THE CALLING OF SIDNEY RIGDON.
The same holds good as to other characters who came dropping into the work. When Sidney Rigdon came with Edward Partridge—the latter the Prophet described as a pattern of piety and one of the Lord's great men, and of whom the Lord spoke afterwards as being like unto Nathaniel of old, because there was no guile in his heart. When Sidney Rigdon, in December, 1830, came to the Prophet to inquire of him, the Lord commended him for his past work in the Disciple's ministry, where he had been teaching repentance and faith and baptism in water for the remission of sins; and, now, the burden of the Lord's word in this man, Sidney Rigdon, was simply that hereafter his mission should be enlarged, and he should not only baptize with water but he should baptize now, also, with water and with fire and with the Holy Ghost. No promise of wealth and position; no worldly exaltation was promised to him, but warnings of toil and labor in the ministry and the opposition of the world. And, by the way, there is something a little interesting in this incident of Sidney Rigdon coming into the work. It is generally held forth, in the anti-Mormon publications, that Joseph Smith neither in his general information, nor in trained faculties, was equal to the task of bringing forth the Book of Mormon. They assumed that some more skilful man, some man better versed in the Scriptures and in history, and having more literary ability withal, was somewhere behind the scenes manipulating affairs to bring forth the Book of Mormon and the Mormon Church. But Sidney Rigdon did not come to the Prophet until December, 1830. When he came—in addition to what I have reported of what was promised to him—he was appointed to be scribe to the Prophet; and afterwards in all their labors and associations he held a subordinate position to the Prophet. At this time Sidney Rigdon was a man thirty-seven years of age; the Prophet but about twenty-five. We might ask our anti-Mormon friends how it came about that if Sidney Rigdon was the master spirit in bringing forth the Book of Mormon and the Mormon Church—"the real Mephistopheles of the blasphemous drama that was being enacted"—how comes it that after playing this part for a number of years, in secret when he comes out into the public light, with all his advantage of age, of education and experience and power as a public speaker, he consents to take second place in the great drama to be enacted—no, not even second place for that had been conferred upon Oliver Cowdery who had been ordained and sustained by the Church as the Second Elder of the Church, while Sidney Rigdon at his advent must be content with being the Prophet's scribe! Is there any consistency in claims of this anti-Mormon sort?
I come now to another matter. You have seen how our Prophet began his work—in prayerfully seeking unto the Lord for his own guidance, and ever, as men who became leaders in the movement, one after another, come dropping into the work, from his father and brother, and Oliver Cowdery to Sidney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, and afterwards the same as to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and all the rest—ever as they came into the work, it was always the same thing; he inquired of the Lord for these men, and received answers; he was prayerful throughout—this Prophet. In 1833 the Prophet himself went on a mission to Canada to visit some branches of the Church that had been raised up by the labors of Parley P. Pratt; and among the treasures of our Historian's office is the daily journal of the Prophet while on that mission—a little book—not so large, in thickness, at least, but a little larger in length and breadth than this small hymn book that I now hold in my hand; a journal kept in his own hand writing, that recorded the events of each day, the thoughts that were in his heart, and his method of procedure. I want to read a few entries from that journal to you; because our Church history, that is, as originally published in the Times and Seasons, and as published in The Millennial Star, does not contain all the entries of the Prophet in that journal; but in the recently published history of the Church, in the first volume of the six now published, these entries are to be found in the Footnotes. I want to have you follow the Prophet for a few days in his ministry, that you may know the spirit of this man.
A FEW DAYS WITH THE PROPHET.
"Oct. 5—I started on a journey to the east, and to Canada in company with Elders Rigdon and Freeman Nickerson. We arrived in Springfield whilst the brethren were in meeting, and Elder Rigdon spoke to the congregation. A large and attentive congregation assembled at Brother Rudd's in the evening, to whom we bore our testimony. Had a great congregation—paid good attention. O God, seal our testimony to their hearts." That is from page 6 of the manuscript book I speak of.
"Oct. 11—We left Westfield, and continuing our journey, stayed that night with a man named Nash, an infidel, with whom we reasoned, but to no purpose. I feel very well in my mind. The Lord is with us, but have much anxiety about my family." (Page 7.)
"Thursday, 24th—At the house of Mr. Beman, in Colburn, whence we left for Waterford, where we spoke to a small congregation; thence to Mount Pleasant, and preached to a large congregation the same evening, when Freeman A. Nickerson and his wife declared their belief in the work, and offered themselves for baptism. Great excitement prevailed in every place we visited. The result is in the hands of God."
"Friday, 25th—This afternoon, at a Mr. Patrick's; expect to hold a meeting this evening. People very superstitious. O God, establish thy word among this people. Held a meeting this evening; had an attentive congregation; the Spirit gave utterance."
"28th—In the evening we broke bread and laid on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and for confirmation, having baptized two more. The Spirit was given in great power to some, and peace to others. May God carry on his work in this place till all shall know him. Amen." (Page 16.)
"Tuesday, 29th—After preaching at 10 o'clock a. m. I baptized two, and confirmed them at the water's side. Last evening we ordained F. A. Nickerson an elder; and one of the sisters received the girt of tongues, which made the saints rejoice exceedingly. May God increase the gifts among them for his Son's sake."
On the 29th the Prophet's party started for home. "May the Lord prosper our journey. Amen." (Page 17.)
"Friday, Nov. 1—I left Buffalo. New York, at 8 o'clock a. m. and arrived at my house in Kirtland on Monday, the 4th, 10 a. m., and found my family well, according to the promise of the Lord in the revelation of October 12, for which I felt to thank my heavenly Father."
Now, my friends, this is but a few days with the Prophet. You may follow him throughout his career—in freedom and in bonds, in the midst of his joys and in the darkness of his sorrows; you shall find this same prayerful attitude towards God—always thanksgiving for blessings, cries for help in his hour of need, and always prayers for divine guidance when unfolding the great organization of the Church of Christ. Tell me—is the spirit in which this man labored, evil or good? Is this the course of a libertine and a liar? Or, is it the course of a righteous man? To me there draw tremendous consequences in connection with this course of our Prophet; and the importance of these consequences will appeal to you, I think, when I call your attention to them. When you see this man so constantly seeking communion with God, seeking for guidance and help—if God came not to his help, and did not guide him, then what hope may men entertain that God will hear prayer at all? Or give divine guidance to those who seek it? If I could be persuaded that God did not hear and answer the prayers of this man—beginning in his innocent boyhood, and continuing to his martyr, cry "O Lord, my God!"—if God, I say, did not hear him, and did not walk beside him and guide his footsteps, I would say to all the world: Your prayers are but mockeries; your heaven above you is brass; the earth under your feet is iron. Cease from prayer; become self reliant, and do the best you can by your own inherent strength; develop such human wisdom as you may, and walk in its light, for it is all there is—your cries for help and guidance cannot penetrate the heavens, and there is no God to hear or help you!
But, of course, believing, as I do, that God responded to the heart-cries of the Prophet, to his prayers, I say to all men—Behold the result of Joseph Smith's praying in the achievements of his life's work! In this circumstance we may find encouragement to believe that God will both hear and answer prayers, and help all to know the truth and walk in its light, who seek for it.
But notwithstanding the fact that this great latter-day work called Mormonism had its inception in this prayerful spirit—this manifest hungering and thirsting after righteousness; notwithstanding all who sought to be helpful in it, and to be identified with its development were sternly bidden to keep the commandments of God; that faith, hope, charity, temperance, chastity and patience were required qualities; that they must seek for wisdom, not for riches—"the laborers in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish" (II Nephi 26:51); notwithstanding the stream called Mormonism arises from so noble and pure a fountain, how greatly has it been defamed either through misconception of it, or through malice, and the motives of its founders misrepresented!
Only a short time ago, no later in fact than last Thanksgiving day, a minister in preaching what I think, in the main, must have been a very excellent discourse, took occasion to glance in our direction, and say what I think was one of the unkindest things that could be said of the Latter-day Saints. I will read to you what the press reported the gentleman as saying. You know the local press of our city, now and then, becomes wonderfully agitated about our paying tithes and offerings to the Church; and, really, if you read those reports and did not know better you would think the Latter-day Saints were a community that were impoverishing themselves by carrying on the work of the Lord. This minister referred to that, and what he says on that particular point is rather refreshing, and I commend it to the attention of the local paper in question:
"One of our local papers has assigned, as one of the reasons of the so-called poverty and handicap of the Mormon people, the collection of tithes. We think the paper in error in this, for we ourselves are in favor of the tithes and have practiced it for the past twenty years. The children of Israel were never so prosperous as when they brought the tithes and offerings to the treasury of the Lord;"—and everybody that is acquainted with the history of Israel knows that to be true. "The true cause of this so-called poverty and handicap, of course, is not in reference to the tithes, but the low ideals in the homes and the lack of respect for woman. As the earthly, home is lifted it becomes nearest like the home beyond the skies, the final home of the soul."