Sidney Rigdon: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|American Mormon leader (1793–1876)}} |
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{{Infobox LDSGA| |
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{{Infobox Latter Day Saint biography |
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English name = Sidney Rigdon| |
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| name = Sidney Rigdon |
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image=[[File:SidneyRigdon.jpg|150px]]| |
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| image = Rigdon.gif |
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birth_date={{birth date|1793|02|19}}| |
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1793|02|19}} |
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birthplace=[[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]], [[Pennsylvania]]| |
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| birth_place = [[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States |
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death_date={{death date and age|1876|07|14|1793|02|19}}| |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1876|07|14|1793|02|19}} |
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deathplace=[[Friendship, New York|Friendship]], [[New York]]| |
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| death_place = [[Friendship, New York|Friendship]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States |
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position_or_quorum1=Second Counselor in the [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]]| |
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| resting_place = Maple Grove Cemetery |
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president1=[[Joseph Smith, Jr.]]| |
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| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|42.2175|-78.1186|type:landmark|display=inline|name=Maple Grove Cemetery}} |
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start_date1={{death date and age|1832|03|08|1793|02|19}}| |
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| spouse = Phebe Brooks |
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end_date1={{death date and age|1833|03|18|1793|02|19}}| |
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| children = 11, including [[Nancy Rigdon]] |
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end_reason1=Called as First Counselor in [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]]| |
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| portals = movement |
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position_or_quorum2=First Counselor in the [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]]| |
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| position_or_quorum1 = [[President of the Church]]<br />[[Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion]] |
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president2=[[Joseph Smith, Jr.]]| |
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| predecessor1 = None |
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start_date2={{death date and age|1833|03|18|1793|02|19}}| |
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| successor1 = [[Stephen Post]]<br />[[William Bickerton]]<br />(Reorganized church in 1862) |
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end_date2={{death date and age|1844|06|27|1793|02|19}}| |
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| start_date1 = {{start date|1845|04|06|mf=yes}} |
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end_reason2=Dissolution of [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]] upon the death of [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]]| |
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| end_date1 = 1847<!-- {{end date|yyyy|mm|dd|mf=yes}} --> |
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| end_reason1 = |
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| position_or_quorum2 = First Counselor in the [[First Presidency]]<br />[[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]] |
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| called_by2 = Joseph Smith |
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| start_date2 = {{start date|1833|03|18}} |
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| end_date2 = Summer of 1844 |
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| end_reason2 = [[Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)|Succession crisis]] after the death of Joseph Smith |
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| predecessor2 = [[Jesse Gause]] |
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| successor2 = |
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| position_or_quorum3 = Second Counselor in the First Presidency<br />[[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)]] |
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| called_by3 = Joseph Smith |
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| ordination_reason3 = Initial organization of First Presidency |
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| start_date3 = {{start date|1832|03|08}} |
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| end_date3 = {{end date|1833|03|18}} |
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| predecessor3 = |
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| successor3 = [[Frederick G. Williams]] |
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| end_reason3 = Called as First Counselor in First Presidency |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Sidney Rigdon''' (19 February 1793 – 14 July 1876) was a leader of the early [[Latter Day Saint movement]], his influence perhaps only less than that of church founder [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]], who chose Rigdon as his [[Vice President of the United States|vice-presidential]] running mate during the [[United States presidential election, 1844|1844 presidential election]]. |
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'''Sidney Rigdon''' (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]]. |
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==Baptist background== |
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Sidney Rigdon was born in [[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]], [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|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 (Restoration movement)|Alexander Campbell]].<ref>''[[Times and Seasons]]'' May 1, 1843. p. 177 in 1986 reprint by Independence Press, ISBN 0-8309-0467-0</ref> |
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== Biography == |
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Rigdon and Bentley had journeyed to meet Alexander 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 (Campbell Movement)|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 [[Tanning|tanner]] to support his family, while preaching Campbell's [[Restorationism (Christian primitivism)|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 (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] as founded by [[Joseph Smith, Jr]]. |
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=== Early life === |
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Rigdon was born in [[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]], [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]], on February 19, 1793.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=McCune|first=George M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wvlAAAACAAJ|title=Personalities in the Doctrine and Covenants and Joseph Smith–History|publisher=Hawkes Publishing|year=1991|isbn=9780890365182|location=Salt Lake City, Utah|pages=98–101}}</ref> 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]]. He died in 1810. |
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According to an account by his son John M. Rigdon, young Rigdon {{qi|borrowed all the histories he could get and began to read them. … In this way he became a great historian, the best I ever saw. He seemed to have the history of the world on his tongue's end and he got to be a great biblical scholar as well. He was as familiar with the Bible as a child was with his spelling book. He was never known to play with the boys; reading books was the greatest pleasure he could get. He studied English Grammar alone and became a very fine grammarian. He was very precise in his language.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sedgwickresearch.com/philo/even%20more%20philo%20stuff.htm|title=Wilford woodruff collected discourses}}</ref> |
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==As a Latter Day Saint== |
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===Introduction to the early Church of Christ=== |
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On a trip in [[New York|New York state]] along the [[Erie Canal]], Parley P. Pratt stopped in [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra]] where he first learned about the [[Book of Mormon]]. In early September 1830, Pratt was baptized into the "[[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]]", as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was first called. In October, Pratt and [[Ziba Peterson]] were called on a mission to preach the Gospel to the [[American Indians in the United States|American Indians]] or "[[Lamanites]]". |
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Rigdon remained on the farm until his mother sold it in 1818. |
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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, Jr.|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 [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible|Smith's inspired re-translation]] of the [[Bible]]. |
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=== Baptist ministry and tanner === |
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===Kirtland, Ohio, 1830-37=== |
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On May 31, 1817, Rigdon was baptized by Rev. Phillips, and he became a member of the Peter's Creek Baptist Church of Library, Pennsylvania.<ref name="sidneyrigdon.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/Rigdchrn.htm|title=Sidney Rigdon Chronology}}</ref> |
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In December 1830, Smith received a revelation counseling members of the church in New York to gather to [[Kirtland, Ohio]] 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. |
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In 1818, Rigdon moved to North Sewickley to become an apprentice to Baptist minister Rev. Andrew Clark. Rigdon received his license to preach for the [[Regular Baptist]]s in March 1819. |
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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 [http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/essays/josephsmith.htm Joseph Smith Jr.] at the [[John Johnson Farm]] in [[Hiram, Ohio]], they also tarred and feathered Rigdon. |
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Rigdon moved in May to [[Trumbull County, Ohio]], where he jointly preached with Adamson Bentley from July 1819. He married Bentley's wife's sister, Phoebe Brooks, in June 1820. Rigdon 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 (Restoration movement)|Alexander Campbell]].<ref>''[[Times and Seasons]]'' May 1, 1843. p. 177 in 1986 reprint by Independence Press, {{ISBN|0-8309-0467-0}}</ref> |
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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. |
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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, with both men joining the [[Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement)|Disciples of Christ movement]] associated with Campbell. |
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===Far West, Missouri, 1838=== |
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Rigdon and Smith moved to [[Far West, Missouri]] 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 [[Rigdon's July 4th Oration|July 4th Oration]].<ref>[[s:Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon on the 4th of July at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri|Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon on the 4th of July at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri]], 1838</ref> These speeches have sometimes been seen as contributing to the conflict known as the [[Mormon War (1838)|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. |
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On January 28, 1822, Rigdon arrived in Pittsburgh to become a minister at the First Baptist Church.<ref name="sidneyrigdon.com"/> Rigdon's ministry met with opposition from member Rev. John Winter, and on July 11, 1823, a schism split the congregation, with each side disfellowshipping the other. On October 11, Rigdon was "excluded from the [[Redstone Baptist Association|Redstone Association]] Baptist Denomination", of which the First Baptist Church was a member.<ref name="sidneyrigdon.com"/> |
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===Nauvoo, Illinois, 1839-1844=== |
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Smith later escaped his Missourian captors and founded the city of [[Nauvoo, Illinois]]. Rigdon continued to act as church spokesman and gave a speech at the ground-breaking of the original [[Nauvoo Temple]]. |
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From 1824 to 1826, Rigdon worked as a [[journeyman]] [[Tanning (leather)|tanner]] in Pittsburgh, while preaching Campbell's [[Restorationism (Christian primitivism)|Restorationism]] on Sundays in the courthouse. He also worked as a journeyman printer for the Philadelphia publisher Paterson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/features/tannery1.htm|title=SidneyRigdonDotCom Feature Articles: Sidney Rigdon, Journeyman Tanner}}</ref> In 1826, Rigdon became the pastor of the more liberal Baptist church in [[Mentor, Ohio]], in the [[Western Reserve]]. |
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However, Smith and Rigdon's relationship began to deteriorate. Rigdon's participation in church administrative affairs was minimal during the Nauvoo period. He did not reside in the city 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 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."<ref>[[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] ''[[History of the Church]]'', vol. 6, p. 49</ref> |
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=== Latter Day Saint leader in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois (1830–44) === |
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When Smith began his campaign for the [[President of the United States|presidency]] of the [[United States]] in 1844, Rigdon was selected as his [[Vice President of the United States|vice-presidential]] running mate. In April 1844, [[William Law (Mormonism)|William Law]], the second counselor in the [[First Presidency]], was excommunicated and his position was not filled. Consequently, after Smith's death, Rigdon was the only remaining member of the First Presidency. During this time, Rigdon's strong opposition to polygamy and other issues within the Church<ref>McKiernan, M.F.: ''The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer''Coronado Press, 1979</ref> decreased his popularity within the church membership at large. |
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{{Book of Mormon}} |
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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 (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] founded by [[Joseph Smith]]. |
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==== Early involvement ==== |
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==1844 succession crisis== |
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[[File:Sidney Rigdon Preaching his First Mormon Sermon.PNG|300px|thumb|left|Sidney Rigdon preaching his first Mormon sermon]] |
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{{See also|Succession crisis}} |
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In early September 1830, Rigdon's associate, Pratt, was baptized into the Church of Christ founded by Smith. In October, Pratt and [[Ziba Peterson]] began a mission to preach to the [[American Indians in the United States|American Indians]]. |
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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. (See [[Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)]]) 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 III]] was the rightful heir. Smith's wife, [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma]], argued for the claims of the President of the central [[Stake (Mormonism)|stake]], the presiding High Council, [[William Marks (Mormonism)|William Marks]]. Marks, however, supported Rigdon. |
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They visited Rigdon and his wife, Phoebe, in Ohio. Rigdon read the [[Book of Mormon]] in fourteen days, proclaimed its truthfulness, and was baptized into the church on November 14, 1830, in [[Mentor, Ohio]].<ref name=":1" /> He proceeded to convert hundreds of members of his Ohio congregations. In December 1830, Rigdon traveled to New York, where he met Joseph Smith.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sidney Rigdon|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/sidney-rigdon?lang=eng|access-date=2021-06-28|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref> He was then ordained a [[High priest (Latter Day Saints)|high priest]] on June 3, 1831.<ref name=":1" /> |
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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."<ref>[[B. H. Roberts|Roberts, B. H.]]: ''[[History of the Church]]'', vol. 7, ch. XVIII</ref> |
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Rigdon was a fiery orator, and he was immediately called by Smith to be the spokesman for the church. He also served as a scribe and helped with [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible|Smith's re-translation]] of the [[Bible]]. |
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[[Brigham Young]], [[President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles|president]] of the [[Quorum of the Twelve|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 in section 107, verses 23-24 of the Doctrine and Covenants 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.<ref>[[B. H. Roberts|Roberts, B. H.]]: ''[[History of the Church]]'', vol. 7, ch. XIX</ref> 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 Brigham Young's face and mannerisms also appeared as the face and mannerisms of Joseph Smith.<ref>Lynne Watkins Jorgensen, "The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Smith Passes to Brother Brigham: One Hundred Twenty-one Testimonies of a Collective Spiritual Witness" ''in'' [[John W. Welch]] (ed.), 2005. ''Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844'', Provo, Utah: [[BYU Press]], pp. 374-480.</ref> 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.<ref>[[Richard S. Van Wagoner]], "The Making of a Mormon Myth: The 1844 Transfiguration of Brigham Young." Dialogue, Vol. 28, No. 4, Winter 1995.</ref> |
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; Rigdon as revelator |
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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]], Sidney Rigdon was excommunicated from the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]] by a [[Common Council of the Church]] which had been convened by [[Bishop (Latter Day Saints)#Presiding Bishop|Presiding Bishop]] [[Newel K. Whitney]].<ref>[[s:J. M. Grant's RIGDON|J. M. Grant's RIGDON: Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken by Elder Sidney Rigdon, in the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania. By Jedediah M. Grant, One of the Quorum of Seventies.]], pp. 20-37</ref> Sidney Rigdon refused to attend this trial<ref>[http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/rigdon/part4.htm#pennsylvania [[Jedediah M. Grant]], "A Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken By Elder Sidney Rigdon: In the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania", Part IV], Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, Printers, 1844</ref> after which he, in turn, likewise excommunicated the members of the Twelve and fled Nauvoo, claiming that he felt threatened by Young's supporters.<ref>McKiernan, M.F.: ''The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer'' Coronado Press, 1979</ref> He relocated to [[Pittsburgh]] where he continued his own faction of Mormonism. |
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Rigdon reportedly received visions jointly with Smith. According to one account: {{qi|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 repeated at short intervals to the end of the vision}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/REC-JS.html|title=Recollections About Joseph Smith|access-date=2013-11-22|archive-date=2014-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622073629/http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/REC-JS.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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==== Kirtland, Ohio, 1830–37 ==== |
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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 (Latter Day Saints)|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.<ref>McKiernan, M.F.: ''The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer''Coronado Press, 1979</ref> |
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In December 1830, Smith said he received a revelation counseling members of the church in New York to gather to [[Kirtland, Ohio]]. Many of the doctrines Rigdon's group had experimented with found place in the combined movement, such as living with all things in common. |
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; August/September 1831<nowiki>:</nowiki> Rigdon rebuked |
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In August 1831, Smith announced that he had received a revelation admonishing Rigdon for exalting himself: {{qi|And now behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalted himself in his heart, and received not counsel, but grieved the Spirit; Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord, and he shall make another; and if the Lord receive it not, behold he standeth no longer in the office to which I have appointed him. … Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips—For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority. Wherefore, let the church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord, will own them otherwise they shall be cut off.}}<ref>{{cite web|author=B.H. Roberts|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/History/History_of_the_Church/Vol_1|title=History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints|website=boap.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610005645/http://www.boap.org/LDS/History/History_of_the_Church/Vol_1 |archive-date=June 10, 2023|access-date=December 23, 2023}}</ref> |
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; March 1832<nowiki>:</nowiki> Tarred and feathered |
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==As Church Leader, Pennsylvania and New York, 1845-1876== |
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Smith relocated to [[Hiram Township, Portage County, Ohio|Hiram, Ohio]], in September 1831. Smith and Rigdon were tarred and feathered at the [[John Johnson Farm]] on March 24, 1832. Smith recorded: {{qi|The next morning I went to see elder Rigdon, and found him crazy, and his head highly inflamed, for they had dragged him by his heels, and those too, so high from the earth he could not raise his head from the rough frozen surface, which lascerated it exceedingly; and when he saw me he called to his wife to bring him his razor. She asked him what he wanted of it? and he replied to kill me. Sister Rigdon left the room, and he asked me to bring his razor. I asked him what he wanted of it, and he replied he wanted to kill his wife, and he continued delirious some days.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CxOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA243|title=History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1805–1890|first=Heman Conoman|last=Smith|date=1 January 1917|publisher=Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints|via=Google Books}}</ref> |
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After the succession schism, Rigdon solidified and led an independent faction of Mormonism, often referred to as [[Rigdonite]]. 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.<ref>See, e.g., Donald E. Pitzer (1997). ''America's Communal Utopias'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Richard Press) p. 484; Howard, "William E. McLellin: 'Mormonism's Stormy Petrel'" in Roger D. Launius and Linda Thatcher (eds) (1998). ''Dissenters in Mormon History'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) pp. 76–101.</ref> He then reorganized the First Presidency and called his own Quorum of Twelve Apostles. |
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; July 1832<nowiki>:</nowiki> "Rigdon's depression" |
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Although Rigdon's church briefly flourished through the publication of his periodical, ''[[Messenger and Advocate#Rigdonite Messenger and Advocate|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 (Bickertonite)]]. |
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{{wikiquote|Lucy Mack Smith#"Rigdon's Depression"|"Rigdon's Depression"}} |
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On July 5, 1832, Rigdon taught that {{qi|the keys of the kingdom were taken from us. On hearing this, many of his hearers wept, and when some one undertook to dismiss the meeting by prayer he said praying would do them no good, and the meeting broke up in confusion.}}<ref name="boap.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/PDibble.html|title=Autobiography of Philo Dibble (1806–1895)|access-date=2013-11-17|archive-date=2014-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503124600/http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/PDibble.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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In response, [[Hyrum Smith]] traveled to retrieve Joseph Smith, who returned to Kirtland on July 7. Joseph Smith rebuked Rigdon, and publicly prophesied that {{qi|[n]o power can pluck those keys from me, except the power that gave them to me; But for what Sidney has done, the devil shall handle him as one man handles another.}}<ref name="boap.org"/> |
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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]]. |
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Reportedly, {{qi|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.}}<ref name="boap.org"/> |
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==Spalding/Rigdon theory== |
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{{main|Spalding-Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship}} |
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On July 28, Smith re-ordained Rigdon to the high priesthood after Rigdon had {{qi|repented like Peter of old}}. |
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Some opponents of Mormonism speculated in the 19th century that Rigdon was the true force behind Mormonism. According to this view, Rigdon obtained a manuscript for a historical novel from a Pittsburgh publisher that had been written by [[Solomon Spalding]]. This theory asserts that the novel contained the "historical portion" of the [[Book of Mormon]] which Rigdon re-worked, adding his own theology and expanding into the present work. One recent computer analysis of the ''Book of Mormon'' text supports this theory, although the study does not include Joseph Smith Jr. in the author sample, stating that pure examples of Smith's writings have not been discovered.<ref>Jockers et al., [http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/fqn040 Reassessing authorship of the ''Book of Mormon'' using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification], ''Literary and Linguistic Computing'', December, 2008</ref> Detractors{{Who|date=April 2011}} of this theory often point to the fact that Ridgon did not meet Joseph Smith Jr. until December of 1830, nearly a year after the Book of Mormon was first published in New York. |
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; First Presidency |
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==Notes== |
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On March 18, 1833,<ref name=":1" /> Smith organized the church's [[First Presidency]] and 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 "[[Assistant President of the Church|Second Elder]]" of the church. |
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Rigdon became a strong advocate of the construction of the [[Kirtland Temple]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} He gave a "powerful discourse" in March 1836 at the temple's dedication.<ref name=":1" /> 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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} Rigdon supervised the church in Kirtland in Smith's absence, and taught at the Kirtland School.<ref name=":1" /> |
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==== Far West, Missouri, 1838 ==== |
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Rigdon and Smith moved to [[Far West, Missouri]], and established a new church headquarters there. |
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According to one report, while the Mormons were encamped at [[Adam-ondi-Ahman]], Rigdon criticized Smith and others who were engaged in recreational wrestling on Sunday. Rigdon reportedly {{qi|rushed into the ring, sword in hand, and said that he would not suffer a lot of men to break the Sabbath day in that manner}}. Smith {{qi|dragged him from the ring, bareheaded, and tore Rigdon's fine pulpit coat from the collar to the waist}}. Reportedly, {{qi|after that Rigdon never countermanded the orders of the Prophet, to my knowledge—he knew who was boss}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://antimormon.8m.com/leechp5.html|title=Confessions of John D. Lee. Chapter V.|access-date=2013-11-22|archive-date=2014-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021203305/http://antimormon.8m.com/leechp5.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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As spokesman for the First Presidency, Rigdon preached several controversial sermons in Missouri, including the [[Salt Sermon]] and the [[Rigdon's July 4th oration|July 4th Oration]].<ref>[[s:Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon on the 4th of July at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri|Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon on the 4th of July at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri]], 1838</ref> These speeches have sometimes been seen as contributing to the conflict known as the [[Mormon War (1838)|1838 Mormon War]] in Missouri. |
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As a result of the conflict, the Mormons were [[Mormon extermination order|expelled from the state]], and Rigdon and Smith were arrested and imprisoned in [[Liberty Jail]].<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sidney Rigdon, Appeal to the American People, 1840, Second Edition |url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/sidney-rigdon-appeal-to-the-american-people-1840-second-edition/52 |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.josephsmithpapers.org}}</ref> |
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==== Nauvoo, Illinois, 1839–44 ==== |
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Smith and his followers were allowed to escape from Liberty Jail in Missouri as ordered by Governor Boggs, and so they were released by a sheriff on their way to stand trial. Smith went on to found the city of [[Nauvoo, Illinois]]. Rigdon continued to act as church spokesman and gave a speech at the ground-breaking of the [[Nauvoo Temple]]. On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon was ordained as a "[[Prophet, seer, and revelator|Prophet, Seer, and Revelator]]".{{sfn|McKiernan|1979|p=56}} |
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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. |
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In the summer of 1842, [[John C. Bennett]], accused Smith of attempting to take Rigdon's daughter [[Nancy Rigdon]] as a plural wife. According to Bennett, Nancy rejected the proposal. The accusation led to a confrontation between the Rigdon and Smith families wherein Smith denied having raised the issue with Nancy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dirkmaat |first1=Gerrit |title=Searching for "Happiness": Joseph Smith's Alleged Authorship of the 1842 Letter to Nancy Rigdon |journal=Journal of Mormon History |date=July 2016 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=94–119 |doi=10.5406/jmormhist.42.3.0094 }}</ref> |
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;October 1843<nowiki>:</nowiki> Smith attempts to replace Rigdon |
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In October 1843, a Special Conference was called to consider "the case and standing of Elder Sidney Rigdon".<ref name="restorationisten.fairmormon.org">{{cite web|url=http://restorationisten.fairmormon.org/Times_and_Seasons/4/21#330|title=Times and Seasons/4/21 – FairMormon|access-date=2013-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021203304/http://restorationisten.fairmormon.org/Times_and_Seasons/4/21#330|archive-date=2014-10-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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Joseph Smith "stated his dissatisfaction" with Rigdon. Charges were leveled that Rigdon had disloyal correspondences with [[John C. Bennett]], former Governor Carlin, and "the Missourians". Rigdon was also accused to "leaguing with dishonest persons in endeavoring to defraud the innocent". In "indirect testimony" from [[Porter Rockwell]]'s mother, Rigdon was accused of having had been responsible for informing others about Smith's visit to Dixon and instructing them to arrest him while there.<ref name="restorationisten.fairmormon.org"/> |
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Smith told the conference that, in light of the charges, Smith requested Rigdon be replaced as First Counselor.<ref name="restorationisten.fairmormon.org"/> |
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The ''[[Times and Seasons]]'' and the ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'' both record that Rigdon addressed the conference, denied the charges and made a "moving appeal"; they record {{qi|the sympathies of the congregation were highly excited}}. A vote was called, and the congregation held that Rigdon would be permitted to retain his position.<ref name="restorationisten.fairmormon.org"/> |
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According to the ''Times and Seasons'', Smith had {{qi|wholly removed suspicion from elder Sidney Rigdon}} and {{qi|expressed entire willingness to have elder Sidney Rigdon retain his station}}, despite a {{qi|lack of confidence in his integrity and steadfastness, judging from their past intercourse}}. Alternately, the ''History of the Church'' records that Smith replied to the vote by saying, {{qi|I have thrown him off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me. You may carry him, but I will not.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://restorationisten.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_history/Censorship_and_revision/Sidney_Rigdon_trial_in_Times_and_Seasons_versus_History_of_the_Church|title=Mormonism and history/Censorship and revision/Sidney Rigdon trial in Times and Seasons versus History of the Church – FairMormon|access-date=2013-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021203316/http://restorationisten.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_history/Censorship_and_revision/Sidney_Rigdon_trial_in_Times_and_Seasons_versus_History_of_the_Church|archive-date=2014-10-21|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[[Joseph Smith]] ([[B. H. Roberts]] (ed), 1902) ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'', vol. 6, p. 49</ref> |
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;1844<nowiki>:</nowiki> Rigdon as Vice-Presidential candidate |
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When Smith began [[Joseph Smith 1844 presidential campaign|his campaign]] for the [[President of the United States|presidency]] of the [[United States]] in [[1844 United States presidential election|1844]], Rigdon was selected as his [[Vice President of the United States|vice-presidential]] running mate. After Smith's death, Rigdon was the senior surviving member of the First Presidency. (The other members were [[John Smith (uncle of Joseph Smith)|John Smith]], who was an assistant counselor, and [[Amasa Lyman]], who was a counselor.) During this time, Rigdon was strongly opposed to [[Polygamy and the Latter Day Saint movement|polygamy]] and other innovations within the church.<ref name="McKiernan 1979 p">{{harvnb|McKiernan|1979|p=}}{{Page needed|date=May 2011}}</ref> |
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=== Aftermath of Smith's death === |
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{{See also|Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)}} |
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Joseph Smith [[Death of Joseph Smith|was killed]] in 1844. Prior to Smith's death, the First Presidency had made nearly all the major decisions for the church. In 1841, Rigdon had been ordained by Smith as a "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator",{{sfn|McKiernan|1979|p=56}} as had all other members of the First Presidency and of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church. |
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Rigdon returned to Nauvoo on August 3, and the next day he announced at a public meeting that he had received a revelation appointing him "Guardian of the Church".<ref>MHBY-1, 171</ref> The president of the central [[Stake (Mormonism)|stake]], [[William Marks (Mormonism)|William Marks]], supported Rigdon. |
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At an August 8 conference, Rigdon argued that he should be made the "Protector" of the church."<ref>[[B. H. Roberts]] (ed, 1902) ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'', vol. 7, ch. 18.</ref> [[Brigham Young]], [[president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]], opposed this motion and asserted a claim for the primacy of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.<ref>[[B. H. Roberts]] (ed, 1902) ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'', vol. 7, ch. 19.</ref> The Quorum of Twelve Apostles were scattered throughout the United States and Europe at the time of Smith's death. The members of the quorum available in Illinois, in addition to a gathered assembly, voted to deny Rigdon his claim for church leadership.<ref>''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'', vol. 7, ch. 19.</ref> Rigdon felt this action was done without proper order. |
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One month later, on September 8, Rigdon was excommunicated from the church by a [[Common Council of the Church]], which had been convened by [[Bishop (Latter Day Saints)#Presiding Bishop|Presiding Bishop]] [[Newel K. Whitney]].<ref>[[s:J. M. Grant's RIGDON|J. M. Grant's RIGDON: Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken by Elder Sidney Rigdon, in the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania. By Jedediah M. Grant, One of the Quorum of Seventies.]], pp. 20–37</ref> Rigdon refused to attend this trial,<ref>[[Jedediah M. Grant]], "A Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken By Elder Sidney Rigdon: In the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania", Part IV, Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, Printers, 1844</ref> after which he, in turn, likewise excommunicated the members of the Twelve. Rigdon fled Nauvoo, claiming that he felt threatened by Young's supporters.<ref name="McKiernan 1979 p"/> |
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[[File:Sidney Rigdon 1873.PNG|250px|thumb|right|Sidney Rigdon in 1873]] |
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=== Latter Day Saint leader in Pennsylvania and New York, 1845–76 === |
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{{main|Rigdonite}} |
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After the succession schism, Rigdon solidified and led an independent faction of Latter Day Saints, originally called the "Church of Christ", but at one point was called as the [[Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion]].<ref name="shilds">{{Citation |last= Shields |first= Steven |title= Divergent Paths of the Restoration |place= Independence, Missouri |publisher= Restoration Research |year= 1990 |edition= Fourth |isbn= 0-942284-00-3 }}</ref><ref name=Cadman>{{Citation |last= Cadman |first= William H. |title= A History of the Church of Jesus Christ |year= 1945 |publisher= The Church of Jesus Christ |location= Monongahela, PA}}</ref> This [[List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement#Followers of Sidney Rigdon or William Bickerton ("Bickertonites")|sect]] is often referred to as the [[Rigdonite]]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.<ref>E. Pitzer (1997). ''America's Communal Utopias'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Richard Press) p. 484</ref><ref>Howard, "William E. McLellin: 'Mormonism's Stormy Petrel'" in [[Roger D. Launius]] and Linda Thatcher (eds) (1998). ''Dissenters in Mormon History'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) pp. 76–101.</ref> He then reorganized the First Presidency and called his own Quorum of Twelve Apostles. |
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Although Rigdon's church briefly flourished through the publication of his periodical, ''[[Messenger and Advocate#Rigdonite Messenger and Advocate|The Messenger and Advocate]]'', quarrels and bickering 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 (Bickertonite)|The Church of Jesus Christ]]. |
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Rigdon lived on for many years in Pennsylvania and New York. He maintained his testimony of the [[Book of Mormon]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofutahcom04whitrich/historyofutahcom04whitrich_djvu.txt|title=History of Utah, p. 167|last=Whitney|first=Orson F.|date=1904|website=Archive.org|publisher=George Q Cannon and Sons|access-date=2016-07-27}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> and clung to his claims that he was the rightful heir to Joseph Smith.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} He died in [[Friendship, New York]], on July 14, 1876.<ref name=":1" /> |
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== Significance in the Latter Day Saint movement == |
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{{main|List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement}} |
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Following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, a succession crisis led to schisms within the movement. The Brigham Young branch traveled west to Utah, while Rigdon traveled eastward to Pittsburgh. |
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Rigdon's branch faced less success, modernly accounting for only a small fraction of practicing Latter Day Saints.<ref name = Cadman/><ref>12,136 as of 2007;</ref><ref name="Jesus Christ 2007">"The Church of Jesus Christ: General Business and Organization Conference Minutes." Bridgewater, MI: The Church of Jesus Christ. 2007. pp. 4399.</ref> |
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As early as 1834, skeptics were promoting what has become known as the [[Spalding-Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship]], in which Rigdon plays a central role. |
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{{LDS sects/Strangite}} |
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=== Churches tracing their leadership through Rigdon === |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 100%; font-size: 85%;" |
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|+ |
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! width="16%" | <small>Name</small> |
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! width="14%" | <small>Organized by</small> |
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! width="5%" |<small>Date</small> |
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! width="19%" class="unsortable"|<small>Split off / Continuation of</small> |
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! width="11%" class="unsortable"|<small>Current status</small> |
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! width="35%" class="unsortable"|<small>Notes</small> |
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|- valign="top" |
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! {{anchor|Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion}}[[Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion]]<ref name="shilds"/><ref name="Cadman"/> |
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| {{sort|Rigdon, Sidney|Sidney Rigdon}} |
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| 1844 |
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| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |
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| Dissolved by 1847 |
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| Originally also used the name "Church of Christ". Also known as [[Rigdonites]]. |
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|- valign="top" |
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! {{anchor|The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)}}[[The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)]]<ref name = Cadman/> |
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| {{sort|Bickerton, William|[[William Bickerton]]}} |
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| 1862 |
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| Organized by former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion (Rigdonites), by then defunct |
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| 12,136 as of 2007;<ref name="Jesus Christ 2007"/> headquartered in [[Monongahela, Pennsylvania]] |
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| Adherents commonly referred to as [[Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)|Bickertonites]] (church actively opposes use of this term). |
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|- valign="top" |
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! {{anchor|Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)}}[[Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)]] |
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| {{sort|Bickertonite Quorum of Twelve Apostles|Half of the [[Quorum of Twelve Apostles (Bickertonite)|Bickertonite Quorum of Twelve Apostles]]}} |
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| 1907 |
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| Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) |
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| Defunct |
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| Dispute over nature of life in the [[millennium]] split Bickertonite Quorum of the Twelve in two; later merged with the [[Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)]]. |
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|- valign="top" |
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! {{anchor|Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)}}[[Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)]] |
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| {{sort|Caldwell, James|[[James Caldwell (Latter Day Saints)|James Caldwell]]}} |
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| 1914 |
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| Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) |
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| Defunct |
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| Rejected the [[First Presidency]] as a valid leadership organization of the church; later merged with the [[Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)]]. |
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|} |
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== Rigdon as purported author of the Book of Mormon == |
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{{main|Spalding–Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship}} |
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Rigdon has been named as a potential author for the Book of Mormon. According to this theory, Rigdon obtained from a Pittsburgh publisher a manuscript for a historical novel written by [[Solomon Spalding]], and by reworking it and adding a theological component, created the [[Book of Mormon]]. |
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The theory that Sidney Rigdon was the true author of the [[Book of Mormon]] first appeared in print in an August 31, 1831, article by [[James Gordon Bennett, Sr.|James Gordon Bennett]], who had visited the [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra]]/[[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester]] area and interviewed several residents.<ref>{{Citation |last= Bennett | first= James Gordon Sr. |author-link= James Gordon Bennett, Sr. |title= Mormonism—Religious Fanaticism—Church and State Party |newspaper= [[New York Courier and Enquirer]] |date= 31 Aug 1831 |volume= 7 |issue= 562 }} in {{Citation |last= Arrington |first= Leonard J. |author-link= Leonard J. Arrington |title= James Gordon Bennett's 1831 Report on 'The Mormonites' |journal= [[BYU Studies]] |volume= 10 |issue= 3 |year= 1970 |url= http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=4908 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131021171149/https://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=4908 |archive-date= 2013-10-21 }}.</ref> The theory of Rigdon's use of a Spalding manuscript first appeared in print in the 1834 book ''[[Mormonism Unvailed]]''. The theory also later appeared in 1867 in ''Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism'' by [[Pomeroy Tucker]], in which he says Smith was visited by a "mysterious stranger" as early as 1827, who Tucker implies played a role in the creation of the Book of Mormon and later identifies the stranger as Rigdon.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Tucker |first1= Pomeroy |title= Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church: Personal Remembrances and Historical Collections Hitherto Unwritten |date= 1867 |publisher= D. Appleton & Company |location= [[New York (state)|New York]] |pages= 28, 76 |oclc= 2314258 |url= https://archive.org/details/originriseprogre00tuck }}</ref> |
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This theory and the testimony of Rigdon to his son John, just prior to Rigdon's death and long after he had ceased an affiliation with any of the sects of Mormonism, contradict each other: {{qi|My father, after I had finished saying what I have repeated above, looked at me a moment, raised his hand above his head and slowly said, with tears glistening in his eyes: 'My son, I can swear before high heaven that what I have told you about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] is true. Your mother and sister, Mrs. Athalia Robinson, were present when that book was handed to me in Mentor, Ohio, and all I ever knew about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] was what Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith and the witnesses who claimed they saw the plates have told me, and in all of my intimacy with Joseph Smith he never told me but one story.'}} However, Rigdon's grandson, Walter Sidney Rigdon, stated in an interview that the family knew that the "Golden Bible" was a hoax, contrived by Rigdon and Joseph Smith, to make money and that it was based on the Spalding manuscript.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/UT/tribune2.htm#041588 |title=The "Golden Bible" |last=Beadle |first=J. H. |date=April 7, 1888 |publisher=The Salt Lake Daily Tribune |access-date=February 8, 2018 |quote=Sidney Rigdon's Grandson Says Their Family Understood it to be a Fraud.}}</ref> |
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A 2008 computer analysis of the Book of Mormon text supports this theory, although the study does not include Joseph Smith in the author sample on the ground that few pure examples of Smith's writings are extant.<ref name=":0">{{citation |last1= Jockers |first1= Matthew L. |last2= Witten |first2= Daniela M. |last3= Criddle |first3= Craig S. |url= http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/fqn040 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090201003438/http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/fqn040 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2009-02-01 |title= Reassessing authorship of the ''Book of Mormon'' using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification |journal= [[Literary and Linguistic Computing]] |volume= 23 |issue= 4 |pages= 465–491 |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |date=December 2008 |doi=10.1093/llc/fqn040}}</ref> Several other significant problems are apparent in the methodology of this computer analysis, specifically the use of closed set methodology instead of open set methodology. For example, the original methodology, when replicated, also assigns Rigdon as the probable author of ''[[The Federalist Papers]]'', which were written five years before his birth.<ref>{{citation |last1= Schaalje |first1= G. Bruce |last2= Fields |first2= Paul J. |last3= Roper |first3= Matthew |last4= Snow |first4= Gregory L. |url= http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/1/71 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130708215908/http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/1/71 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2013-07-08 |title= Extended nearest shrunken centroid classification: A new method for open-set authorship attribution of texts of varying sizes |journal= [[Literary and Linguistic Computing]] |volume= 26 |issue= 1 |pages= 71–88 |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |date= December 2011 |doi= 10.1093/llc/fqq029 }}</ref> |
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== Notes == |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==References== |
== References == |
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{{refbegin}} |
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* [[James B. Allen (historian)|Allen, James B.]]; [[Glen M. Leonard]]. ''[[The Story of the Latter-day Saints]].'' [[Deseret Book Co.]], Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. ISBN 0-87747-594-6. |
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* {{citation |author1-link= James B. Allen (historian) |last1= Allen |first1= James B. |author2-link= Glen M. Leonard |last2= Leonard |first2= Glen M. |title= [[The Story of the Latter-day Saints]] |publisher= [[Deseret Book Co.]] |location= Salt Lake City, UT |year= 1976 |isbn= 0-87747-594-6}}. |
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* [[Richard Bushman|Bushman, Richard L.]] ''[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]].'', [[Alfred A. Knopf]], 2005, ISBN 1-4000-4270-4 |
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* {{citation |author-link= Richard Bushman |last= Bushman |first= Richard L. |title= [[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]] |publisher= [[Alfred A. Knopf]] |location= New York, NY |year= 2005 |isbn= 1-4000-4270-4 }}. |
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* McKiernan, F. Mark. ''[http://sidneyrigdon.com/books/McK1971a.htm The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer].'' 1971. Lawrence, KS: Coronado Press. [[Herald House]] 1979 edition: ISBN 0-8309-0241-4 |
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* {{cite book | last1 = Cowdrey | first1 = Wayne L | last2 = Davis | first2 = Howard A | last3 = Vanik | first3 = Arthur | title = Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? The Spalding Enigma| publisher = Concordia Publishing House | location = St. Louis | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-7586-0527-7 }}. |
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* [[Gregory Prince|Prince, Gregory A.]] ''Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood''. [[Signature Books]], Salt Lake City, Utah, 1995. ISBN 1-56085-071-X. |
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* {{citation |last= McKiernan |first= F. Mark |title= The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer |orig-year= 1971 |year= 1979 |publisher= [[Herald House]] |location= Independence, Missouri |isbn= 978-0-8309-0241-5 |oclc= 5436337 }}. |
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* [[D. Michael Quinn|Quinn, D. Michael]]. ''[http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/hier1.htm [[The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power]]]''. [[Signature Books]], 1994. ISBN 1-56085-056-6 |
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* {{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Robert |date=May 3, 2017 |title=Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? (Classic Reprint) |publisher=Forgotten Books |isbn=978-1332212057 }} |
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* [[Richard S. Van Wagoner|Van Wagoner, Richard S.]] ''[[Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess]]'' [[Signature Books]] |
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* {{citation |author-link= Gregory Prince |last= Prince |first= Gregory A. |title= Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood |publisher= [[Signature Books]] |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |year= 1995 |isbn= 1-56085-071-X }}. |
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* Whitsitt, Rev. Dr. Wm. H. ''[http://sidneyrigdon.com/wht/1891WhtB.htm Sidney Rigdon: The Real Founder of Mormonism].'' |
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* {{citation |author-link= D. Michael Quinn |last= Quinn |first= D. Michael |url= http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/hier1.htm |title= The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= [[Signature Books]] |year= 1994 |isbn= 1-56085-056-6 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20030113050444/http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/hier1.htm |archive-date= 2003-01-13 }}. |
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* Remy, Jules ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=jgUNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA407&lpg=PA412&ots=lNi2iFJHbA&dq=rigdon+excommunication&output=html A Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City, Ch. IV].'' |
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* {{citation |last1= Remy |first1= Jules |last2= Brenchley |first2= Julius L. |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jgUNAAAAIAAJ&q=rigdon+excommunication&pg=PA407 |title= A Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City |chapter= Section II, Chapter IV |year= 1861 |location= London |publisher= W. Jeffs |oclc= 5244620 }}. |
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* {{citation |author-link= Richard S. Van Wagoner |last= Van Wagoner |first= Richard S. |title= [[Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess]] |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= [[Signature Books]] |isbn= 978-1-56085-030-4 |year= 1994 }}. |
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* {{citation |title= William Heth Whitsitt papers |contribution= Sidney Rigdon, the Real Founder of Mormonism |lccn= mm77060863 |quote= Corrected typescript (2 volumes, 1306 pages) of an unpublished work by Whitsitt }}. [http://sidneyrigdon.com/wht/1891WhtB.htm Digital reprint] of excerpts by sidneyrigdon.com. |
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{{refend}} |
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==External links== |
== External links == |
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* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/5208 Biography of Sidney Rigdon], [[L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library|L. Tom Perry Special Collections]], [[Harold B. Lee Library]], [[Brigham Young University]] |
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*[http://www.gapages.com/rigdos1.htm Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages] |
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* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/6222 Biographical material on Sidney Rigdon], L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University |
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*[http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/index2.htm The Rev. Sidney Rigdon Memorial Home Page] |
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* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/6221 Sidney Rigdon letters], L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University |
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*[http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/RigWrit/M&A/MA-1844.htm 1840s Rigdon Messenger & Advocate] |
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* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/3540 Sidney Rigdon sermon], L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University |
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*[http://sidneyrigdon.com/books/Appl1863.htm 1863 pro-Rigdon publication] |
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* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/2781 Paul Jensen research file on Sidney Rigdon], L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University |
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*[http://mormonstudies.com/criddle/rigdon.htm Rigdon-authorship theory] |
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* [http://www.solomonspalding.com/ The pro-Spalding theory perspective] |
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* [http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=584/ The anti-Spalding theory perspective] |
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* [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/NCMP1820-1846&CISOPTR=9707&filename=43716221632007_iac_EMP97_1.pdf "Conclusion of Elder Rigdon's Trial"], ''[[Millennial Star]]'' (supplement), December 1844 : a contemporary account of the Common Council of the Church's trial of Sidney Rigdon |
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* {{Find a Grave|6283786}} |
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|NAME = Rigdon, Sidney |
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|DATE OF BIRTH = 1793-02-19 |
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|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]], [[Pennsylvania]] |
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|DATE OF DEATH = 1876-07-14 |
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|PLACE OF DEATH = [[Friendship, New York|Friendship]], [[New York]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:38, 23 December 2024
Sidney Rigdon | |
---|---|
President of the Church Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion | |
April 6, 1845 | – 1847|
Predecessor | None |
Successor | Stephen Post William Bickerton (Reorganized church in 1862) |
First Counselor in the First Presidency Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | |
March 18, 1833 | – Summer of 1844|
Called by | Joseph Smith |
Predecessor | Jesse Gause |
End reason | Succession crisis after the death of Joseph Smith |
Second Counselor in the First Presidency Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) | |
March 8, 1832 | – March 18, 1833|
Called by | Joseph Smith |
Successor | Frederick G. Williams |
Reason | Initial organization of First Presidency |
End reason | Called as First Counselor in First Presidency |
Personal details | |
Born | St. Clair Township, Pennsylvania, United States | February 19, 1793
Died | July 14, 1876 Friendship, New York, United States | (aged 83)
Resting place | Maple Grove Cemetery 42°13′03″N 78°07′07″W / 42.2175°N 78.1186°W |
Spouse(s) | Phebe Brooks |
Children | 11, including Nancy Rigdon |
Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793.[1] 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. He died in 1810.
According to an account by his son John M. Rigdon, young Rigdon borrowed all the histories he could get and began to read them. … In this way he became a great historian, the best I ever saw. He seemed to have the history of the world on his tongue's end and he got to be a great biblical scholar as well. He was as familiar with the Bible as a child was with his spelling book. He was never known to play with the boys; reading books was the greatest pleasure he could get. He studied English Grammar alone and became a very fine grammarian. He was very precise in his language.
[2]
Rigdon remained on the farm until his mother sold it in 1818.
Baptist ministry and tanner
[edit]On May 31, 1817, Rigdon was baptized by Rev. Phillips, and he became a member of the Peter's Creek Baptist Church of Library, Pennsylvania.[3]
In 1818, Rigdon moved to North Sewickley to become an apprentice to Baptist minister Rev. Andrew Clark. Rigdon received his license to preach for the Regular Baptists in March 1819.
Rigdon moved in May to Trumbull County, Ohio, where he jointly preached with Adamson Bentley from July 1819. He married Bentley's wife's sister, Phoebe Brooks, in June 1820. Rigdon 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.[4]
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, with both men joining the Disciples of Christ movement associated with Campbell.
On January 28, 1822, Rigdon arrived in Pittsburgh to become a minister at the First Baptist Church.[3] Rigdon's ministry met with opposition from member Rev. John Winter, and on July 11, 1823, a schism split the congregation, with each side disfellowshipping the other. On October 11, Rigdon was "excluded from the Redstone Association Baptist Denomination", of which the First Baptist Church was a member.[3]
From 1824 to 1826, Rigdon worked as a journeyman tanner in Pittsburgh, while preaching Campbell's Restorationism on Sundays in the courthouse. He also worked as a journeyman printer for the Philadelphia publisher Paterson.[5] In 1826, Rigdon became the pastor of the more liberal Baptist church in Mentor, Ohio, in the Western Reserve.
Latter Day Saint leader in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois (1830–44)
[edit]Part of a series on the |
Book of Mormon |
---|
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.
Early involvement
[edit]In early September 1830, Rigdon's associate, Pratt, was baptized into the Church of Christ founded by Smith. In October, Pratt and Ziba Peterson began a mission to preach to the American Indians.
They visited Rigdon and his wife, Phoebe, in Ohio. Rigdon read the Book of Mormon in fourteen days, proclaimed its truthfulness, and was baptized into the church on November 14, 1830, in Mentor, Ohio.[1] He proceeded to convert hundreds of members of his Ohio congregations. In December 1830, Rigdon traveled to New York, where he met Joseph Smith.[6] He was then ordained a high priest on June 3, 1831.[1]
Rigdon was a fiery orator, and he was immediately called by Smith to be the spokesman for the church. He also served as a scribe and helped with Smith's re-translation of the Bible.
- Rigdon as revelator
Rigdon reportedly received visions jointly with Smith. According to one account: 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 repeated at short intervals to the end of the vision
.[7]
Kirtland, Ohio, 1830–37
[edit]In December 1830, Smith said he received a revelation counseling members of the church in New York to gather to Kirtland, Ohio. Many of the doctrines Rigdon's group had experimented with found place in the combined movement, such as living with all things in common.
- August/September 1831: Rigdon rebuked
In August 1831, Smith announced that he had received a revelation admonishing Rigdon for exalting himself: And now behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalted himself in his heart, and received not counsel, but grieved the Spirit; Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord, and he shall make another; and if the Lord receive it not, behold he standeth no longer in the office to which I have appointed him. … Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips—For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority. Wherefore, let the church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord, will own them otherwise they shall be cut off.
[8]
- March 1832: Tarred and feathered
Smith relocated to Hiram, Ohio, in September 1831. Smith and Rigdon were tarred and feathered at the John Johnson Farm on March 24, 1832. Smith recorded: The next morning I went to see elder Rigdon, and found him crazy, and his head highly inflamed, for they had dragged him by his heels, and those too, so high from the earth he could not raise his head from the rough frozen surface, which lascerated it exceedingly; and when he saw me he called to his wife to bring him his razor. She asked him what he wanted of it? and he replied to kill me. Sister Rigdon left the room, and he asked me to bring his razor. I asked him what he wanted of it, and he replied he wanted to kill his wife, and he continued delirious some days.
[9]
- July 1832: "Rigdon's depression"
On July 5, 1832, Rigdon taught that the keys of the kingdom were taken from us. On hearing this, many of his hearers wept, and when some one undertook to dismiss the meeting by prayer he said praying would do them no good, and the meeting broke up in confusion.
[10]
In response, Hyrum Smith traveled to retrieve Joseph Smith, who returned to Kirtland on July 7. Joseph Smith rebuked Rigdon, and publicly prophesied that [n]o power can pluck those keys from me, except the power that gave them to me; But for what Sidney has done, the devil shall handle him as one man handles another.
[10]
Reportedly, 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.
[10]
On July 28, Smith re-ordained Rigdon to the high priesthood after Rigdon had repented like Peter of old
.
- First Presidency
On March 18, 1833,[1] Smith organized the church's First Presidency and 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.
Rigdon became a strong advocate of the construction of the Kirtland Temple.[citation needed] He gave a "powerful discourse" in March 1836 at the temple's dedication.[1] 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.[citation needed] Rigdon supervised the church in Kirtland in Smith's absence, and taught at the Kirtland School.[1]
Far West, Missouri, 1838
[edit]Rigdon and Smith moved to Far West, Missouri, and established a new church headquarters there.
According to one report, while the Mormons were encamped at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Rigdon criticized Smith and others who were engaged in recreational wrestling on Sunday. Rigdon reportedly rushed into the ring, sword in hand, and said that he would not suffer a lot of men to break the Sabbath day in that manner
. Smith dragged him from the ring, bareheaded, and tore Rigdon's fine pulpit coat from the collar to the waist
. Reportedly, after that Rigdon never countermanded the orders of the Prophet, to my knowledge—he knew who was boss
.[11]
As spokesman for the First Presidency, Rigdon preached several controversial sermons in Missouri, including the Salt Sermon and the July 4th Oration.[12] 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.[1] 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.[13]
Nauvoo, Illinois, 1839–44
[edit]Smith and his followers were allowed to escape from Liberty Jail in Missouri as ordered by Governor Boggs, and so they were released by a sheriff on their way to stand trial. Smith went on to found the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. Rigdon continued to act as church spokesman and gave a speech at the ground-breaking of the Nauvoo Temple. On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon was ordained as a "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator".[14]
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 the summer of 1842, John C. Bennett, accused Smith of attempting to take Rigdon's daughter Nancy Rigdon as a plural wife. According to Bennett, Nancy rejected the proposal. The accusation led to a confrontation between the Rigdon and Smith families wherein Smith denied having raised the issue with Nancy.[15]
- October 1843: Smith attempts to replace Rigdon
In October 1843, a Special Conference was called to consider "the case and standing of Elder Sidney Rigdon".[16]
Joseph Smith "stated his dissatisfaction" with Rigdon. Charges were leveled that Rigdon had disloyal correspondences with John C. Bennett, former Governor Carlin, and "the Missourians". Rigdon was also accused to "leaguing with dishonest persons in endeavoring to defraud the innocent". In "indirect testimony" from Porter Rockwell's mother, Rigdon was accused of having had been responsible for informing others about Smith's visit to Dixon and instructing them to arrest him while there.[16]
Smith told the conference that, in light of the charges, Smith requested Rigdon be replaced as First Counselor.[16]
The Times and Seasons and the History of the Church both record that Rigdon addressed the conference, denied the charges and made a "moving appeal"; they record the sympathies of the congregation were highly excited
. A vote was called, and the congregation held that Rigdon would be permitted to retain his position.[16]
According to the Times and Seasons, Smith had wholly removed suspicion from elder Sidney Rigdon
and expressed entire willingness to have elder Sidney Rigdon retain his station
, despite a lack of confidence in his integrity and steadfastness, judging from their past intercourse
. Alternately, the History of the Church records that Smith replied to the vote by saying, I have thrown him off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me. You may carry him, but I will not.
[17][18]
- 1844: Rigdon as Vice-Presidential candidate
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 other members were John Smith, who was an assistant counselor, and Amasa Lyman, who was a counselor.) During this time, Rigdon was strongly opposed to polygamy and other innovations within the church.[19]
Aftermath of Smith's death
[edit]Joseph Smith was killed in 1844. Prior to Smith's death, the First Presidency had made nearly all the major decisions for the church. In 1841, Rigdon had been ordained by Smith as a "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator",[14] as had all other members of the First Presidency and of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church.
Rigdon returned to Nauvoo on August 3, and the next day he announced at a public meeting that he had received a revelation appointing him "Guardian of the Church".[20] The president of the central stake, William Marks, supported Rigdon.
At an August 8 conference, Rigdon argued that he should be made the "Protector" of the church."[21] Brigham Young, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, opposed this motion and asserted a claim for the primacy of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[22] The Quorum of Twelve Apostles were scattered throughout the United States and Europe at the time of Smith's death. The members of the quorum available in Illinois, in addition to a gathered assembly, voted to deny Rigdon his claim for church leadership.[23] Rigdon felt this action was done without proper order.
One month later, on September 8, Rigdon was excommunicated from the church by a Common Council of the Church, which had been convened by Presiding Bishop Newel K. Whitney.[24] Rigdon refused to attend this trial,[25] after which he, in turn, likewise excommunicated the members of the Twelve. Rigdon fled Nauvoo, claiming that he felt threatened by Young's supporters.[19]
Latter Day Saint leader in Pennsylvania and New York, 1845–76
[edit]After the succession schism, Rigdon solidified and led an independent faction of Latter Day Saints, originally called the "Church of Christ", but at one point was called as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion.[26][27] This sect is often referred to as the Rigdonites. 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.[28][29] 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 and bickering 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[30][31] and clung to his claims that he was the rightful heir to Joseph Smith.[citation needed] He died in Friendship, New York, on July 14, 1876.[1]
Significance in the Latter Day Saint movement
[edit]Following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, a succession crisis led to schisms within the movement. The Brigham Young branch traveled west to Utah, while Rigdon traveled eastward to Pittsburgh.
Rigdon's branch faced less success, modernly accounting for only a small fraction of practicing Latter Day Saints.[27][32][33]
As early as 1834, skeptics were promoting what has become known as the Spalding-Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship, in which Rigdon plays a central role.
Churches tracing their leadership through Rigdon
[edit]Name | Organized by | Date | Split off / Continuation of | Current status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion[26][27] | Sidney Rigdon | 1844 | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Dissolved by 1847 | Originally also used the name "Church of Christ". Also known as Rigdonites. |
The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)[27] | William Bickerton | 1862 | Organized by former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion (Rigdonites), by then defunct | 12,136 as of 2007;[33] headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania | Adherents commonly referred to as Bickertonites (church actively opposes use of this term). |
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) | Half of the Bickertonite Quorum of Twelve Apostles | 1907 | Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) | Defunct | Dispute over nature of life in the millennium split Bickertonite Quorum of the Twelve in two; later merged with the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). |
Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) | James Caldwell | 1914 | Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) | Defunct | Rejected the First Presidency as a valid leadership organization of the church; later merged with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). |
Rigdon as purported author of the Book of Mormon
[edit]Rigdon has been named as a potential author for the Book of Mormon. According to this theory, Rigdon obtained from a Pittsburgh publisher a manuscript for a historical novel written by Solomon Spalding, and by reworking it and adding a theological component, created the Book of Mormon.
The theory that Sidney Rigdon was the true author of the Book of Mormon first appeared in print in an August 31, 1831, article by James Gordon Bennett, who had visited the Palmyra/Manchester area and interviewed several residents.[34] The theory of Rigdon's use of a Spalding manuscript first appeared in print in the 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed. The theory also later appeared in 1867 in Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism by Pomeroy Tucker, in which he says Smith was visited by a "mysterious stranger" as early as 1827, who Tucker implies played a role in the creation of the Book of Mormon and later identifies the stranger as Rigdon.[35]
This theory and the testimony of Rigdon to his son John, just prior to Rigdon's death and long after he had ceased an affiliation with any of the sects of Mormonism, contradict each other: My father, after I had finished saying what I have repeated above, looked at me a moment, raised his hand above his head and slowly said, with tears glistening in his eyes: 'My son, I can swear before high heaven that what I have told you about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] is true. Your mother and sister, Mrs. Athalia Robinson, were present when that book was handed to me in Mentor, Ohio, and all I ever knew about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] was what Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith and the witnesses who claimed they saw the plates have told me, and in all of my intimacy with Joseph Smith he never told me but one story.'
However, Rigdon's grandson, Walter Sidney Rigdon, stated in an interview that the family knew that the "Golden Bible" was a hoax, contrived by Rigdon and Joseph Smith, to make money and that it was based on the Spalding manuscript.[36]
A 2008 computer analysis of the Book of Mormon text supports this theory, although the study does not include Joseph Smith in the author sample on the ground that few pure examples of Smith's writings are extant.[31] Several other significant problems are apparent in the methodology of this computer analysis, specifically the use of closed set methodology instead of open set methodology. For example, the original methodology, when replicated, also assigns Rigdon as the probable author of The Federalist Papers, which were written five years before his birth.[37]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h McCune, George M. (1991). Personalities in the Doctrine and Covenants and Joseph Smith–History. Salt Lake City, Utah: Hawkes Publishing. pp. 98–101. ISBN 9780890365182.
- ^ "Wilford woodruff collected discourses".
- ^ a b c "Sidney Rigdon Chronology".
- ^ Times and Seasons May 1, 1843. p. 177 in 1986 reprint by Independence Press, ISBN 0-8309-0467-0
- ^ "SidneyRigdonDotCom Feature Articles: Sidney Rigdon, Journeyman Tanner".
- ^ "Sidney Rigdon". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ^ "Recollections About Joseph Smith". Archived from the original on 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ B.H. Roberts. "History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". boap.org. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Heman Conoman (1 January 1917). "History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1805–1890". Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Autobiography of Philo Dibble (1806–1895)". Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
- ^ "Confessions of John D. Lee. Chapter V." Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon on the 4th of July at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, 1838
- ^ "Sidney Rigdon, Appeal to the American People, 1840, Second Edition". www.josephsmithpapers.org. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ a b McKiernan 1979, p. 56.
- ^ Dirkmaat, Gerrit (July 2016). "Searching for "Happiness": Joseph Smith's Alleged Authorship of the 1842 Letter to Nancy Rigdon". Journal of Mormon History. 42 (3): 94–119. doi:10.5406/jmormhist.42.3.0094.
- ^ a b c d "Times and Seasons/4/21 – FairMormon". Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- ^ "Mormonism and history/Censorship and revision/Sidney Rigdon trial in Times and Seasons versus History of the Church – FairMormon". Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- ^ Joseph Smith (B. H. Roberts (ed), 1902) History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 49
- ^ a b McKiernan 1979[page needed]
- ^ MHBY-1, 171
- ^ B. H. Roberts (ed, 1902) History of the Church, vol. 7, ch. 18.
- ^ B. H. Roberts (ed, 1902) History of the Church, vol. 7, ch. 19.
- ^ History of the Church, vol. 7, ch. 19.
- ^ J. M. Grant's RIGDON: Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken by Elder Sidney Rigdon, in the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania. By Jedediah M. Grant, One of the Quorum of Seventies., pp. 20–37
- ^ Jedediah M. Grant, "A Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken By Elder Sidney Rigdon: In the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania", Part IV, Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, Printers, 1844
- ^ a b Shields, Steven (1990), Divergent Paths of the Restoration (Fourth ed.), Independence, Missouri: Restoration Research, ISBN 0-942284-00-3
- ^ a b c d Cadman, William H. (1945), A History of the Church of Jesus Christ, Monongahela, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ
- ^ E. Pitzer (1997). America's Communal Utopias (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Richard Press) p. 484
- ^ Howard, "William E. McLellin: 'Mormonism's Stormy Petrel'" in Roger D. Launius and Linda Thatcher (eds) (1998). Dissenters in Mormon History (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) pp. 76–101.
- ^ Whitney, Orson F. (1904). "History of Utah, p. 167". Archive.org. George Q Cannon and Sons. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^ a b Jockers, Matthew L.; Witten, Daniela M.; Criddle, Craig S. (December 2008), "Reassessing authorship of the Book of Mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification", Literary and Linguistic Computing, 23 (4), Oxford University Press: 465–491, doi:10.1093/llc/fqn040, archived from the original on 2009-02-01
- ^ 12,136 as of 2007;
- ^ a b "The Church of Jesus Christ: General Business and Organization Conference Minutes." Bridgewater, MI: The Church of Jesus Christ. 2007. pp. 4399.
- ^ Bennett, James Gordon Sr. (31 Aug 1831), "Mormonism—Religious Fanaticism—Church and State Party", New York Courier and Enquirer, vol. 7, no. 562 in Arrington, Leonard J. (1970), "James Gordon Bennett's 1831 Report on 'The Mormonites'", BYU Studies, 10 (3), archived from the original on 2013-10-21.
- ^ Tucker, Pomeroy (1867). Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church: Personal Remembrances and Historical Collections Hitherto Unwritten. New York: D. Appleton & Company. pp. 28, 76. OCLC 2314258.
- ^ Beadle, J. H. (April 7, 1888). "The "Golden Bible"". The Salt Lake Daily Tribune. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
Sidney Rigdon's Grandson Says Their Family Understood it to be a Fraud.
- ^ Schaalje, G. Bruce; Fields, Paul J.; Roper, Matthew; Snow, Gregory L. (December 2011), "Extended nearest shrunken centroid classification: A new method for open-set authorship attribution of texts of varying sizes", Literary and Linguistic Computing, 26 (1), Oxford University Press: 71–88, doi:10.1093/llc/fqq029, archived from the original on 2013-07-08
References
[edit]- Allen, James B.; Leonard, Glen M. (1976), The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co., ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
- Bushman, Richard L. (2005), Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 1-4000-4270-4.
- Cowdrey, Wayne L; Davis, Howard A; Vanik, Arthur (2005). Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? The Spalding Enigma. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. ISBN 0-7586-0527-7..
- McKiernan, F. Mark (1979) [1971], The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer, Independence, Missouri: Herald House, ISBN 978-0-8309-0241-5, OCLC 5436337.
- Patterson, Robert (May 3, 2017). Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? (Classic Reprint). Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1332212057.
- Prince, Gregory A. (1995), Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood, Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-071-X.
- Quinn, D. Michael (1994), The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-056-6, archived from the original on 2003-01-13.
- Remy, Jules; Brenchley, Julius L. (1861), "Section II, Chapter IV", A Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City, London: W. Jeffs, OCLC 5244620.
- Van Wagoner, Richard S. (1994), Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess, Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, ISBN 978-1-56085-030-4.
- "Sidney Rigdon, the Real Founder of Mormonism", William Heth Whitsitt papers, LCCN mm77060863,
Corrected typescript (2 volumes, 1306 pages) of an unpublished work by Whitsitt
. Digital reprint of excerpts by sidneyrigdon.com.
External links
[edit]- Biography of Sidney Rigdon, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
- Biographical material on Sidney Rigdon, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
- Sidney Rigdon letters, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
- Sidney Rigdon sermon, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
- Paul Jensen research file on Sidney Rigdon, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
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