J. M. Grant's RIGDON

To The Reader

TO THE READER

PLEASE read this before you proceed; by so doing you will save time, and comprehend more perfectly the contents of the following pages.

PART I contains some facts which did not come under my observation, as they occurred before my acquaintance with Elder Rigdon; you will therefore understand that men of the strictest veracity have written and related the same to me, as they witnessed them when they transpired.

After the summer of 1833, you will please consider me a witness, with others, of the course taken by Elder Rigdon, in Ohio. All the circumstances in PART II that I did not witness, have been related to me by those whose words I rely on with the same confidence that I rely on the uniformity of the course of nature.

In the same light you may read PART III.

PART IV contains a collection of important facts, taken from the statements of men whose words may be relied on with the most implicit confidence. I have before me the testimony of a highly respectable gentleman of the State of Delaware, who was taken into one of the secret meetings held in the city of Nauvoo, at which time four men were ordained, under the hands of Elder Rigdon, to be Prophets, Priests and Kings unto the Gentiles, the same witness relates the titles claimed by Elder Rigdon, also the facts relating to the Army, Officers, &c. In the testimony given at the trial you will find the same subject carried out.

PART V. shows the disordered state of Mr. Rigdon’s mind, his course, &c. It will be for the candid reader to judge, whether the facts collected justify the conclusion or not.

J.M.G.

Part I, Elder Sidney Rigdon in Ohio

COLLECTION OF FACTS, &c. PART I

ELDER SIDNEY RIGDON IN OHIO.

”Imagination is a mental power of extensive influence. if it be allowed to wander at discretion, through scenes of imagined wealth, ambition, frivolity or pleasure, it tends to withdraw the mind from the important pursuits of life, to weaken the habit of attention, and to impair the judgment.”

In order to show Elder Sidney Rigdon’s connexion with the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” it will be necessary to give a short sketch of the rise of said church, which was organized in the town of Manchester, Ontario county, State of New York, on the 6th day of April, A. D., 1830, by Elder Joseph Smith, (late Martyr of Jesus Christ, in the Republic of North America, under the protection of His Excellency Thomas Ford, Governor of the State of Illinois.) After he had obtained and translated the ancient American Records, (commonly called the Book of Mormon,) and had received authority from the Legates of Heaven, delegated and sent unto him by the Lord to ordain him to the Holy Priesthood, giving him min win the right to ordain others, that the Gospel might be preached in all world for a witness unto all nations—Elder Smith ordained, among others, Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Parley P Pratt, who were appointed on a mission to the Western Country. Soon after they arrived in the State of Ohio, as Elder Pratt had been previously acquainted with Elder Rigdon, he proposed calling to see him, to “teach him the way of the Lord more perfectly,” as Elder R. was at the time a Campbellite, or reformed Baptist. They called accordingly, Elder Pratt presented to him “The Book of Mormon,” which at first he was not disposed to read, but they reasoned with him until he consented to read it. It was however, after much prayer and reading that he became convinced of its truth. He made known his conviction to his friends and neighbours, which caused considerable excitement

among them. He received baptism, confirmation and ordination under the hands of Elder O. Cowdery, assisted by Elders Pratt and Whitmer. In December following, Elder Rigdon paid Elder J. Smith a visit in the state of New York where they met for the first time. Early in the spring of 1831, Elder Smith moved to the state of Ohio, where he became more familiarly acquainted with Elder Rigdon, who was truly a man of talents, possessing a gift for speaking seldom surpassed by men of this age. But unfortunately, there was in Elder Rigdon’s composition, some peculiar characteristics which have marked his career on the stage of action, from the days of his youth until the present time. Mr. A Campbell alludes to one of the distinguishing traits of Elder Rigdon’s character. He calls it a yawning disposition after imaginary things, he said “that he had discovered this disposition in Rigdon, some time previous to his joining the Mormons.” The above characteristic, combined with great ambition, and over anxiety to be leader, has had a tendency to lead Elder Rigdon into many serious difficulties, causing himself, as well as others, much trouble. One of the first dilemmas into which he plunged himself, and others, (for or a time,) was caused by a peculiar revelation, which he professed to have received from the Lord, not many months after he united with the saints, in Kirtland, Ohio. In the absence of Elder J. Smith, the saints did not act to please him, therefore he proclaimed his revelation, which was, that the Kingdom was rent from them, because of their transgression. His revelation, though short, was truly alarming to the Saints, and threw them into a state of indescribable confusion; when they sought for an explanation he told them they might all go home, for the Kingdom was surely rent from them. Before the excitement and confusion had subsided, Elder J. Smith arrived, he called the Saints together, and soon convinced them of the incorrectness of Elder Rigdon’s revelation, (said he,) fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.

Elder Smith’s presence and words calmed the stormy feelings of the Saints, and caused joy to spring up in their hearts, but Elder Rigdon felt bad, he had spoken falsely, in the name of the Lord. Elder Smith advised him to give up license, for said he, the Lord will leave you, for your transgressions in the hands of Satan, who will handle you as one man an handles another, he gave up his license, and according to his own confession, he suffered as predicted by Elder Smith, after which he was again restored to the fellowship of the Church.

In the year of our Lord 1831, Elder Rigdon in company with

others fulfilled a Revelation, given through Elder Joseph Smith, by going to Upper Missouri to consecrate a place for the gathering of the Saints in the last days, and for the building of a Temple to the Lord. Elder R. was chosen to write a description of the country which was to be sent to the saints in the eastern States. Having a fruitful imagination he became very extravagant in his description of the upper country. He expatiated on the beauties of Jackson county in such a profuse manner, that fears were entertained by the brethren that it would cause the saints from the east to apostatize as soon as they should arrive, not finding things as set forth by Elder R. Elder Smith laid the subject before the Lord, and obtained the following concerning R.’s writing. Book of Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 20, p. 14th, 2nd. Ed.

”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 which I have appointed him.”

In compliance with the foregoing revelation he made another writing which was received.

The facts as stated had the effect of humbling Elder R., yet he was prone to follow his flights of imagination whenever the sun of prosperity would shine upon his pathway. At times Elder Smith would gently pluck a quill or two from his broad spread pinions, and lower him to his proper sphere of action, throwing the mantle of charily over all his imperfections; Elder R. would not only soar as it were to the highest Heaven in raptures of delight, but when dark clouds overspread his horizon he would also sink into the lowest state of despondency. These conflicting characteristics so often at war with each other caused Elder Smith some uneasiness of mind, not knowing how matters would terminate with Elder R., he therefore inquired of the Lord, Nov. 10th, 1833, and received among other things the following relative to Elder R.

”And again blessed be brother Sidney also, notwithstanding he shall be high and lifted up, yet he shall bow down under the yoke like unto an ass that croucheth beneath his burden, that learneth his master’s by the strokes of the rod. Thus saith the Lord. Yet the Lord will have mercy on him and he shall bring forth much fruit even as the vine of the choice grape, when her clusters are ripe before the time of the gleaning of the vintage, and the Lord shall make his heart merry as with sweet wine because of him who putteth forth his hand and lifteth him up out of deep mire and pointeth him out the way, and guideth his feet when he stumbles and hum-

bleth him in his pride. Blessed are his generations nevertheless, one shall hunt after them as a man hunteth after an ass that hath strayed in the wilderness, and straightway findeth him and bringeth him unto the fold, thus shall the Lord watch over his generation that they may be saved; even so Amen (Times and Seasons, page 662.)

From the above Revelation we may learn the two grand governing characteristics of Elder R., neither of which could possibly make him a competent leader of the Church of Christ, or of his own household. It will be seen that they as well as himself would wander far away from the fold, and if saved would have to be brought back by a close search for them in the wilderness. He was to learn his master’s will by the strokes of the rod, be humbled in his pride, and lifted by a friendly hand out of deep mire. His way was to be pointed out and his feet guided in the right path, he has been very fruitful, according to the Revelation. As one part has been fulfilled we may reasonably infer that the other will also be fulfilled.

Elder Smith, having learned from the Lord the destiny of Elder Rigdon, watched over him as a mother watches over the steps of her inexperienced offspring. In the mean time a dark cloud arose from the west, threatening destruction to the whole Church. The Saints in Jackson county, Mo., were bleeding at every pore, their houses were burned, their goods confiscated, and they compelled to leave the county amidst showers of rain and snow, in the cold month of November, 1833.

At the same time the saints in Kirtland, Ohio, were actively engaged in building a Temple to the Lord. The branches of the Church in the east were doing all they could to assist them to build and prepare for the day of Pentecost. The news from the west caused sorrow and lamentation, it was a day never to be forgotten. In the spring following, Elders Joseph and Hyrum Smith, in company with two hundred male members of the Church, went up to Missouri, for the purpose of rendering all the assistance they could to the afflicted saints. The dark clouds seemed to break away, the spirit of mobocracy was checked for a short time, and the beams of light once more dawned on the afflicted. After they had done all in their power to do at that time, Elders J. and H. Smith and many others, returned to Kirtland, Ohio. The same fall and winter a large school convened for instruction, composed of Elders, and members of the Church. Elders Smith, Rigdon, and others, acted as teachers. In the course of the winter the Quorum of the Twelve was chosen and ordained, also one Quorum of the Seventies. The next spring many of the Elders went forth to preach the word,

To prove themselves worthy of the blessings expected at the day of Pentecost. In the sprint of 1836, the lower room of the Temple being finished, some three hundred or over of the official members of the Church, assembled for the purpose of attending to the ordinances of washing and anointing, and the sacraments, that they might be sanctified before the Lord, and prepared for the reception of the Holy Spirit from on High. Prayer and fasting were attended to, the ordinations and anointings were sealed with great solemnity. The Holy Spirit descended in power as in bye-gone days, when it rested on the disciples at Jerusalem, some spoke with tongues and others prophesied—the visions of Heaven were also opened to some, intelligence burst upon their understanding, enabling them to comprehend things past, present and future. Prosperity again shone on the Church, but not without its usual effect upon Elder R. In the summer and autumn of the same year, his imagination, which had been checked by the before named circumstances of the Church in the East and West, seemed only to have slumbered to increase in strength, it awoke with renewed vigour, reigning predominant over all his other faculties,—carrying him into the unbounded field of conjecture, where he seemed to wander unchecked by reason and unbridled by desire. He commenced lecturing the saints on the subject of getting rich. His flights were so rapid that Elder Smith was unable to keep him within the bounds of reason, many others, also, protested against his course, Elder R. in order to convince the multitude that he was right, expatiated in the most extravagant manner on the following texts of Scripture, applying them to the saints.

”Though shalt lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones fo the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence and thou shalt have plenty of silver,” Job, 22nd chapter, 22, 25 v. “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a Palace. That our garners may be full affording all manner of store, that our sheep may bring forth thousands and tens of thousands in our streets,” Psalm, cxliv. “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee, and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet, and they shall call thee the City of the Lord. The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been hated and forsaken so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of Kings, and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty one of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold and

for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass and for stones iron, I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors, righteousness.” (Isaiah, 60th chapter from 13th to 17th v.) “But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord, men shall call you the ministers of our God, ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves,” Isa. 61c, 6v. “Then Peter began to say unto him, lo we have left all and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said verily I say unto you. There is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake and the Gospels, but he shall receive a hundred fold, now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecution, and in the world to come eternal life.” (Mark, 10. c., 28, 29, 30 v.) “But seek ye first, the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew, 6th, 33 v.)

His lectures, directed to the passions of the people, caused many in indigent circumstances to imagine themselves rich. His analogies, resemblances, illustrations, paintings, and figures, were superlatively brilliant, and captivating in the extreme, but alas! When a few months had passed away, the found that their riches were like Jonah’s gourd, they had sprung up in a night, and perished in a day.

Part II, Elder Sidney Rigdon in Missouri

PART II.

ELDER SIDNEY RIGDON IN MISSOURI

Elder Rigdon’s imaginary schemes of wealth and grandeur having all vanished into insignificance, he was under the necessity of leaving Ohio, in search of another place of abode. He finally located himself among the Saints in Caldwell county, Missouri. Elder J. Smith, and many others, had come to the conclusion that Elder Rigdon’s past experience would be to him a lesson, that he would never forget but in this they were sadly disappointed, for in the Spring of 1838, before the vegetable kingdom had shed forth its rich colors, or perfumed the air with its fragrance, Elder Smith began to have some fearful forebodings, having discovered, that the ruling power of Elder Rigdon’s mind was again manifesting itself, directed in a channel calculated to prove more disastrous in its effects upon the church than all his former imaginary flights and projects. He began to pour his wrath in torrents upon the heads of the dissenters who had “made shipwreck concerning the faith.” In June he preached what he called his “Salt Sermon,” in which he called the dissenters the salt that had lost its savor, hence, said he, “they are good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot.” The dissenters made capital of his sermon, using it to prejudice the people in the adjoining counties against the saints; but to put the veto on them, and all others, he delivered an oration at Far West, on the 4th of July, in which he said many things which were good, and patriotic, but as he proceeded, his imagination carried him (not “beyond the bound of time and space,” but beyond the bounds of reason,) into his often frequented field of fancy, where he uttered the following sayings:

“Ourcheeks have been given to the smiters—our heads to those who have plucked off the hair. We have not only, when smitten on one cheek, turned the other, but we have done it again and again, until we are wearied of being smitten, and tired of being trampled upon. We have proved the world with kindness, we have suffered their abuse, without cause, with patience and have endured without resentment until this day, and still their persecutions and violence do not cease. But from this day and this hour we will suffer it no more. We take God, and all the holy Angels to witness this day, that we warn all men, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more forever, for from this hour we will bear it no more, our rights shall no more be trampled upon with impunity, the man, or the set of men, who attempt it, do it at the expense of their lives.

“And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, it shall be between us and them a war of extermination, for we will follow them till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us, for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses, and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed. Remember it then, all men. We will never be the aggressor, we will infringe on the rights of no people, but shall stand for our own until death.

“We claim our own rights and are willing that all others shall enjoy theirs. No man shall be a liberty to come into our streets, to threaten us with mobs, for if he does he shall atone for it before he leaves the place, neither shall he be at liberty to vilify and slander any of us, for suffer it we will not, in this place. We therefore take all men to record this day, that we proclaim our liberty this day, as did our Fathers, and we pledge this day to one another our fortunes, our lives, and our sacred honours, to be delivered from the persecutions, which we have had to endure for the last nine years, or nearly that time. Neither will we indulge any man, or set of men, in instituting vexatious Law-suits against us, to cheat us out of our rights, if they attempt it, we say woe be unto them. We this day, then, proclaim ourselves free, with a purpose and a determination, that never can be broken, no never! No, never!! No, Never!!!”

The foregoing extract from his oration, as anticipated by the judicious, was the main auxiliary that fanned into a flame the burning wrath of the mobocratic portion of the Missourians. They now had an excuse, their former threats were renewed, and soon executed, we were then, as we are now, (by many,) all made accountable for the acts of one man; death and carnage, marched through the land, in their most terrific forms. The following from the 1st Volume of the Times and Seasons, by Miss E. R. Snow, will give the reader some idea of the heart rending scene.

“Here, in a land that Freemen call their home, Far from the influence of Papal Rome; Yes, in a mild and tolerating age The Saints have fallen beneath the barb’rous rage Of men inspired by the misguiding hate, Which ignorance and prejudice create. Ill fated men, who minds would hardly grace The most ferocious of the brutal race. Men, without hearts, else would their bosoms bleed At the commission of so foul a deed As that when they at Shoal Creek, in Caldwell, Upon an unresisting people fell, Whose only crime was daring to profess The eternal principles of righteousness! 'T was not enough for that unfeeling crew To murder men—they shot them through and through, Frantic with rage, they poured their molten lead Profusely on the dying and the dead, For mercy’s claim, which Heaven delights to hear, Fell disregarded, on relentless ears. Long o’er the scene of that unhappy eve Will the lone widow and the orphan grieve. Their savage foes with greedy avarice fir’d, Plundered their murder’d victims and retir’d, And at the shadowy close of parting day In slaughter’d heaps husbands and fathers lay, There lay the dead and there the dying ones, The air reverberating with their groans; Night’s sable sadness mingled with the sound, Spread a terrific hideousness around. Ye wives and mothers think of woman then, Left in a group of dead and dying men, Her hopes were blasted, all her prospects riv’n Save one, she trusted in the God of Heaven; Long for the dead her widow’d heart will crave A last kind office, yes—a decent grave. Description fails—Tho’ language is too mean To paint the horrors of that dreadful scene. All things are present to His searching eye Whose ears are open to the raven’s cry.”

Men and children were murdered and robbed, women were insulted and wounded, the dead left without a decent burial, houses were burned, and property confiscated, and many noble men torn from their almost distracted wives and children, and locked in a gloomy prison for months, to satisfy the insatiate, wrath of man. After the whole society had suffered innumerable hardships, and bathed the earth with their tears and blood, they were, by the edit of a second Nero, banished en masse from the State in the drear months of winter, which caused the frosty grave to be opened, to receive fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, and the helpless infant, overcome by cold, hunger, and fatigue.

Part III, Elder Sidney Rigdon in Illinois.

PART III.

ELDER SIDNEY RIGDON IN ILLINOIS.

After Elder Rigdon landed in Illinois, he was, as all would naturally suppose, compelled by circumstances to be more cool and considerate than he had previously been in Missouri. He in company with others met the Democratic association and other citizens of Quincy, (Ill.,) and laid before them the situation and circumstances of the Church, which resulted, in a measure, in ameliorating the condition of the widow and the orphan, who had been made destitute by mob violence. The generous deeds of the citizens of Quincy are gratefully remembered by many of the afflicted Saints who received their friendly aid in time of need.

Elders. J. and H. Smith and Elder R., with the exiled saints, located themselves in the spring of 1839, in the village of Commerce, afterwards called Nauvoo. The saints in America and Europe soon began to gather by hundreds and thousands to the selected place, which increased with a rapidity truly astonishing; many hundred houses were soon erected, large farms enclosed, on the hitherto uncultivated prairie. But the ray of hope had scarcely beamed on the Church, before it was discovered that the scenes in Ohio and Missouri, had not extinguished or abated the strength of Elder R’s imagination. He began to say that it was now his privilege to get rich, he went so far as to say “that he never would follow Elder J. Smith’s revelations any more, contrary to his own convenience, he also said that Jesus Christ was a fool to him, in sufferings.” Elder Smith watched over him, determined to keep him where the effects of his imagination could not prove so disastrous to the saints as heretofore, hoping at the same time, that he would see his error and reform.

At the Conference held in Commerce, October 5th, ’39, Elders J. Smith, S. Rigdon and E. Higbee, were delegated to go to the city of Washington to lay before the authorities of our nation, the sufferings and persecutions of the saints, while in Missouri. It was thought that a trip to the Eastern cities would be beneficial to Elder R., and so it proved, for his mind for several months after he returned, seemed more calm and consistent than it had for a long time previous.

But Elder R. paid very little attention to the affairs of the Church, or the counsels of Elder Smith, he seemed to amuse himself with his own waking dreams, until sicknes[s] seized upon him and his family, he would then murmur and threaten to leave Nauvoo and go to the east. The Elders would visit him and pray for his recovery, and comfort him all they could, knowing he had suffered many afflictions. At times he would say, (as he did in this city near five years ago,) the Lord suffers me to be afflicted because I aspire to get ahead of Br. Joseph, thinking myself more capable to lead the Church than he is. But the Lord (said Elder R.,) dont think so. The following from the Book of Cov., page 408, given January 19th, 1841, will show Elder R’s standing far better than I can tell it.

“And again verily I say unto you , if my servant Sidney will serve me and be counselor unto my servant Joseph, let him arise and come up and stand in the office of his calling and humble himself before me, and if he will offer unto me an acceptable offering and acknowledgements, and remain with my people, behold I the Lord your God will heal him that he shall be headed, and he shall lift up his voice again on the mountains and be a spokesman before my face. Let him come and locate his family in the neighborhood in which my servant Joseph resides, and in all his journeyings let him lift up his voice, as with the sound of a trumpet and warn the inhabitants of the earth to flee the wrath to come. Let him assist my servant Joseph, and also let my servant William Law, assist my servant Joseph, in making a solemn proclamation unto the kings of the earth, even as I have before said unto you. If my servant Sidney will do my will, let him not remove his family unto the eastern lands, but let him change their habitation even as I have said. Behold it is not my will that he should seek to find safety and refuge out of the city which I have appointed unto you, even the city of Nauvoo, Verily I say unto you even now if he will hearken to my voice it shall be well with him even so. Amen.”

Elder R. complied with part of the above revelation, he located his family as directed, but continued as inactive as before, until Elder Smith was under the necessity of bringing his case before the Conference, Elder R. plead for his standing in the Church, and promised to do better, until he touched Elder Smith’s sympathy, he then done by him as he had often done by others wept over him and forgave him. Elder Hyrum Smith whose charity never failed in one instance, was determined to hold on to him; in his meditations about him, he thought, perhaps, that he felt himself slighted, because Elder Joseph Smith had not ordained him to be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, as he had some others; he therefore went to his Br. And told him his thoughts, (said he,) Br. Joseph, you have ordained me and Br. Don Carlos and others, to be Prophets, Seers, and Revelators, but you have not ordained Br. Sidney, and I have thought that he feels that you have slighted him, I want you to go, continued H., and ordain him to the same office.