highest executive council in the Church of Christ was the First Presidency. The death of both Joseph and Hyrum Smith left Rigdon as the surviving member of the First Presidency. As early as April 19, 1834, Joseph and Cowdery had "laid hands upon bro. Sidney [Rigdon] and confirmed upon him the blessings of wisdom and knowledge to preside over the Church in the absence of brother Joseph". In the spring of 1844, Joseph had begun running a third-party candidacy to be elected President of the United States. Rigdon was nominated as Smith's vice presidential running mate and had moved to Pennsylvania to establish legal residency there (the United States Constitution dictates that electors must vote for candidates for president and vice president from separate states). Upon receiving word of Smith's death, Rigdon claimed to receive a revelation calling him to succeed Smith as "guardian" of the church, and he hurriedly returned to Nauvoo to exercise his claim. After the First Presidency, the (Presiding) Nauvoo High Council was the church's chief non-travelling legislative and judicial council. Originally, the Presiding High Council outranked the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, at least at the organized stakes. Nauvoo Stake President William Marks was president of the High Council at the time of Smith's death. Smith's widow, Emma Hale Smith, urged Marks to succeed Smith as President and Trustee-in-Trust of the church, and articulated her argument thusly: "Now as the Twelve have no power with regard to the government of the Church in the Stakes of Zion, but the High Council have all power, so it follows that on removal of the first President, the office would devolve upon the President of the High Council in Zion, as the first President always resides there, and that is the proper place for the quorum of which he is the head; thus there would be no schism or jarring. But the Twelve would attend to their duties in the world and not meddle with the government of the church at home[,] and the High Council in Zion and the first Presidency would attend to their business in the same place." However, Marks supported the claims of Rigdon. The Quorum of the Twelve were originally ordained to be traveling ministers, and had been delegated leadership of outlying areas of the world in which no "stakes" — local congregations — were established. By revelation, the Twelve, as a body,