Sidney Rigdon's deathbed testimony of Joseph Smith

Near the end of his life in 1876, Sidney Rigdon—once a prominent associate of Joseph Smith—faced inquiries from his son, John Wickliffe Rigdon, regarding the origin of the Book of Mormon. Driven by a desire to know if his father harbored any secrets regarding the Church's founding, John confronted his father after returning from a visit to Salt Lake City. Sidney Rigdon responded by swearing before high heaven that the Book of Mormon was true and that he had never written it nor had anything to do with its production. He insisted that if Joseph Smith had obtained the work through any means other than the angelic visitation he claimed, Smith had guarded that secret perfectly, even from his closest counselors. Sidney reaffirmed his belief that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and stated his conviction that the world would eventually acknowledge it. According to John, his father repeated this solemn declaration on his deathbed to a visiting Methodist minister. John's mother, Phebe Brooks Rigdon, corroborated this testimony after Sidney's passing, affirming that she was present when Parley P. Pratt first presented the Book of Mormon to her husband and that she knew he could not have written it. This account is further supported by the recollections of Sidney's daughter, Athalia Rigdon Robinson, who also remembered the event when the book was first introduced to their home.