The Rough Cut: Sidney Rigdon and the Weak Things of the World in D&C 35

I buy rough lumber for most of my projects. It is cheaper than surfaced stock and you get to choose which boards carry the best grain. But rough lumber is called rough for a reason. It has bark on the edges, maybe some checks at the ends, and the surface is not flat on either face. You run it through the jointer and the planer before you can see what you are actually working with. The material does not change. The shape changes.

Section 35 of the Doctrine and Covenants reads like God is describing a pile of rough lumber. He calls Sidney Rigdon, a convert of only a few months, and tells him he has been prepared for a greater work. The Lord says he will use the weak things of the world, people who are unlearned and despised. He will be the arm that does the work through them. The material does not change. The shape changes.

Who Was Sidney Rigdon in Doctrine and Covenants 35

Sidney Rigdon was a Baptist minister before he joined the Church. He had been preaching in Ohio and had already gathered people who were open to continued revelation and spiritual gifts. When the missionaries from the Restoration arrived in Kirtland, Sidney was ready. He read the Book of Mormon and believed what he read. He was baptized in November of 1830.

This revelation came in December of that same year, less than two months after his baptism. Joseph Smith was in New York at the time and Rigdon was in Ohio. The Lord spoke through Joseph and gave Sidney a call that went beyond what a new member might expect. He was told to be a scribe for Joseph, to write the things God would reveal, and to prepare the way before the Lord in a manner compared to John the Baptist.

"And thou wast sent forth, even as John, to prepare the way before me, and before Elijah which should come, and thou knewest it not." (D&C 35:4)

Sidney Rigdon was a man who had spent years preaching repentance. He had been preparing people for something he did not yet fully understand, and when the Restoration arrived, he recognized it because it matched what he had been telling people to expect. The Lord did not call him because he was polished. He called him because he was ready and he had already cleared a path.

What Does D&C 35 Teach About the Weak Things of the World

Verse 13 is the one I keep coming back to. "For thus saith the Lord, I will call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit." It is not a statement about potential. It is a statement about method. The Lord is not saying he will take weak things and make them into strong things before he uses them. He will use them as they are, in their weakness, and the power will be clearly his because it cannot possibly be theirs. The arm that accomplishes the work is his arm. The weak thing is just the vessel.

I think about this when I am jointing a rough board. The machine does the work, and the board just has to stay in contact with the cutter head. If the board tries to do something fancy on its own it will burn or chatter and wander off the fence. The board's job is to stay present and let the blade pass over it.

This section names Joseph Smith explicitly in verse 17. The Lord says he has sent the fulness of the gospel by Joseph and adds a phrase that echoes the same idea. "In weakness have I blessed him." Not despite his weakness. In it. The channel is secondary to the source and always has been.

Significance of Sidney Rigdon as Joseph Smith's Scribe

The Lord tells Sidney to write for Joseph. "Thou shalt write for him." This is a practical commandment with doctrinal weight because the revelations were coming quickly and needed to be recorded accurately. Joseph would receive the word and Sidney would put it on paper.

But the relationship was not just clerical. In verse 20 the Lord says, "Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride." Sidney was a trained preacher and an educated man. He had been the leader of his own congregation, and now he was called to take dictation from a prophet who had less formal education than he did. That is a hard transition for anyone. The warning against pride was not decorative.

I think about the collaborative piece of this. Joseph could not do the work alone. He needed someone to write, someone to witness, someone to help carry the weight of what was being revealed. Sidney could not do the work alone either. He needed the revelator to give him something worth writing. The Restoration was built on pairs from the beginning. Two elders going out. Two witnesses establishing truth. A seer and a scribe sitting together in a room.

In the article about Orson Pratt, I wrote about what it looks like when someone is called before they are seasoned. Sidney is another example. He was called two months after his baptism and given a charge that would define the rest of his life. The call did not wait for him to be ready. It arrived and he grew into it.

How Does God Use Unlearned People to Do His Work

The Lord spends verses 7 through 11 listing the kind of things that will follow faith. He talks about casting out devils and healing the sick. He mentions restoring sight to the blind and making the lame walk. These are not theoretical promises delivered to an established clergy. They are promises made to a group of people that the Lord himself describes as unlearned and despised.

Verse 11 carries the condition. "Without faith shall not anything be shown forth." Miracles are not automatic or guaranteed by office or ordination. The faith of the people involved determines what is shown forth. The unlearned person who believes will see more than the learned person who doubts.

There is a practical edge to this for anyone who feels underqualified. If you are waiting until you feel ready before you step into a calling or a responsibility, you may be waiting longer than the Lord intends. His pattern is to call people who know they are not enough and then be enough for them.

Meaning of the Parable of the Fig Tree in LDS Scripture

Verse 16 references the parable of the fig tree. The Lord says, "And thus did I, the Lord, expand the scripture that ye might understand the parable of the fig tree." The parable appears in Matthew 24 and in Joseph Smith Matthew. When the fig tree puts forth leaves, summer is near. The lesson is about discernment. The saints should recognize the signs of the times and know that the Lord's coming is approaching.

But in this section the parable carries a second meaning. The Lord has expanded the scripture so the saints can understand it. That expansion is happening through the revelations Joseph is receiving and Sidney is writing. The fig tree is not just a warning to watch. It is evidence that the Lord is still speaking. The leaves are the revelations themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Lord call Sidney Rigdon as a scribe to Joseph Smith?

Sidney was an educated man with experience in preaching and pastoring. The Lord had prepared him through years of ministry before he ever encountered the Book of Mormon. When the Restoration began producing revelations at a rapid pace, Sidney was positioned to record them accurately and help carry the work forward.

What does it mean that God calls the weak things of the world in D&C 35?

It means spiritual power does not depend on money, status, or formal schooling. The Lord often chooses people who are overlooked by the world so the results are plainly attributed to God rather than human ability. The weakness is not the problem. It is part of the method.

What is the parable of the fig tree in D&C 35:16?

The parable signals that the season is changing. When leaves appear on a fig tree, summer is near. In the same way, the revelations of the Restoration tell us that the Lord is preparing for his return. The expanding scripture itself becomes the evidence.

Did Sidney Rigdon actually write down revelations for Joseph Smith?

He did. Sidney served as Joseph's scribe during the translation of the Bible and the recording of several revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. He also saw the Savior with Joseph in the Kirtland Temple.

Why does the Lord compare Sidney Rigdon to John the Baptist?

Sidney had spent years preparing people for the coming of the Lord without fully understanding what that would look like. John the Baptist did the same thing before Christ's mortal ministry. The comparison means Sidney's prior work was not wasted. God had been directing it all along.

Closing

Section 35 ends with the phrase "Fear not, little flock." The flock was small in 1830. A few dozen converts scattered between New York and Ohio. A brand new convert called to be a scribe. An uneducated prophet receiving revelation at a pace that required someone else just to write it down. It did not look like the beginning of anything impressive.

But I have learned not to judge rough lumber by how it looks coming off the truck. The bark falls away and the checks get cut off and the grain underneath is usually better than what you could see at the start. The Lord was not worried about the rough edges. He never is.

-- D.