| Oliver Cowdery | |
|---|---|
 Daguerreotype of Oliver Cowdery found in the Library of Congress, taken in the 1840s byJames Presley Ball | |
| Assistant Counselor in theFirst Presidency | |
| September 3, 1837 (1837-09-03) – April 11, 1838 (1838-04-11) | |
| End reason | Resignation / Excommunication |
| Assistant President of the Church | |
| December 5, 1834 (1834-12-05) – April 11, 1838 (1838-04-11) | |
| End reason | Resignation / Excommunication |
| Second Elder of the Church | |
| April 6, 1830 (1830-04-06) – December 5, 1834 (1834-12-05) | |
| End reason | Called asAssistant President of the Church |
| Latter Day SaintApostle | |
| 1829 (aged 22) – April 12, 1838 (1838-04-12) | |
| Reason | Restoration of priesthood |
| End reason | Resignation / Excommunication |
| Reorganization at end of term | No apostles immediately ordained[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oliver H. P. Cowdery (1806-10-03)October 3, 1806 Wells,Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 1850(1850-03-03) (aged 43) Richmond,Missouri, U.S. |
| Resting place | Richmond Pioneer Cemetery, Missouri, U.S. 39°17′6.76″N93°58′34.93″W / 39.2852111°N 93.9763694°W /39.2852111; -93.9763694 (Richmond Pioneer Cemetery, Missouri) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ann Whitmer |
| Children | 6 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Oliver H. P. Cowdery[2] (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American religious leader who, withJoseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of theLatter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the firstbaptized Latter Day Saint, one of theThree Witnesses to theBook of Mormon'sgolden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saintapostles and theAssistant President of the Church.
Cowdery's relationship with Joseph Smith and the church's leadership began to deteriorate in the mid-1830s. He wasexcommunicated in 1838 along with several other prominent Missouri church leaders on allegations of misusing church property amid tense relations between them and Smith.[3]
After his excommunication, Cowdery moved to Wisconsin, where he practiced law and became involved in local politics. Cowdery became aMethodist, but later returned to the Latter Day Saint movement and was rebaptized intothe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1848.
Oliver Cowdery was born October 3, 1806, inWells,Vermont; his father, William, moved the family to the nearby town ofPoultney when Cowdery was three years old.[4] His mother, Rebecca Fuller Cowdery, died on September 3, 1809. In his youth, Cowdery hunted for buried treasure using adivining rod, a common practice at the time.[5]
At age 20, Cowdery left Vermont forupstate New York, where his older brothers had settled. He clerked at a store for just over two years and in 1829 became a school teacher inManchester.[6] Cowdery lodged with different families in the area, including that ofJoseph Smith, Sr., who was said to have provided Cowdery with additional information about thegolden plates of which Cowdery said he had heard "from all quarters."[7]
Cowdery metJoseph Smith, Jr. on April 5, 1829—a year and a day before the official founding of theChurch of Christ—and heard from him how he had received golden plates containing ancientreformed Egyptian writings.[8] Cowdery told Smith that he had seen the golden plates in a vision before the two had met.[9]
Before meeting Cowdery, Smith had virtually stopped translating after thefirst 116 pages had been lost byMartin Harris. Working with Cowdery, however, Smith completed the manuscript of what would become theBook of Mormon between April 7 and June 1829, in whatRichard Bushman later called a "burst of rapid-fire translation."[10] Cowdery also unsuccessfully attempted to translate part of the Book of Mormon by himself.[11]
Cowdery and Smith reported that on May 15, 1829, they received theAaronic priesthood from the resurrectedJohn the Baptist, after which theybaptized each other in theSusquehanna River.[12] Cowdery said that he and Smith later went into the forest and prayed "until a glorious light encircled us, and as we arose on account of the light, three persons stood before us dressed in white, their faces beaming with glory." One of the three announced that he was theApostle Peter and said the others were the apostlesJames andJohn, who many presume then gave them theMelchizedek priesthood.[13]
Later that year, Cowdery reported sharing a vision, along with Smith andDavid Whitmer, in which an angel showed them the golden plates. Harris said he saw a similar vision later that day. Cowdery, Whitmer and Harris signed a statement to that effect and became known as theThree Witnesses. Their testimony has subsequently been published in nearly every edition of the Book of Mormon.
When the Church of Christ was organized on April 6, 1830, Smith became "First Elder" and Cowdery "Second Elder." Although Cowdery was technically second in authority to Smith from the organization of the church through 1838, in practiceSidney Rigdon, Smith's "spokesman" and counselor in theFirst Presidency, began to supplant Cowdery as early as 1831. Cowdery held the position ofAssistant President of the Church from 1834 until hisexcommunication in 1838.[14][15] He was also a member of the firstpresiding high council of the church, organized inKirtland,Ohio, in 1834.
On December 18, 1832, Cowdery married Elizabeth Ann Whitmer, the daughter ofPeter Whitmer, Sr. and sister ofDavid,John,Jacob andPeter Whitmer, Jr. They had six children, of whom only one daughter survived to maturity.[16][17]
Cowdery helped Smith publish a series of revelations first called theBook of Commandments and later, as revised and expanded, theDoctrine and Covenants. He was also the editor, or on the editorial board, of several early church publications, including theEvening and Morning Star, theMessenger and Advocate and theNorthern Times.
When the church created a bank known as theKirtland Safety Society (KSS) in 1837, Cowdery obtained the money-printing plates. Sent by Smith toMonroe,Michigan, he became president of the Bank of Monroe, in which the church had acontrolling interest.[18] Both banks failed that same year. Cowdery moved to the newly founded Latter Day Saint settlement inFar West,Missouri, and suffered ill health through the winter of 1837–38.
By early 1838, the relationship between Smith and Cowdery had deteriorated significantly. Cowdery felt that Smith's integration of economic and political plans into religious matters was encroaching on the separation of church and state. Cowdery also expressed his concerns of Smith's relationship with Alger, a teenage maid living with the Smiths in Kirtland in a January 1838 letter to his brotherWarren:
"[We] had some conversation in which in every instance I did not fail to affirm that which I had said was strictly true. A dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his andFanny Alger's was talked over in which I strictly declared that I had never deserted from the truth in the matter, and as I supposed was admitted by himself."[19]: 323–325, 347–349
In January 1838, Smith and Rigdon left Kirtland and took over theFar West, Missouri church in March 1838, which had previously been under the presidency ofW. W. Phelps and David Whitmer—a close friend and brother-in-law to Cowdery.Thomas B. Marsh,David W. Patten, andBrigham Young, were ordained as the new stake presidency in Missouri. The new presidency requestedJohn Whitmer, who had been theChurch historian and recorder, and a member of the stake presidency in Missouri, to turn in his historical notes and writings. When he failed to comply, Whitmer was removed from his position, and prompted an investigation into the financial handlings of the Missouri leadership.[20]
Nine excommunication charges were presented against Cowdery, which included selling lands in Jackson County without authorization, trying to destroy the character of Joseph Smith, and disregarding his ecclesiastical duties for the practice of law. On April 12, 1838, a church court excommunicated Cowdery.[21] David Whitmer was also excommunicated at the same time, and apostleLyman E. Johnson was disfellowshipped;[22] John Whitmer and Phelps had been excommunicated a month earlier.[23] Cowdery refused to appear before the council, but sent a letter of resignation, reiterating his desire to live his religious beliefs independent from his economic and political decisions.
These men were became collectively known as "dissenters", but continued to live in and around Far West, where they owned a great deal of property, much of which was purchased when they were acting as agents for the church.[24] Possession became unclear and the dissenters threatened the church with lawsuits. After Rigdon delivereda sermon that implied dissenters had no place in the Latter-Day Saint community, theDanites forcibly expelled them from the county. TheDanite Manifesto, a letter addressed to Cowdery and the other dissenters, was signed by some eighty-four Latter-Day Saints (but not Smith or Rigdon[25]). It warned:
you shall have three days after you receive this communication to you, including twenty-four hours in each day, for you to depart with your families peaceably; which you may do undisturbed by any person; but in that time, if you do not depart, we will use the means in our power to cause you to depart.[26]
Cowdery and the dissenters fled the county. Reports about their treatment circulated in nearby non-Mormon communities and increased the tension that led to the1838 Mormon War, which ultimately resulted in the Latter-Day Saints' expulsion from Missouri.[19]: 349–353
Between 1838 and 1848, Cowdery studied and practiced law inTiffin, Ohio, where he became a civic and political leader. He joined the localMethodist church and served as secretary in 1844.[27] Cowdery, also edited the localDemocratic newspaper until it was learned that he was one of the Three Witnesses, at which time he was reassigned as assistant editor. He was nominated as his district's Democratic Party candidate for theOhio State Senate in 1846, but was defeated when his Mormon background was discovered.[28]
After theSmiths’ death on June 27, 1844, asuccession crisis split the Latter-Day Saint movement. Cowdery's father and brother were followers ofJames J. Strang, who pressed his claim as the movement's successor by claiming that he had found and translated ancient records engraved uponmetal plates, similar to the golden plates Smith had translated in the 1820s.[29] In 1847, Cowdery and his brother moved toElkhorn,Wisconsin, about twelve miles away from Strang's headquarters inVoree. In Elkhorn he entered law practice with his brother and became co-editor of theWalworth County Democrat. In 1848 he ran for state assemblyman but was again defeated when his Mormon ties were disclosed.[28]
In 1848, Cowdery traveled to the frontier settlement ofWinter Quarters (in present-dayNebraska) to meet with followers ofBrigham Young and theQuorum of the Twelve, asking to be reunited with the church.[30] The Twelve referred the application to thehigh council inPottawattamie County,Iowa, which convened a meeting with allhigh priests in the area to consider the matter. After Cowdery convinced the meeting attendees that he no longer maintained any claim to leadership within the church, his application for rebaptism was unanimously approved.[31] On November 12, 1848, Cowdery was rebaptized byOrson Hyde of the Quorum of the Twelve into—what had become following the succession crisis—the LDS Church in Indian Creek atKanesville, Iowa.
Cowdery then traveled to meet with Whitmer inRichmond, Missouri to persuade him to move west and rejoin the Saints inUtah Territory. Cowdery, however, succumbed totuberculosis and died March 3, 1850 in David Whitmer's home in Richmond.[32][33]
In 1912, the official church magazineImprovement Era published a statement by Jacob F. Gates, son of early Mormon leaderJacob Gates, who had died twenty years prior. According to the recollection by his son, the elder Gates had visited Cowdery in 1849 and inquired about his witness testimony concerning the Book of Mormon, wherein he reportedly reaffirmed his witness.[34][35]
Critics who doubt the Book of Mormon and its origin story as given by Smith, have speculated that Cowdery may have played a role in the work's composition.
Cowdery was athird cousin of Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith's mother.[36] There is also a geographical connection between the Smiths and the Cowderys. During the 1790s, both Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, and two of Cowdery's relatives were living inTunbridge, Vermont.[citation needed]
Joseph Smith, Sr. and Cowdery's father, William, may have been members of aCongregationalist sect known as theNew Israelites, organized inRutland County, Vermont. The Cowdery family lived in Rutland County in the early 19th century and later attended aCongregationalist church inPoultney, Vermont. Witnesses from Vermont connected William Cowdery to the sect before these witnesses could have known that his son, Oliver, was a dowser.[37]
Vermont residents interviewed by a local historian said that Joseph Smith, Sr. was also a member of the New Israelites and was one of its "leading rods-men".[38] But although residents said that he lived inPoultney, Vermont, "at the time of the Wood movement here",[39] there are no other records placing Smith closer than about 50 miles away. On the other hand, Smith's involvement with the New Israelites would be consistent with his links to Congregationalism and the report fromJames C. Brewster that in 1837 Smith, Sr. admitted that he entered the money digging business "more than thirty years" ago.[40]
For several years, Cowdery and his family attended the Congregational Church inPoultney, Vermont, when its minister was the Rev.Ethan Smith, author ofView of the Hebrews, an 1823 book suggesting that Native Americans were of Hebrew origin, a not uncommon speculation during the colonial and early national periods.[41][42] In 2000,David Persuitte argued that Cowdery's knowledge ofView of the Hebrews significantly contributed to the final version of the Book of Mormon,[43] a connection first suggested as early as 1902.[44]Fawn Brodie wrote that it "may never be proved that Joseph sawView of the Hebrews before writing the Book of Mormon, but the striking parallelisms between the two books hardly leave a case for mere coincidence."[45]Richard Bushman andJohn W. Welch reject the connection and argue that there is little relationship between the contents of the two books.[46]
LDS scholarDaniel Peterson argues against the theory that Cowdery was a coauthor, noting that analysis of the manuscripts indicates that the Book of Mormon was primarily the product of Joseph Smith's dictation, rather than a collaborative effort — it contains aural errors, typical of a transcription process. Additionally, the Printer's Manuscript, which Cowdery assisted in producing, contains significant copyist errors in his handwriting, suggesting he was not fully aware of the book's content beforehand.[47]
According toLucy Mack Smith, the 'Lord appeared unto a young man by the name of Oliver Cowdery and showed unto him the plates in a vision.'
Document containing the correspondence, orders &c. in relation to the disturbances with the Mormons; and the evidence given before the Hon. Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, at the Courthouse in Richmond, in a criminal court of inquiry, begun November 12, 1838, on the trial of Joseph Smith, Jr. and others for high treason and other crimes against the state (Missouri. Office of the Secretary of State; Missouri. General Assembly (1840–1841))[full citation needed]
(Washington D. C.: Blair & Rives, 1841)
Media related toOliver Cowdery at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related toOliver Cowdery at Wikiquote Works by or aboutOliver Cowdery atWikisource| Church of the Latter Day Saints titles Later renamed: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (1838) | ||
|---|---|---|
| First | Assistant Counselor in theFirst Presidency September 3, 1837 (1837-09-03)–April 11, 1838 (1838-04-11) With:Hyrum Smith John Smith Joseph Smith, Sr. | Succeeded by |
| Assistant President of the Church December 5, 1834 (1834-12-05)–April 11, 1838 (1838-04-11) | Succeeded by | |
| Church of Christ titles Later renamed: Church of the Latter Day Saints (1834) | ||
| First | Second Elder of the Church April 6, 1830 (1830-04-06)–December 5, 1834 (1834-12-05) | Title Discontinued |
| Three Witnesses |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Eight Witnesses | ||
| Additional Witnesses | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
