Rigdon's July 4th oration
Rigdon's July 4th oration was a speech delivered by Mormon leader Sidney Rigdon during a 4th of July celebration in Far West, Missouri in 1838. Rigdon was first counselor to, and often spokesman for, Joseph Smith Jr. The first half of the oration described the importance of the founding of the United States from a traditional and Church perspective. The second half of the oration was meant as a Mormon "declaration of independence" against "mobocrats" and Anti-Mormon persecution. In his speech, Rigdon declared: The speech alarmed local non-Mormons attending the celebration. Later , the church presidency published the July 4th Oration, causing considerable agitation and further stoking anti-Mormon sentiment throughout northwestern Missouri. Many contemporaries and later historians cite the July 4th Oration as a contributing factor to the 1838 Mormon War. The July 4th Oration is often confused with the Salt Sermon.