the
guardianship of the Church, claiming to have had a vision from the Lord
concerning them, which he related at his first appearance before a congregation
of the Saints, saying that he was the identical man whom the prophets had sung
about, wrote about, and rejoiced over in every preceding generation, etc.
“Elder Parley P. Pratt remarked, “I am the identical man the
prophets never sung nor wrote a word about.” I was one of the listeners, and I
think that very few of the Saints felt that Sidney Rigdon, who had deserted his
post when Joseph stood most in need of him, was “the man whom the Lord had
called” for a shepherd to lead His sheep, in this the saddest and darkest hour
of their experience.” (https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/womans-view-helen-mar-whitneys-reminiscences-early-church-history/6-scenes-nauvoo-after)
Pratt
was able to hold off Rigdon until the twelve got back to town. Then there was
the big meeting where Rigdon presented his claim to leadership, and Brigham
Young presented the claim that the twelve should be in charge. Here’s an
account. (For over 100 more accounts – follow the link under #13!)
12)
“I was then 15 years old and I felt so sad. I was to [the] meeting when Sidney Rigdon declared himself our true prophet and
leader. Very few responded to the call, I am happy to say none of my father’s
family felt that he was. Soon after Brother Brigham came home from the East
where he was on a mission. I was to [the] meeting he said he was our Prophet and Seer. When he spoke it was in
Brother Joseph’s voice. I gave a jump of[f] my seat and said, “our Prophet Joseph has come to life, we have our
Prophet back!” I looked up and there stood Brother Joseph just as slim as I
ever saw him when alive. For a minute I heard Br. Joseph’s voice and saw his
features then a mist seemed to pass from Brighams face and go up. Then there
stood Brother Brigham talking to us. Hundreds saw the same thing I did, but not
all that were present.” (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/douglas-m-chabries/legacy/)
Wilford Woodruff, who was at the
meeting, gives us Sidney Rigdon’s response to the Brigham-debate:
13) “…There was not a person in that assembly,
Rigdon, himself, not excepted, but was satisfied in his own mind that Brigham
was the proper leader of the people, for he [Rigdon] would not have his name
presented, by his own consent, after that sermon was delivered. There was a
reason for this in the mind of God: it convinced the people. They saw and heard
for themselves, and it was by the power of God….” (http://scottwoodward.org/brighamyoung_transfiguration.html)
Sidney may have quit that day, but wasn’t done trying to
get his following. He came back like this:
14) “…by November Sidney had begun openly
declaring that Joseph had fallen during the Nauvoo period due to the
introduction of polygamy…
“… Rigdon’s bitterness toward polygamy during the Pittsburgh and
Antrim periods seems to suggest that those feelings were then the basic cause
of claiming Joseph a fallen prophet but years later in correspondence with
Stephen Post and in a printed pamphlet Sidney Rigdon emphasized Joseph's
supposed defamation of his and his family’s character.” (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2063&context=byusq)
That, of course, led to Rigdon’s excommunication:
15) “…on 8 September 1844 Sidney Rigdon was
excommunicated in Nauvoo. He did not remain there; in fact by the eleventh he
reached St. Louis and on the twelfth or thirteenth he left that city for Pittsburgh.
Within a month he had persuaded the church members there to follow him and had
begun publishing a newspaper to support his claims to leadership. While Pittsburgh
remained his stronghold through May of 1846, many branches of the Mormon church
also felt his influence.” (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2063&context=byusq)
He went around recruiting from Latter-Day Saint congregations, and
had some success, apparently. He may have tried to get some Joseph Smith-like
spiritual manifestations – the kind with other witnesses. It did not work out
(punctuation added):
16) “Rigdon’s group commenced a six-month long
conference in the farm’s barn in September of 1846. During this conference Sidney
Rigdon became emotionally overwrought and taught a number of doctrines which
caused many to leave him. As a result, by mid-December only a faithful few
remained. Nonetheless, the conference continued another three months. Sometime
during these three months, Sidney and his remaining followers apparently knelt
in the meadow, back of the barn, from sunset until dawn awaiting the advent of
the Messiah. If this account is true the Savior’s failure to appear likely
caused most of Rigdon’s last supporters to depart.” (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2063&context=byusq)
Years later, Rigdon had totally abandoned the restored gospel. He didn’t teach it anymore – but did he still believe it?
This is his now-grown son John’s story. He really wanted to know the truth, and hoped his
elderly dad would tell him. He’d spent some time in Utah, wasn’t impressed, and
then returned home:
17) “Soon after I got home, I told him the state
of affairs in Salt Lake and, as it was all a humbug, I wanted to know how the
Book of Mormon came into existence, for he owed it to his family to tell all he
knew about it and should not go down to his grave with any such grave secrets.
He said, “My son, I will swear before God that what I have told you about the
Book of Mormon is true. I did not write or have anything to do with its
production, and if Joseph Smith ever got that [Book of Mormon], other [than] from
that which he always told me ([that is,] that an angel appeared and told him
where to go to find the plates upon which the book was engraved in a hill near
Palmyra), Smith guarded his secret well, for he never let me know by word or
action that he got them differently, and I believe he did find them as he said,
and that Joe Smith was a prophet, and this world will find it out some day.” I
was surprised, [for he was] smarting under what he thought was the ingratitude
of the Church for turning him down and not having been with them for over 25
years. I must believe he thought he was telling the truth. He was at this time
in full possession of his faculties. What object had he in concealing the fact
any longer if he did write it? My father died in 1876 at the age of 83, a firm
believer in the Mormon Church. After my father’s death, I told Mother what my
father had told me about the Book of Mormon. She said, “Your father told you
the truth. He did not write it, and I know, as he could not have written it
without my knowing it, for we were married several years before the book was
published, and if he wrote it, it must have been since our marriage. I was
present and so was your sister Athalia Rigdon, who was a girl of about ten
years old when the book was presented to your father, and she remembers the
circumstances as well as any recollections of her life.”” (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2018/06/sidney-rigdons-testimony-to-his-son.html)
To close things off, I’d like to reiterate two quotes from the
above paragraph:
1)
“I believe [Joseph Smith] did find [the gold
plates] as he said, and that Joe Smith was a prophet, and this world will find
it out some day.”
2)
“My father died
in 1876 at the age of 83, a firm believer in the Mormon Church.”
That seems like just a touch of redemption.
I’d like to think so
anyway.
Wonderfully put together. Thank you very much.
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