THE SUCCESSION, 1844.
Sidney Rigdon's Claim to Guardianship.--Rigdon's Spiritual
Condition.--Comparison of Sidney Rigdon and Frederick
Williams.--Remarks of Brigham Young.--Meeting on Aug. 8, 1844.--Brigham
Young Follows Sidney Rigdon in Address to the People.--Members of the
Twelve Speak.--Vote on Question of Leadership.
The return of the Twelve to Nauvoo at that particular time was both
opportune and providential. Elder Woodruff's careful record of what was
said and done gives us an insight into the condition of the city and
into the feelings of the people. The minds of the Saints were agitated,
their hearts were sorrowful and darkness seemed to becloud their path;
they were like sheep without a shepherd, since their beloved Prophet
had been taken away.
Elder John Taylor was recovering from his wounds; and on the 7th of
August, 1844, the Twelve met in the forenoon in council at his home.
At four o'clock in the afternoon the Twelve, the high council, and
the high priests met in the Seventies' Hall. It was there that Sidney
Rigdon made his appearance, he having returned from Pittsburg. On
invitation of President Young he took charge of the meeting. Sidney
Rigdon presented to the people his claims to the guardianship of the
Church. He recounted to those present, a vision which he said he
received in Pittsburg on the 27th of June, the day of the Prophet's
martyrdom. This vision is given by Elder Woodruff in his journal as
follows: "This was presented to my mind, not as an open vision, but
rather as a continuation of the vision mentioned in the Doctrine and
Covenants. It was shown to me that His Church must be built up unto
Joseph and that all the blessings we received must come through him. I
have been ordained as spokesman to Joseph and must see that the Church
is governed in a proper manner. Joseph sustains the same relationship
to this Church as he has always done. No man can be a successor of
Joseph. The Kingdom has to be built up to Jesus Christ through Joseph.
There must still be revelation. The martyred Prophet is still the head
of this Church. Every quorum should stand in {213} the order in which
its members received their anointings. I have been ordained a spokesman
to Joseph and was commanded to speak for him. The Church is not
disorganized though our head is gone. We have a diversity of feelings
on this matter. I have been called to be a spokesman unto Joseph and
I want to build up the Church unto him; and if the people call me to
sustain this place, I want it upon the principle that every individual
shall acknowledge my right for himself. I propose to be a guardian to
the people. In this matter I have discharged my duty and have done what
God has commanded me to do. The people may please themselves whether
they accept me or not."
It will be remembered that although Sidney Rigdon had for a long time
been faithful and had passed through many persecutions and tribulations
with Joseph, he had weakened and had become "weary in well doing." When
he came out of Liberty jail he made an expression both presumptuous
and sacrilegious by saying, in substance, that the Savior was nothing
in suffering, compared with himself. Again when the Prophet gazed upon
Commerce, the place where Nauvoo was built, he prophetically remarked:
"It is a beautiful site but not long a resting place for the Saints."
Sidney was so impetuous and so weary of suffering that in a tone of
vexation he said of Joseph's words: "I thought that Joseph knew better
than to prophesy evil concerning the Saints."
The foregoing remarks disclose the state of Elder Rigdon's mind and
explain the interpretation which he put upon the sacrifices he had made
for the gospel's sake. From these sacrifices he sought honor rather
than the knowledge and spirit they contained. Elder Rigdon further
manifested a weakness in his faith by his critical attitude towards
the Prophet whose mind, to Sidney Rigdon's knowledge, had been so
wonderfully enlightened by a divine power that enabled him to foresee
future events. When Elder Rigdon, in closing his talk, remarked that
the people could do as they pleased about it, he manifested a weakness
of conviction and a spirit of indifference to his own claims that
created an equal indifference in the minds of those who listened to his
words.
Before his death, Joseph had conferred the keys of his divine authority
upon the Twelve who stood next in authority to the {214} Presidency of
the Church and they succeeded to the leadership when the latter for any
reason became disorganized.
Before the Prophet's death Elder Rigdon became separated from the body
of the Church and really abandoned his calling by his return to his
former home in Pittsburg. Associated in this particular event in the
history of the Church are the words of the Prophet which so perfectly
portrayed, not only Sidney Rigdon's character and future life, but also
the marvelous inspiration which characterized the words of the Prophet.
From Church History, Volume I., page 448, the following is given:
"Brother Sidney is a man whom I love but is not capable of that pure
and steadfast love for those who are his benefactors that should
characterize a president of the Church of Christ. This with some other
little things, such as selfishness and independence of mind, which too
often manifested, destroy the confidence of those who would lay down
their lives for him--these are his faults. But notwithstanding these
things, he is a very great and good man; a man of great power of words,
and can gain the friendship of his hearers very quickly. He is a man
whom God will uphold, if he will continue faithful to his calling. O
God, grant that he may for the Lord's sake. Amen."
"And again, blessed be brother Sidney, notwithstanding he shall be high
and lifted up, yet he shall bow down under the yoke like unto an ass
that croucheth beneath his burden, that learneth his master's will by
the stroke of the rod; thus saith the Lord: yet, the Lord will have
mercy on him and he shall bring forth much fruit, even as the vine
of the choice grape when her clusters are ripe, before the time of
the gleaning of the vintage; and the Lord shall make his heart merry
as with sweet wine, because of him who putteth forth his hand, and
lifteth him up out of the deep mire, and pointeth him out the way,
and guideth his feet when he stumbles and humbleth him in his pride.
Blessed are his generations; nevertheless one shall hunt after them
as a man hunteth after an ass that has strayed in the wilderness, and
straightway findeth him and bringeth him into the fold. Thus shall the
Lord watch over his generation, that they may be saved, Even so, Amen."
"The man who willeth to do well, we would extol his virtues, and speak
not of his faults behind his back. A man who {215} wilfully turneth
away from his friend without a cause, is not easily forgiven. The
kindness of a man should never be forgotten. That person who never
forsaketh his trust should ever have the highest place of regard in our
hearts, and our love should never fail, but increase more and more, and
this is my disposition and these are my sentiments."
"Brother Frederick G. Williams is one of those men in whom I place
the greatest confidence and trust, for I have found him ever full of
brotherly love, and kindness. He is not a man of many words but is ever
winning because of his constant mind. He shall ever have a place in my
heart, and is ever entitled to my confidence. He is perfectly upright
and honest and seeks with all his heart to magnify his Presidency in
the Church of Christ, but often fails because of lack of confidence in
himself. God grant that he may overcome all evil. Blessed be Brother
Frederick for he shall never want a friend, and his generation after
him shall flourish. The Lord hath appointed him an inheritance upon the
land of Zion: yea, and his head shall blossom, and he shall be as an
olive branch that is bowed down with fruit. Even so. Amen."
The fulfillment of these words were wonderfully brought about recently
through the discovery of Sidney Rigdon's son, John W., in New York. The
son, most of his life, had been separated from the Church and all its
interests. The proselyting of the elders in that city awakened in him
a spirit of inquiry into the doctrines which his father had so ably
expounded. The son became converted to the divinity of those doctrines
and espoused the teachings of the Church.
On the other hand, the posterity of Frederick Williams became numerous
and faithful. In view of such divine insight into the lives of men as
well as into the course of events, who can doubt? Joseph Smith stood
forth in prophetic majesty like Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Peter, James,
John, and others of old.
Returning to that important meeting in the Seventies' Hall, we find
recorded in Elder Woodruff's journal the words of President Young. They
are given by that faithful chronicler as follows: "I do not care who
leads the Church as long as the Lord directs it. One thing I must know
and that is what God says about it. I have the keys, and, therefore,
the means of obtaining the mind of God upon this subject. I know there
are those in our {216} midst who will seek the lives of the Twelve as
they did the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. We shall ordain others and give
them the fulness of priesthood, so that if we are killed the priesthood
shall remain. Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers
belonging to the apostleship which he held before he was taken away.
No man, no set of men, can get between Joseph and the Twelve in this
world or in the world to come. How often Joseph has said to the Twelve:
'I have laid the foundation, and you must build thereon; for upon
your shoulders the Kingdom rests.' The Twelve as a quorum will not be
permitted to tarry here long, they will go abroad and bear off the
Kingdom to the nations of the earth. They will baptize people faster
than mobs can kill them. I would like it, were it my privilege, to
take my valise and travel and preach until we had a people gathered
who would be true. My private feelings would be to let the affairs of
men and women alone, except to preach the gospel and to baptize people
into the Kingdom of God. However, what duty places upon me I intend to
fulfill."
Upon the suggestion of President Young, a special conference was
appointed for the following Tuesday, August 8, at ten a. m. To this
those present gave unanimous assent.
At the request of William Marks, who then presided over the stake in
Nauvoo, a special meeting was held in the morning to choose a guardian
for the Church. At that time Sidney Rigdon took his position in a wagon
about two rods in front of the stand and talked to the people for
about an hour and a half upon the choice of a guardian for the Church.
Those who were present on that occasion and who were familiar with the
eloquence of Sidney Rigdon, say that all his former inspiration and
eloquence had vanished while setting forth his personal claims for
recognition. He spoke as one who had forsaken the path of duty and had
become, like many others, indifferent to his obligations in the Church.
When this meeting was dismissed, President Young made an appointment
with the brethren to assemble at two p. m. that day. There were present
among the assembled multitude, President Young, Heber C. Kimball,
Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Richards, and
George A. Smith. The various quorums were assigned to their respective
places around the stand. {217} After the opening exercises, President
Young arose and said: "Attention all! This congregation makes me think
of the days of King Benjamin when the multitude was so great that all
could not hear. Let none complain of the size of this congregation, it
was necessary to call you together. For the first time in the history
of our lives, for the first time in this dispensation of the gospel, we
are without the Prophet Joseph in our midst. I step forth, therefore,
to act in my calling in connection with the Quorum of the Twelve, the
Apostles of Jesus Christ of this generation--Apostles whom God has
called by revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith and who are
ordained and anointed to carry the keys of the Kingdom of God unto all
the world.
"Hitherto the people have walked by sight and not so much by faith. We
have had the Prophet as the mouthpiece of the Lord; now he is gone. He
has sealed his testimony with his blood. We are called for the first
time to walk by faith. Now that our Prophet and Patriarch are taken
from our midst, in behalf of the Twelve I submit to the people this
question: Do you want someone to guard, to guide, to lead you into the
Kingdom of God as a guardian, spokesman, or something else? If so,
signify it by raising your right hand. (There was no vote).
"When I came to this stand I had peculiar feelings and impressions.
The faces of this people seemed to say: we want a shepherd to guide
us through this world. To all who want to draw apart from the Church
I say, let them do it if they choose, but they will not prosper. They
will find that there is a power with the Apostles which will carry the
work off victoriously and which will build up and defend the Church and
Kingdom of God in all the world. What do the people want? I want the
privilege of weeping and mourning for thirty days at least, and then
rising up and shaking myself and telling the people what the Lord wants
of them. Although my heart is too full of mourning to launch out into
business transactions and into the organizations of the Church, I feel
compelled this day to step forth and discharge all those duties which
God has placed upon me.
"I now wish to speak of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. The Church is organized, and you want to know how
it is organized, I will tell you. I know your feelings. Do you want
me to tell you your feelings? There {218} is President Rigdon who was
counselor to Joseph. I ask, where are Joseph and Hyrum? They are gone
beyond the veil, and if President Rigdon wants to act as his counselor,
he must go beyond the veil where he is.
"There has been much said about President Rigdon being President of
the Church and leading the people--being the head, etc., etc. Brother
Rigdon has come sixteen hundred miles to tell you what he wants to do
for you. If the people want President Rigdon to lead them they may have
him; but I say unto you that the Quorum of the Twelve have the keys of
the Kingdom in all the world. The Twelve are appointed by the finger of
God. Here is Brigham, have his knees ever faltered? Have his lips ever
quivered? Here are Heber and the rest of the Twelve, an independent
body who have the keys of the priesthood; the keys of the Kingdom of
God to deliver to all the world; this is true, so help me God! They
stand next to Joseph and are as the Presidency of the Church. I do not
know whether my enemies will take my life or not and I do not care, for
I want to be with the man I love.
"You cannot fill the office of a prophet, seer, and revelator. God must
do that. You are like children without a father, and sheep without a
shepherd. You must not appoint any man at your head; if you do, the
Twelve must ordain him. You cannot appoint any man at your head, but if
you do want any other man or men to lead you, take him or them, and we
will go our way to build up the Kingdom of God in all the world.
"I know who are Joseph's friends and who are his enemies; I know where
the keys of the Kingdom are, where they will eternally be. You cannot
call a man to be a prophet. You cannot take Elder Rigdon and place him
above the Twelve; if so, he must be ordained by them.
"I tell you there is an over-anxiety to hurry matters here. You cannot
take any man and put him at the head. You would scatter the Saints to
the four winds. You would sever the priesthood. So long as we remain as
we are, the Heavenly Head is in constant co-operation with us; and if
you go out of that course, God will have nothing to do with you.
"Again, some perhaps think that our beloved Brother Rigdon would not
be honored, would not be looked to as a friend; {219} but if he does
right and remains faithful, he will not act against our counsel nor we
against his, but act together and be as one.
"I again repeat--no man can stand at our head except God reveals it
from the heavens. I have spared no pains to learn my lesson of the
Kingdom in this world and in the eternal worlds: and if it were not
so, I could go and live in peace; but for the gospel and your sakes, I
shall stand in my place. We are liable, all the day long, to be killed.
You have never lived by faith.
"Brother Joseph, the Prophet, has laid the foundation for a great work
and we will build upon it. You have never seen the quorums built one
upon another. There is an almighty foundation laid and we can build a
Kingdom such as there never was in the world. We can build a Kingdom
faster than Satan can kill the Saints off.
"What do you want? Do you want a patriarch for the whole Church? To
this we are perfectly willing. If Brother Samuel H. Smith had been
living, it would have been his right and privilege, but he is dead.
He is gone to Joseph and Hyrum. He is out of the reach of bullets and
spears and he can associate himself with his brothers, his friends, and
the Saints.
"Do you want a patriarch? Here is Brother William left. Here is Uncle
John Smith, uncle to the Prophet Joseph. It is their right. The right
of the patriarchal priesthood belongs to Joseph's family.
"Do you want a trustee-in-trust? Has there been a bishop who has stood
in his lot yet? What is his business? To take charge of the temporal
affairs so that the Twelve and the elders may go on their business.
Joseph condescended to do their business for them. Joseph condescended
to offer himself for Presidency of the United States, and it was a
great condescension.
"Do you want a spokesman? Here are Elder Rigdon, Brother Amasa Lyman,
(whom Joseph expected to take as a counselor) and myself. Do you want
the Church properly organized, or do you want a spokesman. Elder Rigdon
claims to be spokesman to the Prophet. Very well--he was. But can he
now act in that office?
"If he wants now to be a spokesman to the Prophet he must go to the
other side of the veil for the Prophet is there, but {220} Elder Rigdon
is here. Why will Elder Rigdon be a fool? Who knows anything of the
priesthood or of the organization of the Kingdom of God? I am plain.
Does the Church want it as God organized it, or do you want to clip the
power of the priesthood, and let those who have the right go and build
up the Kingdom in all the world wherever the people will hear them?
"If there is a spokesman, if he is a king and priest, let him go and
build up a kingdom unto himself. The Twelve are at the head of the
Church. I want to live on the earth and spread truth through all the
world. You Saints of Latter-days want things right. If ten thousand
should rise up and say they have Joseph's shoes, I know they would be
imposters. In the priesthood you have a right to build up a kingdom if
you know how the Church is organized.
"Now if you want Sidney Rigdon or William Law to lead you, or any body
else, you are welcome to them both, but I tell you in the name of the
Lord that no man can put another between the Twelve and the Prophet
Joseph. Why? Because Joseph was their file leader and he has committed
into their hands the keys of the Kingdom in this last dispensation for
all the world. I ask, who has stood next to Joseph? I have; and I will
stand next to him. We have a head and that head is the Apostleship, the
spirit and power of Joseph, and we now can begin to see the necessity
of that Apostleship.
"President Rigdon was at his side, not above. No man had a right to
counsel the Twelve but Joseph Smith. Think of these sayings. You cannot
appoint a prophet; but if you let the Twelve remain and act in their
place, the keys of the Kingdom are with them, and they can manage the
affairs of the Church and direct all things aright.
"Now all this does not lessen the character of President Rigdon. Let
him magnify his calling and Joseph will want him behind the veil. Let
him be careful what he does lest that thread which binds us together be
cut asunder. May God bless us all."
Following the remarks of President Brigham Young, Amasa Lyman spoke a
few words fully sustaining President Young and the Twelve. Elder Lyman
had been chosen as a counselor to the Prophet Joseph and in reference
to the matter pending said: "I am gratified with the open, frank, and
plain exposition {221} of President Young. He has seen the relation I
bear to our deceased brother. I never did conceive that it gave me a
right to stand above the Twelve. I make no exceptions, whatever, to
anything he has said. President Young has stood next to the Prophet
Joseph with the Twelve and I have stood next to them and will be with
the Twelve forever. We have a head here. What is that head? The Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles."
The words, the appearance, and the spirit of Brigham Young were so
convincing and so like those of the Prophet Joseph that the people knew
the voice of their new shepherd.
President Rigdon next called upon W. W. Phelps to speak for him as
he could not speak for himself. Although Elder Phelps spoke at some
length, he did not advocate the claims of Elder Rigdon. He sustained
the right and duty of the Twelve Apostles to stand at the head, and
expressed his hope that Elder Rigdon would submit to that authority.
Apostle Parley P. Pratt then spoke in support of President Young and
the Twelve and said with reference to the wicked men in Nauvoo: "If
there are wicked men here, it is because we support them. Stop dealing
with them and they will go away. I am willing to do good to all men,
especially to the household of faith. Mobs and wicked men will cease
only when you cease to support them. I know we can all live and be
happy--when we deal with honest men. If some men want a doctor to cure
them, they will send directly for the worst man they can find. I would
die a natural death rather than have a wicked doctor help me off.
Cunning device and hypocritical sophistry gain an ascendency in Nauvoo,
and this they have often done elsewhere in the History of the Church."
At the close of Elder Pratt's remarks President Young arose and said:
"If Brother Rigdon is the person you want to lead you, vote for him;
but if you do, then follow him and take his counsel hereafter as you
did the counsel of Joseph; and do not say so unless you mean to follow
him. I will say the same for the Twelve. Don't make a covenant to
support them unless you intend to abide by their counsel. President
Rigdon wants me to bring up the first question of sustaining the
Twelve. If the Church wants the Twelve to stand at its head, to be the
Presidency of the Church in all the world, standing next to Joseph,
to {222} walk in their calling and to hold the keys of this Kingdom,
manifest it by holding up the right hand. (There was a unanimous vote
in favor of the proposition.) If there be any of a contrary mind, lift
up your hands in like manner. (No hand went up). This supercedes the
other question and the necessity of putting it to the quorums."
The remarks of President Young on this occasion clearly indicate
that there was no disposition to treat unkindly or with disrespect
the feelings of Elder Rigdon, or to disregard the fact of his long
experience, and of his sufferings for the gospel's sake. President
Young continued: "We feel as though we could take Brother Rigdon along
with us. We want such a man. Let him be one with us and we one with
him." Later in his remarks President Young asked the congregation if
they would sustain Elder Rigdon in his relationship to the Twelve. The
vote to do so was unanimous.
Of the deceased Prophet, President Young said: "You did not know whom
you had amongst you. Joseph so loved this people that he gave his life
for them. Hyrum loved his brother and this people unto death. Joseph
and Hyrum have given their lives for the Church. Very few knew Joseph's
character, who loved you unto death. He has now sealed his testimony
with his blood. If the Twelve had been here, they would not have seen
him given up. He should not have been given up. He was in your midst
and you did not know him. He has been taken away, for the people are
not worthy of him. I do not know whether my enemies will kill me or
not. I would wish to be with the man I love."
The patriarch of the Church had been taken away and the office
therefore left vacant. Of this matter President Young said: "We shall
have a patriarch, and the right to this office is in the family of
Joseph Smith. It belongs to some of his relations. Here is Uncle John.
He has been ordained a patriarch. Brother Samuel would have received
it, but he also has been taken away. The right is in Uncle John or in
one of his brothers." The matter of selecting a patriarch was left to
the Twelve for future action and for the purpose of learning the will
of the Lord concerning it. At that time the Patriarch Hyrum's son,
John, who now fills the office was only ten years of age. Uncle John,
brother {223} to Joseph's father, was finally chosen to fill the place
which he did with honor and satisfaction during the rest of his life.
Since that memorable conference all therein said by President Young
and his associates is confirmed by the position taken with respect
to the authority or the leadership in the Church. Notwithstanding
the predictions of a migration by the Saints to the valleys of the
Rocky Mountains, the leaders adhered strictly to the divine command,
admonishing them to complete the Temple. By the conscientious regard
for the word of God which was manifested to them from day to day they
accomplished the work at hand and trusted their future movements to the
guidance of their Heavenly Father. They waited upon the Lord and were
taught by Him the lessons of patience as well as the lessons of faith.
The conference just closed was a notable landmark in the history of the
Church. Its decisions have been faithfully kept and the wisdom of those
decisions, time has justified.
{224}