Oliver H. P. Cowdery

Oliver H. P. Cowdery

1806–1850 (43 years)

Hometown: Wells, Vermont

Biography

Oliver Cowdery was the principal scribe for the Book of Mormon translation, one of the Three Witnesses, and an early apostle. He was instrumental in the church’s founding and early organization.

Cowdery helped transcribe the Book of Mormon as Joseph Smith dictated and shared many foundational spiritual experiences with Smith, including the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.

He was excommunicated on April 11, 1838, after conflicts with Joseph Smith over various issues, including opposition to polygamy. Also, for accusing Joseph Smith of adultery (referring to Fanny Alger). He eventually returned to the church and was rebaptised on November 12, 1848, shortly before he died in 1850. He maintained his Book of Mormon witness throughout his life, even while estranged from the church.

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Joseph Smith wrote this [coherent and well-worded] letter from Harmony, Pennsylvania, to Oliver Cowdery, who was overseeing the printing of the Book of Mormon in Palmyra, New York. - Joseph Smith letter to Oliver Cowdery, 22 October 1829, Joseph Smith Papers | wasmormon.org Joseph Smith Letter to Oliver Cowdery, 22 October 1829 | wasmormon.org “Not one of the Three Witnesses [Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, or Martin Harris] ever denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon.” - Michael R. Morris, The Last Witness of the Three Witnesses, The New Era, January 2020 | [Oliver Cowdery] arose and addressed the audience present, admitted his error and implored forgiveness, and said he was sorry and ashamed of his connection with Mormonism. | “Smith, having become worldly and proud, has been forsaken of the Lord, and has become a knave and impostor.” - Martin Harris | “If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon; God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to separate myself from among the Latter Day Saints.” - David Whitmer | wasmormon.org "Long before he received the priesthood, Joseph Smith learned of it from Moroni. According to an account of Oliver Cowdery published in 1835, Moroni appeared to Joseph in September of 1823 and informed him... While it is unclear to what extent this retrospective account may contain details that were actually learned after 1823, Joseph definitely learned more about the priesthood as he translated the Book of Mormon in 1829." - Brian Q. Cannon, Priesthood Restoration Documents, BYU Studies, Volume 35, Number 4 (1995-1996) | wasmormon.org "The fact that the historical record can be used to support different interpretations demonstrates how puzzling any fragmentary record of the past can be. Because Joseph and Oliver never identified a date for the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, they left room for speculation about the date of that priesthood’s restoration. Further complicating the task is our inability using extant documents to determine with certainty Joseph Smith’s full understanding of the nature of the priesthood at the time of the Church’s organization. While the documentary record is fragmentary regarding the date for the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the record is extensive and rich in many other respects. It strongly shows that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery repeatedly testified that they received power from on high to perform ordinances, first from John the Baptist and then from Peter, James, and John. Their testimonies began early in Church documents and intensified as these first and second elders drew closer to their own impending deaths. The powerful thrust of these accounts, corroborated by numerous statements from other early members of the Church, is intellectually challenging and spiritually invigorating." - Brian Q. Cannon, Priesthood Restoration Documents, BYU Studies, Volume 35, Number 4 (1995-1996) | wasmormon.org Revelation given September 1830 “You shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink of your enemies” ... “John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, jr. and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have received, that you plight be called and ordained even as Aaron” ... “And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles” - 1835 Doctrine & Covenants Section 50 (Pages 179-181) Revised 1833 Book of Commandments Chapter 28 - Equivalent of D&C 27 today | wasmormon.org “The late appearance of these accounts raises the possibility of later fabrication. Did Joseph add the stories of angels to embellish his early history and make himself more of a visionary? If so, he made little of the occurrence. Cowdery was the first to recount the story of John's appearance, not Joseph himself... When Joseph described John's visit, he was much more plainspoken. Moreover, he inserted the story into a history composed in 1838 but not published until 1842. It circulated without fanfare, more like a refurbished memory than a triumphant announcement.” - Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, Page 75 | wasmormon.org “Joseph Smith learned about the Aaronic Priesthood after finding mention of baptism for the remission of sins during his translation of the Book of Mormon. On May 15, 1829, Joseph and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery, went to the woods to pray about what they had read about baptism. In response, John the Baptist descended from heaven and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood, which includes the authority to baptize, upon Joseph and Oliver.” - LDS Website: The Life of Joseph Smith: Restoration of the Priesthood | wasmormon.org “In June 1829, Joseph ordained Oliver Cowdery to be an Elder, and Oliver ordained Joseph to be an Elder in the church of Christ and during that year Joseph both baptized and ordained me an elder in the church... I never heard that an Angel had ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Aaronic priesthood until the year 1834... I do not believe that John the Baptist ever ordained Joseph and Oliver as stated and believed by some, I regard that as an error, a misconception.” - David Whitmer, 1885 Interview | wasmormon.org “After having expressed myself so freely upon this subject, I do not doubt but those who have been forward in raising their voice against the South, will cry out against me as being uncharitable, unfeeling and unkind—wholly unacquainted with the gospel of Christ. It is my privilege then, to name certain passages from the bible, and examine the teachings of the ancients upon this matter, as the fact is uncontrovertable, that the first mention we have of slavery is found in the holy bible, pronounced by a man who was perfect in his generation and walked with God. And so far from that prediction’s being averse from the mind of God it remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude!” - Joseph Smith, Letter to Oliver Cowdery, April 9, 1836 | wasmormon.org “I do not believe that the people of the North have any more right to say that the South shall not hold slaves, than the South have to say the North shall.... When I see persons in the free states signing documents against slavery, it is no less, in my mind, than an array of influence, and a declaration of hostilities against the people of the South!” - Joseph Smith, Letter to Oliver Cowdery, April 9, 1836 | wasmormon.org “No one will pretend to say, that the people of the free states are as capable of knowing the evils of slavery as those who hold them. If slavery is an evil, who, could we expect, would first learn it? Would the people of the free states, or would the slave states? All must readily admit, that the latter would first learn this fact.” - Joseph Smith, Letter to Oliver Cowdery, April 9, 1836 | wasmormon.org “Search the book of Covenants, in which you will see the belief of the church concerning masters and servants... we have no right to interfere with slaves contrary to the mind and will of their masters. In fact, it would be much better and more prudent, not to preach at all to slaves, until after their masters are converted: and then, teach the master to use them with kindness... and that servants are bound to serve their masters, with singleness of heart, without murmuring. I do, most sincerely hope, that no one who is authorized from this church to preach the gospel, will so far depart from the scripture as to be found stirring up strife and sedition against our brethren of the South.” - Joseph Smith, Letter to Oliver Cowdery, April 9, 1836 | wasmormon.org “David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, are too mean to mention; and we had liked to have forgotten them.” - Joseph Smith | wasmormon.org "Mr. Cowdery expressed a desire to associate himself with a Methodist Protestant Church of this city. Rev. John Souder and myself were appointed a committee to wait on Mr. Cowdery and confer with him respecting his connection with Mormonism and the Book of Mormon. We accordingly waited on Mr. Cowdery at his residence in Tiffin, and there learned his connection, from him, with that order, and his full and final renunciation thereof... He arose and addressed the audience present, admitted his error and implored forgiveness, and said he was sorry and ashamed of his connection with Mormonism." - Oliver Cowdery, Witness of The Gold Plates | wasmormon.org "Be it known... that we... have seen the plates. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify... an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God... that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes." - Testimony of Three Witnesses Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer | wasmormon.org The “interpreters” used by Joseph during the translation process included the “two stones in silver bows” that were deposited by Moroni with the plates. In addition to these two seer stones, Joseph used at least one other seer stone that the Lord had provided. David Whitmer, provided this additional information: “Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.” - Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., Church Historian, Ensign January 2020 The Translation of the Book of Mormon: A Marvel and a Wonder | wasmormon.org “I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages,) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, ‘holy Interpreters.’ I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the ‘holy interpreters.’ That book is true.” - Testimony of Oliver Cowdery, Millennial Star, August 20, 1859. | wasmormon.org Joseph and Oliver labored “with little cessation” on the translation throughout April. With Oliver’s help, Joseph proceeded faster than ever before. During the next three months Joseph and Oliver completed the amazing task of translating approximately five hundred printed pages. This was a glorious period in their lives. Oliver wrote: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven. ... Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim ... the history, or record, called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ - Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon and Restoration of the Priesthood, Ch 5, Page 53, Church History in the Fulness of Times, Student Manual, Religion 341-343 | wasmormon.org "For a long time church art tended to depict the translation of the Book of Mormon as Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery sitting around a table, sometimes with the gold plates out on the table, but that's not really the best match for what we know about the translation process." Mason Kamana Allred, volume editor at the Joseph Smith Papers Project | wasmormon.org "A dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and Fanny 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." Oliver Cowdery regarding Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger