The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo

by B. H. Roberts

Notwithstanding all his fair promises of amendment, Sidney Rigdon continued neglectful of his high duties, and if for a time his old-time enthusiasm revived—as it seemed to at the April conference following, it was as the flickering flame of a tallow dip only—not the steady rays of the ever-shining sun. He longed to return to the East; and notwithstanding the word of the Lord commanding him to make his home at Nauvoo, he frequently talked with Joseph about going to Pittsburg to live, and finally obtained his consent to go there, and take his family with him, and, as I said before, he was there when the martyrdom occurred.

William Law, who had been the Prophet's second counselor, was in open apostasy and rebellion against him. He had been and was the associate of a corrupt band of men bent on the destruction of the Prophet. Prompted by a spirit of mercy, the April conference of 1843 had passed without taking action against either William Law, or any of the other apostates; but on the eighteenth of April, at a council of the Priesthood, when six of the Twelve Apostles were present, William Law and several other apostates were excommunicated from The Church; and later William Law undertook the organization of a church after the pattern of the Church of Christ, but it was a miserable failure.

The Twelve Apostles were nearly all absent in the Eastern States on missions; and although messengers were sent to call them to Nauvoo immediately after the Prophet's martyrdom, it would be some time before they could arrive. So that it was a time of general anxiety and depression.

It was in the midst of such circumstances as these that Sidney Rigdon arrived in Nauvoo and demanded that he be appointed "guardian" of The Church. He ignored the members of the quorum of the Twelve who were in the city—Elders Willard Richards, John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt; he conferred with Elder William Marks, president of the stake of Nauvoo, and at once began agitating the question of appointing a "guardian" to The Church. He arrived in Nauvoo on Saturday, the third of August; next day he harangued the Saints, who assembled in the grove near the temple, upon the necessity of appointing a "guardian" to build up The Church to the martyred Prophet, and in the afternoon meeting urged William Marks to make a special appointment for the Saints to assemble on the following Tuesday for that purpose. Elder Marks was in sympathy with Sidney Rigdon, but for some reason he refused to make the appointment for Tuesday, but made it for Thursday, the eighth of August. This was a most fortunate circumstance, since a sufficient number of the Twelve to make a majority of that quorum arrived on the evening of the sixth, and, of course, they were in time to be present at the meeting to be held on the eighth. The day previous to that meeting, however—the seventh of August—the Twelve called a meeting of the high council and high priests, before which they called on Sidney Rigdon to make a statement of his purposes and relate the revelation he claimed to have received at Pittsburg, which prompted his journey to Nauvoo. In substance he replied that the object of his visit was to offer himself to the Saints as a "guardian;" that it had been shown to him in vision at Pittsburg, that The Church must be built up to Joseph the martyr; that all the blessings the Saints could receive would be through their late Prophet; that no man could be a successor to Joseph; that The Church was not disorganized, though the head was gone; that he had been commanded to come to Nauvoo and see that The Church was governed properly, and propose himself to be a "guardian" to the people.^[[4]]

To this Elder Brigham Young replied:

I do not care who leads this Church, even though it were Ann Lee; but one thing I must know, and that is, what God says about it. I have the keys and the means of obtaining the mind of God on the subject. * * * Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers belonging to the Apostleship which he himself held before he was taken away, and no man nor set of men can get between Joseph and the Twelve in this world or in the world to come. How often has Joseph said to the Twelve, I have laid the foundation and you must build thereon, for upon your shoulders the Kingdom rests.^[[5]]

The next day was the one appointed by Sidney Rigdon for The Church to assemble and choose a "guardian." The attendance was large, as intense interest had been awakened upon the subject to be considered. Sidney Rigdon addressed the assembly, setting forth his claim to the "guardianship" of The Church. He had full opportunity to present his case and for one hour and a half spoke without interruption; but despite his reputation as an orator, he failed to convince the Saints that he was sent of God.

As soon as Sidney Rigdon had closed his speech, Elder Brigham Young arose and made a few remarks. It was on that occasion that he was transfigured before the people, so that through him the Saints heard the voice and felt the presence of their departed leader. George Q. Cannon, who was present on that occasion, says:

If Joseph had risen from the dead and again spoken in their hearing, the effect could not have been more startling than it was to many present at that meeting, it was the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard but it seemed in the eyes of the people as if it were the very person of Joseph which stood before them. A more wonderful and miraculous event than was wrought that day in the presence of that congregation, we never heard of. The Lord gave His people a testimony that left no room for doubt as to who was the man chosen to lead them. They both saw and heard with their natural eyes and ears, and the words which were uttered came, accompanied by the convincing power of God, to their hearts, and they were filled with the Spirit and with great joy. There had been gloom, and in some hearts, probably, doubt and uncertainty, but now it was plain to all that here was the man upon whom the Lord had bestowed the necessary authority to act in their midst in Joseph's stead. On that occasion Brigham Young seemed to be transformed, and a change such as that we read of in the scriptures, as happening to the Prophet Elisha, when Elijah was translated in his presence, seemed to have taken place with him. The mantle of the Prophet Joseph had been left for Brigham. * * * The people said one to another: "The spirit of Joseph rests on Brigham;" they knew that he was the man chosen to lead them and they honored him accordingly. * * * As far as our observation went (we were only a boy at the time) the people were divided into three classes from the time of the death of Joseph up to this meeting of which we speak. One class felt clearly and understandingly that President Brigham Young was the man whose right it was to preside, he being the president of the Twelve Apostles, and that body being, through the death of Joseph and Hyrum, the presiding quorum of The Church. Another class were not quite clear as to who would be called to preside, but they felt very certain that Sidney Rigdon was not the man. They did not believe that God would choose a coward and traitor to lead His people, to both of which characters they believed Rigdon had a claim. The third class, and we think its members were few, was composed of those who had no clear views one way or the other. They were undecided in their feelings. * * * With very few exceptions, then, the people returned to their homes from that meeting filled with great rejoicing. All uncertainty and anxiety were removed. They had heard the voice of the shepherd and they knew it.

In the journal of Elder William C. Staines, of that date, the following statement is recorded: