PART IV
IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF FACTS—TRIAL OF ELDER RIGDON, &c.
Soon after Elder Rigdon arrived in Pittsburg, he was chosen to preside over the branch of the Church in that City, (build up principally by the labour of Elder John E. Page), which numbered at the time near forty members. He held forth to the people several times before he heard of the Awful Assassination of Elders J. and H. Smith; at first he could not believe the report, but facts soon multiplied, until unbelief gave place to stern reality. The first particulars, received by Elder Rigdon from the press at Nauvoo, was contained in an Extra sheet of the “Neighbour,” which I sent to him shortly after my arrival in Pittsburg, on my way to this City. The next day I called at his house and related to him all the particulars as far as I had witnessed them. He spoke in the highest terms of the martyred Prophet and Patriarch, indeed he had held up the Prophet Joseph as a man not only worthy of the confidence of all the saints, but worthy also of the confidence of all the free born sons of Columbia, worthy to stand at the head of the free and the brave. Being desirous to go on my journey as fast as possible, I informed Elder Rigdon that the next morning I should take the Packet for Philadelphia. He requested me to say to the Elders composing the Quorum of the Twelve, if I met with any of them, that it was his wish and desire that they should come to Pittsburg before going to Nauvoo, and hold a council; said he, they can make my house their home while here, in the meantime speaking highly of the Quorum. Oh! Said he, how bad they will feel when they hear of the death of Brothers Joseph and Hyrum. The twelve sent him a friendly letter, informing him that their friends at the West thought it safer for them to return by the way of the Lakes, requesting at the same time, that he would meet them in Nauvoo, where they would council together. Elder Rigdon received their letter and proceeded immediately to Nauvoo, arriving several days in advance of the Quorum. He commenced holding forth to the Saints on the propriety and necessity of their choosing a Guardian, telling them they had a right to do so, as the Church was now fourteen years of age. He related, on several occasions, that he had received a revelation before leaving Pittsburg, directing him to come to Nauvoo to see that the teachings and measures of Elder J. Smith were carried out to the letter, which said he, cannot be done until you choose a guardian; therefore he appointed a day when the Saints were to meet for that purpose. Those of the Twelve at Nauvoo, protested against his course as being premature in the extreme; Elder P. P. Pratt, in particular, insisted with great earnestness that no action of the kind ought to be taken before the Church until a majority of the Twelve could be present. Elder Rigdon promised that the meeting should be turned into a prayer meeting, but not long after he rescinded his promise to Elder P. and told the people it was a business meeting. However, we read that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the[n] called according to his purpose.” Before the time of meeting the absent members of the Quorum arrived, and attended to hear what Elder Rigdon had to say; he spoke in the forepart of the day to the saints on the necessity of choosing a Guardian, or spokesman, or head, telling them that Brother Joseph held the keys of the kingdom in this world, and still held them the other side of the vail; thatthe kingdom must be built up to Joseph, &c. In the afternoon, Elder Brigham Young made a few remarks in his usual plain and forcible style, throwing considerable light upon the subject handled by Elder Rigdon, after which he submitted it to the assembled thousands; a vote was then taken. (Elder Rigdon refused to have his name put to the congregation,) all in favour of choosing a Guardian, or Spokesman, or Head, manifest it by raising the right HAND; not a hand was lifted in the vast assembly. The question was then put, all in favour of upholding the Quorum of the Twelve in their calling, as counselors and leaders of the church, manifest it by the same sign; a sea of hands arose in an instant, when the opposite vote was called there was not a hand lifted, all things passed off in the most perfect order, Elder Rigdon spoke not a word against the proceedings of the meeting, all appeared quiet and calm.
The Sabbath following, Elder R. spoke a long time to the Saints, and blessed them in the name of the Lord; telling them emphatically that he was with the twelve. He wished to know the mind of the Church in relation to his returning to Pittsburg, they all said go in peace. Elder B. Young, to impress on the minds of the people what Elder R. had said, arose and said:—Brethren and Sisters, you see that Brother Sidney is with us, &c. But reader believe me, for it is as true as it is strange, the next Monday night, not thirty-six hours from the time Elder R. stated to over seven thousand people that he was with the twelve, he went and held a secret meeting in a private house, in which he proclaimed himself to be the stone that the Prophet Isaiah said the builders rejected; he professed to have received the keys of David, which gave him power to shut and no man openeth, and to open and no man shutteth; another passage in the 11th chapter of Isaiah he applied to himself, saying that he was the branch mentioned in said chapter. He informed the meeting that he had received authority from the Lord to organize the kingdom spoken of by the prophet Daniel—that he had received higher keys than Joseph Smith ever held, therefore he proceeded to ordain men to be Prophets, Priests, and Kings unto the Gentiles. He informed those present that the Kingdom, as it rolled forth, would meet with opposition, making it necessary for them to raise an army to fight the battles of the great God. He proceeded to choose and appoint several persons to take command in the army, when it should be collected, which he said would be before long. In the meantime, he began to talk of the existence of great iniquity in the church; throwing out oblique hints against the martyred Prophet and Patriarch, and the quorum of the Twelve. He soon professed that the Lord had given him a revelation before he left Pittsburg, showing him that the Church would reject him, &c.
It will be remembered, that up to the time of taking the vote, Elder R. had spoken favourably of Elders Joseph and Hyrum Smith—he had not intimated that there was any iniquity in the church, or that the twelve were bad men. He had repeatedly blessed the saints, calling them a blessed people, pointing them to the time when they would meet with their martyred Prophet and Patriarch—whose blood had not only sprinkled the jail and ground at Carthage, but the crimson current continued flowing while their lifeless bodies were conveyed over the lonely Prairie, followed by a few dear friends, whose tears mingled with the drops of blood that gushed from deep and mortal wounds, to leave a crimsoned hue for the eyes of angels and man to gaze upon and wonder!!
As soon as the Quorum of the Twelve heard of the proceedings of Elder R., they called on him to know by what authority he held secret meetings, and ordained men to the before mentioned offices. At first he undertook to evade their questions; but Elder B. Young being a man of firmness and quick perception, was determined to learn the whole matter, which he did, after several fruitless attempts on the part of Elder R. to evade his questions; after the confession of Elder R. to the Quorum, they endeavoured to convince him of his error, but without effect; he gave them to understand that his course was marked out, that he knew all these things before he left Pittsburg. The Quorum, with the Bishop of the Church, met, and held a Council on the case of Elder R.; in their deliberations they came to the conclusion to demand Elder R’s License. When the committe[e] waited on him for that purpose he refused to give it up, saying he had not received it from the Quorum, and he should not give it up to them, &c. He was then cited to appear before the Common Council of the Church, assisted by twelve High Priests after the order of Melchizedeck. He refused to appear before said Council, thereby manifesting his unwillingness to comply with the rules of the Church. We will next give the Trial of Elder R., Testimony, &c., as taken from the Journals of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.