Sidney Rigdon

He's not making that argument particularly.

In fact, I'm struck by like section 35 of the Doctrine and Covenants where Sidney Rigdon, who was a preacher, a very effective preacher, baptized a lot of people in his congregation, not LDS.

And the Lord just seems to be really pleased with that and affirms that and says, I sent you forth to prepare the way.

Now we're going to lay my hands on you and we're going to ordain you and you're going to now take everyone to the next level.

Many saw and later described the mantle of Joseph resting on Brigham Young.

Seventeen-year-old William Lampard Watkins wrote that Sidney Rigdon gave a lengthy and tedious speech of the wonderful things he had planned for the people.

But when Brigham Young spoke, he was filled with the power of the Holy Ghost— He stood before the people as the Prophet Joseph Smith often had, and we heard the voice of the true shepherd, for he spoke with the voice of Joseph.

His manner and appearance were like unto Joseph's, and it was manifested to all those present upon whom the responsibility rested to carry on the work of God and lead the Saints.

Like, based on what we know of D&C 129, all of his angelic encounters, like, can you even make an argument for him being deceived by a devil? Like, what...

what would be the, how would you know for sure that Joseph Smith really was being followed, was being instructed by an angel versus being instructed by a devil? Maybe this whole thing is just a charade with an army of demons, you know, ordaining a fake priesthood to Oliver and to Sidney Rigdon and all the people.

So like, what's, what's the response to this whole thing is just a demonic charade versus maybe this is really of God.

That's silly.

Yeah.

Rigdon doesn't have to cut any weight.

No, he looks

great.

that you are going to make this claim, and it's going to be repeated over and over and over again.

One of the people who's going to make this claim is going to be Alexander Campbell.

Alexander Campbell, having lost Sidney Rigdon and quite a few parishioners to the Latter-day Saints conversion in Ohio, is going to attack the Book of Mormon and Mormonism so-called a great deal.

And the way that he is going to do it is—oh, he's going to do it in a lot of ways.

And you think about with, you know, for our descendants, Frederick G. Williams was so special to Joseph that he named his son after Frederick G. Williams.

Sidney Rigdon, Zebedee Coltrane, of course, John Murdoch, where we have Julia from.

and then Lyman White, so then Joseph and Oliver Cowdery saw Jesus.

The church's first temple was built, and there were heavenly messengers that came, and people saw that and witnessed it, and then there were significant keys that were restored.

And then, Mike, do you want to talk about this room?

This is my favorite room, where a lot of the, what is it, 16 sections of the DNC were put in there.

I can't remember exactly how many, but this is where Oliver Cowdery and Joseph, or is it Sidney Rigdon and Joseph, and we saw him on the right hand of God.

And this is the scripture we give last of all, that we saw him in the right hand of God, that he lived.

So I know the institutional memory is a little different.

You think of, uh, Kirtland as being the seat of the First Presidency, because Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon and his other counselors, which their various, uh, counselors are in Kirtland.

But, um, but Independence is the real Zion, and Kirtland is really meant to be an outpost.

Uh, when Joseph Smith was coming to Independence to establish New Jerusalem, uh, they stopped and made a, made a, converted an entire congregation in Kirtland.