Doctrine and Covenants 129:8 and the Reality of Satan’s Physicality ~ Sidney Rigdon (Part 5)

In section 129 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord provides “three grand keys” by which the Saints may know whether any angelic ministration is from God or from the devil. Verse 8 informs us that should the devil (or one of his hosts) appear attempting to deceive you into thinking he is a divine messenger sent from God, “when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.” For many this verse gives the impression that because Satan and his hosts lack mortal bodies, they are incapable of having physical contact with humans. In other words, the passage appears to focus on the nature of the bodies of Lucifer and his spirit followers, suggesting that their physical makeup is the reason their hands cannot be felt. However, a series of events that took place early in the Restoration suggest that this interpretation may not be accurate. In an effort to test the common exegesis of D&C 129:8, this paper will recount a handful of early Luciferian encounters, applying the implications of such to our understanding of the nature of Lucifer’s person.

Sidney Rigdon

Lesser known is an event that took place in September of 1831. The Prophet Joseph decided to take his family, then dwelling in Kirtland, and move to Hiram, Ohio, where he could continue the work of translating the Bible. Sidney Rigdon was left to preside over the Saints in Kirtland. On one occasion during Joseph’s absence, Sidney informed a body of Saints that the “keys of the kingdom” had been taken from the Church. (See Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, n.d.)

Those present were confused and dismayed by the announcement. Joseph was immediately sent for and, upon his return, declared that the things Sidney had taught were false. The Prophet added that, because of the things Elder Rigdon had said and done, “the devil [would] handle him as one man handles another.” (Philo Dibble, “Philo Dibble’s Narrative,” in Early Scenes in Church History (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructors Office, 1882), 80.)

In fulfillment of Joseph’s words, “a few weeks after this, Sidney was lying in bed alone, and suddenly ‘an unseen power lifted him from his bed . . . and tossed him from one side of the room to the other.’ His family heard the noises coming from the room and rushed in ‘and found him going from one side of the room to the other.’” (LeMar E. Garrard, A Study of the Problem of a Personal Devil and Its Relationship to Latter-day Saint Beliefs (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, master’s thesis, 1955)

This happened some three times over the course of the night. (See Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses, 3:229–30; 4:2; Anderson, Lucy’s Book, 563–64.)

Sidney was physically “laid up” for five or six weeks because of the effects of the experience some five or six weeks. Thus, having spoken under the influence of the devil, Sidney was then turned over to the physical buffetings of Lucifer.

By Alonzo L. Gaskill

Read: Prophet Joseph Smith (Part 1)
Read: Heber C. Kimball (Part 2)
Read: Wilford Woodruff (Part 3)

Read: Newel Knight (Part 4)