Algernon Sidney Gilbert: He Offered Himself as a Ransom for the Saints — Then Died in Zion's Camp

Algernon Sidney Gilbert (December 28, 1789 – June 29, 1834) was a prosperous merchant who joined the Church and was called by revelation to serve as 'an agent unto the Church' in Missouri (D&C 53). He operated the Lord's storehouse in Independence, Missouri — a critical resource hub for the gathering Saints.

On July 23, 1833, as Missouri mobs were threatening to destroy the Saints and drive them from Jackson County, Sidney Gilbert — along with John Whitmer, John Corrill, and others — offered themselves as a ransom for the Saints. They proposed that the mob could scourge or kill them if it would spare the rest of the community. Though the mob refused this sacrifice, the act stands as one of the most Christlike offers recorded in early Church history.

Gilbert was eventually arrested and forced from his property. He lost his business, his goods, and his livelihood.

In June 1834, Sidney Gilbert joined Zion's Camp — despite being in poor health — to march with Joseph Smith to redeem Zion. He died from the cholera epidemic on June 29, 1834, the same day as John S. Carter. His body was rolled in a quilt and buried with the other Zion's Camp dead.

Joseph Smith wrote of him with deep sorrow and love. Sidney Gilbert had given everything — his business, his property, his ransom offer, and finally his life — in service of the kingdom.