It will be remembered that although Sidney Rigdon had for a long time been faithful and had passed through many persecutions and tribulations with Joseph, he had weakened and had become "weary in well doing." When he came out of Liberty jail he made an expression both presumptuous and sacrilegious by saying, in substance, that the Savior was nothing in suffering, compared with himself. Again when the Prophet gazed upon Commerce, the place where Nauvoo was built, he prophetically remarked: "It is a beautiful site but not long a resting place for the Saints." Sidney was so impetuous and so weary of suffering that in a tone of vexation he said of Joseph's words: "I thought that Joseph knew better than to prophesy evil concerning the Saints." The foregoing remarks disclose the state of Elder Rigdon's mind and explain the interpretation which he put upon the sacrifices he had made for the gospel's sake. From these sacrifices he sought honor rather than the knowledge and spirit they contained. Elder Rigdon further manifested a weakness in his faith by his critical attitude towards the Prophet whose mind, to Sidney Rigdon's knowledge, had been so wonderfully enlightened by a divine power that enabled him to foresee future events. When Elder Rigdon, in closing his talk, remarked that the people could do as they pleased about it, he manifested a weakness of conviction and a spirit of indifference to his own claims that created an equal indifference in the minds of those who listened to his words. Before his death, Joseph had conferred the keys of his divine authority upon the Twelve who stood next in authority to the {214} Presidency of the Church and they succeeded to the leadership when the latter for any reason became disorganized. Before the Prophet's death Elder Rigdon became separated from the body of the Church and really abandoned his calling by his return to his former home in Pittsburg. Associated in this particular event in the history of the Church are the words of the Prophet which so perfectly portrayed, not only Sidney Rigdon's character and future life, but also the marvelous inspiration which characterized the words of the Prophet. From Church History, Volume I., page 448, the following is given: "Brother Sidney is a man whom I love but is not capable of that pure and steadfast love for those who are his benefactors that should characterize a president of the Church of Christ. This with some other little things, such as selfishness and independence of mind, which too often manifested, destroy the confidence of those who would lay down their lives for him--these are his faults. But notwithstanding these things, he is a very great and good man; a man of great power of words, and can gain the friendship of his hearers very quickly. He is a man whom God will uphold, if he will continue faithful to his calling. O God, grant that he may for the Lord's sake. Amen."