At a conference of the Church held in Quincy in May, 1839, President Rigdon was formally appointed to carry the message of grievances to Washington, and Elder Lyman Wight was appointed to collect the necessary affidavits from those injured, to be presented at Washington. President Rigdon made no great effort to get away on this mission, and as time passed his ardor cooled and his desire to fill his appointment lessened. At the October Conference, held at Commerce, President Joseph Smith, who had arrived in Illinois during the summer, and Judge Elias Higbee were also chosen to go to Washington as well as Sidney Rigdon, to importune for redress. On the 29th of October, these three delegates left Commerce in a carriage driven by Orrin Porter Rockwell, with the intention of laying before Congress the grievances of the Saints while in Missouri. At Quincy they were joined by Dr. Robert D. Foster who accompanied them on their way to administer to Sidney Rigdon, who was ill. At Springfield Judge James Adams took the Prophet to his home and treated him with every consideration as though he had been his own son. After an eventful journey the Prophet and Judge Higbee arrived in Washington, November 28, 1839. They did considerable preaching on the way and were forced to leave Sidney Rigdon in Ohio because of his sickness; Orrin P. Rockwell and Dr. Robert D. Foster remained with him. Interview with the President The first step taken by the Prophet and Judge Higbee after securing a boarding place was to call on the President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. This was the following day, November 29. They proceeded to the house of the President, which they state they found to be a very large and splendid palace, decorated with all the fineries and elegance of this world. After some preliminary arrangements they were ushered into the presence of Mr. Van Buren. They handed him some of their letters of introduction which stated the object of their visit and as soon as the President read one of them, he looked up with a frown and said: "What can I do? I can do nothing for you! If I do anything, I shall come in contact with the whole state of Missouri." The delegates were not to be denied a hearing without some effort, so they pressed the matter of their case with considerable vigor. The result was that President Van Buren promised to reconsider what he had said, and expressed deep sympathy with the Saints on account of their suffering. The Petition before Congress