Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess [Hardcover]

Richard S. Van Wagoner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

Disciples of Christ minister Sidney Rigdon was one of the most significant early converts to Mormonism. His education proved indispensible to Joseph Smith, as together they updated the Bible, received revelations, drafted the Lectures on Faith, dedicated the first temple, and formalized LDS theology. But Rigdon's unstable temperament made him an ultimately unreliable counselor.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Best Book Award --John Whitmer Historical Association

Best Biography Award --Mormon History Association --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard S. Van Wagoner, M.S., Brigham Young University, is a clinical audiologist and Lehi city historian. He is the author of Lehi: Portraits of a Utah Town, Mormon Polygamy: A History, and Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess; and the co-author of A Book of Mormons. He has been published in Brigham Young University Studies, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Sunstone, Utah Historical Quarterly, and Utah Holiday, and has won awards from the Dialogue Foundation, John Whitmer Historical Association, and the Mormon History Association. He is a contributor to The Prophet Puzzle: Interpretive Essays on Joseph Smith. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Signature Books; First Edition edition (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560850302
• ISBN-13: 978-1560850304
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,965,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Putting Mormon History in Perspective, September 13, 2000

By 

Missing in Action (Idaho Falls, Idaho USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess (Hardcover)

This is a marvelous treatise on the history of the LDS church that has been largely forgotten, overlooked, and in some cases, edited right out. Sidney Rigdon was without question one of the most significant forces shaping the early Church, yet because he fell out of favor with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles following the murder of Joseph Smith, his contributions have been airbrushed out of the collective Mormon consciousness. Van Wagoner goes a long way in correcting that error.

This book will not always be a comfortable read for active Mormons. As Van Wagoner reviews the life and ecentricities of Joseph's spokesman, so, too is there a hard review of the circumstances in which Rigdon lived, most notably his association with Joseph Smith and other prominent leaders of the LDS church. It is not difficult to conclude that both men were religious fanatics, though Joseph's life was cut short and his zeal and fanatiscm may not have had the chance to develop to its fullest, as did Rigdon's. Nevertheless, the parallels are striking, and the objective reader can't help but wonder how much of what Joseph said or did was because of his association with Sidney Rigdon, rather than his prophetic call.

Because Sidney left the faith (well, left the Brighamite faith...he was true to the Book of Mormon and everything Joseph Smith taught with the glaring exception of polygamy), the conventional history of the church has little to say about Rigdon. That, then, is the very reason why this book is such an important contribution to the library of any serious student of church history. Sidney's experience in the establishment of the church begins to deviate from the standard version during the Nauvoo years, and Van Wagoner's treatment of the battle to establish primacy in the leadership of the Church post-martyrdom is something every Mormon should read.

The fact that Van Wagoner ventures an educated and thoughtful guess as to the psychodynamics of Ridgon's mind is the subject of some criticism. I found his treatment of that issue to be fair, but more importantly, only incidental to the whole story. Van Wagoner could have left his oppinions completely unspoken, and when you were finished with the book, you, too, would conclude that "all was not well" in the mind and thinking of Sidney Rigdon. That tends to raise some important questions when you consider how significant he was in influencing Joseph Smith.

Above all, Sidney Rigdon was a brilliant man with a penchant for excess, particularly when it comes to his religious convictions regarding the imminent return of Jesus Christ, the destruction of the world, and the redemption of Zion (which turned out to be in a whole bunch of places in Sidney's world). The study of his life reveals the genesis of that thinking, and suggests that much of the millenialistic thought and zeal of the early Mormons may well have been driven by none other than Sidney Rigdon.

This is a book I will recommend to all my friends. Hold on to your hat, though, because it's quite a ride!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tieme to acknlowkedge history. ., March 11, 2006

By 

Luis H. Romero "bert romero" (los angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess (Paperback)

For all his quirks of character and physical infirmities, Sidney should be given a place in LDS Church history, crediting him for his foundational work. The accession of Brigham Young to the presidency of the church should have an asterisk noting the true character of the power struggle. Had Sidney been more asserertive perhaps the church would have been different (better or worse, who's to say) for sure. Van Wagoer paints a sensitive, intelligent, sympathetic and totally believable Sidney Rigdon. It goes without saying little of him is really known by reading the church manuals or hearing LDS General Authorities discuss him or his contribution to church development. Van Wagoner has illuminated that forgotten (purpoesly neglected?) corner of church history.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work on the early days of Mormonism, July 24, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is very accurate historically, while at the same time giving an unbiased account of Sidney's very important role in the starting of the Mormom Church. The author has an excellent writing style and everything in the book is well documented. John Rigdon (Sidney was my "uncle" 10 generations back) EMAIL: [e-mail]