" It would be a poor church,
indeed, that would go to pieces every time its chief officer died. No; the
Lord, through Joseph, had organized the Church so well that this could not
be. There was a quorum in the Church that had been given all the power
necessary to carry on the work of the Church in case the First Presidency
was taken away. That quorum was the Twelve Apostles. Now that there was no
First Presidency, it was the duty of the Twelve to preside and regulate the
affairs of the Church until such time that there should be another
president appointed. Brigham Young was the president of the Twelve, so in
reality he was the leading man in the Church.
But now came Sidney Rigdon from Pittsburg. He wanted to be appointed the
leader of the Church, or as he called it, a "guardian." He, with some
others, tried to have a meeting of the Saints before the Twelve could get
home. This meeting was appointed for the 8th of August, 1844. On the 6th of
August President Young and five of the Apostles arrived at Nauvoo.
The meeting was held at the grove, and Sidney Rigdon and some of the
Twelve spoke. When Brigham Young arose to address the meeting, it seemed to
the Saints that both in appearance and speech he was like the Prophet
Joseph.
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