Two Contenders: Sidney Rigdon vs. Brigham Young & The Twelve

In August 1844, there were two major contenders to assume leadership of the church following the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. On the one hand was Sidney Rigdon, a gifted man who had been at Joseph Smith’s side as his confidante since 1830. Sidney initially proved quite effective as Joseph’s scribe and mission companion, and later as his first counselor. Over time, however, Joseph lost confidence in Sidney’s stability and, therefore, his ability to serve effectively as his counselor. Things came to a head in 1843 when, at a Church conference, Joseph officially sought to vote Sidney out of the First Presidency for his suspected role in a kidnapping attempt against Joseph to get him back to Missouri. And although they appear to have reconciled to some degree prior to Joseph’s death, the question remained: did Joseph intend for Sidney to preside over the Church following his death?

On the other hand there was Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve apostles. It seemed that at the same time Sidney’s star was falling, that of Brigham Young and the Twelve was rising. As time passed, their leadership only proved more and more vital and trustworthy. From leading the frantic exodus out of Missouri to Quincy, Illinois while Joseph was in Liberty Jail, to leading crucial missions to England where thousands of converts were brought into the Church, the Twelve, under Brigham Young’s leadership, were proving to be not only reliable but critical to the success and growth of the Church. And following his death, multiple members of the Twelve attested to a private meeting Joseph held with them that previous Spring wherein he officially commissioned and empowered them to lead the Church should his enemies kill him.

In this episode of Church History Matters, we explore all of this in detail and set the stage for the watershed Church meeting held on August 8, 1844 where Church members get to vote on who they will follow.

This is the second episode of our podcast series on succession in the presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/two-contenders-sidney-rigdon-vs-brigham-young-the-twelve/

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Originally published July 31, 2024

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