Forsake Him Not

In the revelation in which Sidney Rigdon was commanded to be a scribe for the Joseph Smith, the Lord gave him this counsel concerning the Prophet: “Wherefore, watch over him that his faith fail not… And now I say unto you, tarry with him, and he shall journey with you; forsake him not, and surely these things shall be fulfilled.” Over a decade later when the Saints were in Nauvoo, the Lord gave him this counsel: “If my servant Sidney will do my will, let him not remove his family unto the eastern lands, but let him change their habitation, even as I have said. Behold, it is not my will that he shall seek to find safety and refuge out of the city which I have appointed unto you, even the city of Nauvoo” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:19,22; 124:108-109). Sidney was commanded to stay with the prophet and to stay with the Saints in Nauvoo; he was to remain in the place God had appointed and watch over and sustain the leader of the Church whom the Lord had called. Given that counsel, it is telling to see that when Joseph was martyred Sidney was following neither instruction: he was not in Nauvoo—he had moved to Pittsburg exactly contrary to the instruction in section 124—and he was not with the prophet physically or symbolically. Only after the martyrdom did he come back to Nauvoo and try to claim himself the guardian of the church, but he had already failed to be a guardian as the Lord had commanded.  

               This counsel that Sidney received was similar to that which Oliver Cowdery had received early on as well: “Therefore be diligent; stand by my servant Joseph, faithfully, in whatsoever difficult circumstances he may be for the word’s sake” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:18). He too failed later to fully abide by that counsel as he was excommunicated and left the Church, though of course he did ultimately come back. There was one, though, who did follow this counsel received by both Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery perhaps better than any other. The Lord said of Hyrum Smith: “That he may act in concert also with my servant Joseph; and that he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show unto him the keys whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned with the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and priesthood, and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon him that was my servant Oliver Cowdery” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:95). Like Sidney who was commanded to watch over and tarry with Joseph, and like Oliver who was commanded to stand by Joseph, Hyrum was told to “act in concert” with Joseph. Here in Nauvoo the Lord called him to replace Oliver who had failed to do so, and Hyrum stood by Joseph all the way to Carthage and to the grave. In literally did act in concert with Joseph until the very end as they were killed together. It was Hyrum who ultimately fulfilled these words the Lord to Oliver: “And even if they do unto you even as they have done unto me, blessed are ye, for you shall dwell with me in glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:30). Though we are not commanded to be physically with the prophet or be gathered to a specific location, these instructions are very much for us as well in our day. We must “stand by [the prophet]” and “forsake him not” and “find safety and refuge” in Zion with the Saints instead of in the world. As we “act in concert” with the teachings of the prophet, surely we too can be “crowned with the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and priesthood, and gifts of the priesthood” as Hyrum and so many other faithful Saints.