Salt Sermon
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/SidneyRigdon.jpg)
The salt sermon was an oration delivered on 17 June 1838 by Sidney Rigdon, then First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,[1][2] and frequent spokesman for Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, against church dissenters, including Book of Mormon witnesses Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and John Whitmer, and other leaders including W. W. Phelps. The Salt Sermon is often confused with Rigdon's July 4th oration.
Background
The years before 1838 were difficult
However, after fleeing from Kirtland, Smith faced continuing external persecutions, along with serious internal dissensions.[4] Smith and Rigdon became determined to extinguish this perceived apostasy in the church as they believed that the very entire future of the Latter Day Saint movement was at stake.[3] Due to Rigdon's ability to sway audiences, he became Smith's spokesman in an attempt to promote church orthodoxy,[4] and as a result Rigdon also became symbol of the militancy of the church in Far West.[3]
Sermon
On 17 June 1838, in Far West, Rigdon delivered a harsh public condemnation of a large number of the members and leaders of the church for their perceived disloyalty towards Smith and Rigdon.[3][5] While no summary or text of Rigdon's sermon remains, eyewitnesses indicated that Rigdon took the subject of his text from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
If the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
According to Rigdon, the dissenters were like the "salt" spoken of by Jesus (part of the metaphors of salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount) and must be "trodden under foot".[5]
Rigdon was then followed by Smith with a short speech, in which he seemingly sanctioned what Rigdon had said.[3]
Response
The Salt Sermon caused a great deal of demand to purge the church of any disloyal members. This included the formation of the seemingly unauthorized
...the first presidency did not seem to have much to do with [the Danites] at first", [but] some of the Danites clearly saw the salt sermon as a sign of approval.[6]
Corrill stated that "although [Rigdon] did not give names in his sermon, yet it was plainly understood that he meant the dissenters or those who had denied the faith."
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Jessee 1989, pp. 302–03
- ^ a b Marquardt & Walters 1994, p. 106
- ^ a b c d e McKiernan 1970, pp. 368–9
- ^ a b c d Anderson 1996
- ^ a b c d Quinn 1994
- ^ a b Corrill 1839, pp. 31, 218
- ^ Gentry 1974, p. 2
- ^ Bushman 2005, pp. 349–53
References
- Anderson, Karl R. (1989), Joseph Smith's Kirtland: Eyewitness Accounts, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, ISBN 0875792014, retrieved 8 September 2015
- ISBN 1-4000-4270-4
- OCLC 18071277
- ISBN 0875791999, archived from the original on 7 November 2011(reproduced from Manuscript History of the Church, LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37;))
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link - ISBN 1560851082, archived from the originalon 22 February 2012
- McKiernan, Mark F. (1970), "Sidney Rigdon's Fourth of July [1838] Oration" (PDF), The Historians Corner, 11 (1), Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2006, retrieved 8 September 2015
- ISBN 1560850566
- ISBN 5878682931, retrieved 8 September 2015