Oliver Cowdery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oliver Cowdery |
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Daguerreotype of Oliver Cowdery found in the Library of Congress, taken in the 1840s by James Presley Ball
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| Assistant Counselor in the First Presidency | |
| September 3, 1837 – April 11, 1838 | |
| End reason | Resignation / Excommunication |
| Assistant President of the Church | |
| December 5, 1834 – April 11, 1838 | |
| End reason | Resignation / Excommunication |
| Second Elder of the Church | |
| April 6, 1830 – December 5, 1834 | |
| End reason | Called as Assistant President of the Church |
| Latter Day Saint Apostle | |
| 1829 (aged 22) – April 12, 1838 | |
| Reason | Restoration of priesthood |
| End reason | Resignation / Excommunication |
| Reorganization at end of term |
No apostles immediately ordained |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oliver H. P. Cowdery October 3, 1806 Wells, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 1850 (aged 43) Richmond, Missouri, U.S. |
| Resting place | Richmond Pioneer Cemetery, Missouri, U.S. 39°17′6.76″N 93°58′34.93″W / 39.2852111°N 93.9763694°W |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ann Whitmer |
| Children | 6 |
| Signature | |
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Oliver H. P. Cowdery (born October 3, 1806 – died March 3, 1850) was an important American religious leader. He worked closely with Joseph Smith during the early years of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1829 to 1836.
Oliver Cowdery was the first person to be baptized as a Latter Day Saint. He was also one of the Three Witnesses who said they saw the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. He became one of the first apostles and served as the Assistant President of the Church.
Later, Oliver Cowdery had disagreements with Joseph Smith and other church leaders. Because of these issues, he was removed from the church in 1838. After this, he moved to Wisconsin, where he became a lawyer and got involved in local politics. He even joined the Methodist church for a time. However, he eventually returned to the Latter Day Saint movement and was rebaptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1848.
Contents
Oliver Cowdery's Life Story
Early Years and Education
Oliver Cowdery was born on October 3, 1806, in Wells, Vermont. When he was three years old, his family moved to Poultney. His mother, Rebecca Fuller Cowdery, passed away in 1809. As a young person, Oliver sometimes looked for buried treasure using a divining rod, which was a common practice back then.
At age 20, Oliver left Vermont and went to upstate New York, where his older brothers lived. He worked in a store for more than two years. In 1829, he became a school teacher in Manchester. Oliver stayed with different families, including the family of Joseph Smith, Sr.. He had heard many stories about the golden plates and learned more from Joseph Smith, Sr.
Helping Translate the Book of Mormon
Oliver Cowdery met Joseph Smith, Jr. on April 5, 1829. This was about a year before the official start of the Church of Christ. Joseph Smith told Oliver how he had received ancient golden plates with writings in a language called reformed Egyptian. Oliver told Joseph that he had seen the golden plates in a vision even before they met.
Before Oliver arrived, Joseph Smith had stopped translating the plates because the first 116 pages of the translation had been lost by Martin Harris. With Oliver's help, Joseph quickly finished translating the rest of the manuscript for the Book of Mormon between April and June 1829. Oliver also tried to translate a part of the Book of Mormon himself, but he was not successful.
Oliver and Joseph said that on May 15, 1829, they received the Aaronic priesthood from John the Baptist, who had been resurrected. After this, they baptized each other in the Susquehanna River. Oliver said that later, he and Joseph went into the forest and prayed. A bright light appeared, and three people dressed in white stood before them. One of them said he was the Apostle Peter, and the others were the apostles James and John.
Later that year, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, and David Whitmer said they shared a vision where an angel showed them the golden plates. Martin Harris said he saw a similar vision later that day. Oliver, David, and Martin signed a statement about what they saw. They became known as the Three Witnesses. Their statement is printed in almost every copy of the Book of Mormon.
A Leader in the Early Church
When the Church of Christ was officially started on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith became the "First Elder," and Oliver Cowdery became the "Second Elder." This meant Oliver was second in authority to Joseph Smith until 1838. However, Sidney Rigdon, who was Joseph Smith's "spokesman" and counselor, started to take on more leadership roles around 1831. Oliver held the position of Assistant President of the Church from 1834 until he left the church in 1838. He was also part of the first important church council in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1834.
On December 18, 1832, Oliver Cowdery married Elizabeth Ann Whitmer. She was the daughter of Peter Whitmer, Sr. and the sister of David, John, Jacob, and Peter Whitmer, Jr.. Oliver and Elizabeth had six children, but only one daughter lived to become an adult.
Oliver helped Joseph Smith publish a series of important religious writings. These were first called the Book of Commandments and later became the Doctrine and Covenants. Oliver also worked as an editor for several early church newspapers, such as the Evening and Morning Star, the Messenger and Advocate, and the Northern Times.
In 1837, the church started a bank called the Kirtland Safety Society (KSS). Oliver Cowdery helped get the plates used for printing money. He was sent by Joseph Smith to Monroe, Michigan, to become the president of the Bank of Monroe, where the church had a major share. Both banks faced financial difficulties and closed that same year. Oliver then moved to the new Latter Day Saint settlement in Far West, Missouri, and was not well during the winter of 1837–38.
Disagreements and Leaving the Church
By early 1838, the relationship between Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had become difficult. Oliver felt that Joseph Smith was mixing church matters too much with business and political plans. He believed that church and government should be kept separate.
In January 1838, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon moved from Kirtland and took over the church in Far West, Missouri in March 1838. This church had been led by W. W. Phelps and David Whitmer, who was a close friend and brother-in-law to Oliver Cowdery. New leaders were chosen for the church in Missouri. The new leaders asked John Whitmer, who kept the church's historical records, to hand over his notes. When he did not, he was removed from his position, and an investigation into the financial dealings of the Missouri leaders began.
Because of these disagreements, Oliver Cowdery faced several charges. On April 12, 1838, a church council decided to remove Oliver Cowdery from the church. David Whitmer was also removed at the same time. Oliver did not attend the council meeting, but he sent a letter saying he wanted to resign. He stated that he wanted to live his religious beliefs separately from his business and political choices.
After being removed, Oliver and others who had left the church continued to live near Far West. They owned a lot of land there, much of which they had bought while working for the church. There were arguments over who owned what property. After a sermon by Sidney Rigdon, some church members forced Oliver and the others to leave the area. This situation contributed to increased tensions that led to conflicts in Missouri, which eventually caused the Latter Day Saints to leave the state.
Life After the Church (1838–1848)
Between 1838 and 1848, Oliver Cowdery studied and practiced law in Tiffin, Ohio. He became an important leader in his community and in politics. He joined the local Methodist church and served as its secretary in 1844. Oliver also edited a local newspaper for the Democratic Party. However, when people found out he was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, he was reassigned to be an assistant editor. In 1846, he was nominated to run for the Ohio State Senate, but he lost the election when his Mormon background was revealed.
After Joseph Smith died on June 27, 1844, the Latter Day Saint movement split into different groups. Oliver's father and brother followed James J. Strang, who claimed to be the new leader. Strang said he had found and translated ancient metal plates, similar to the golden plates Joseph Smith had translated. In 1847, Oliver and his brother moved to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, which was about twelve miles from Strang's headquarters. In Elkhorn, Oliver practiced law with his brother and helped edit the Walworth County Democrat newspaper. In 1848, he ran for state assemblyman but was again defeated when his past ties to Mormonism became known.
Returning to the Church
In 1848, Oliver Cowdery traveled to Winter Quarters (in present-day Nebraska) to meet with the followers of Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve. He asked to rejoin the church. The Twelve leaders sent his request to the high council in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. This council held a meeting with all the high priests in the area to discuss Oliver's request.
Oliver convinced everyone at the meeting that he no longer wanted to be a leader in the church. His request to be rebaptized was approved by everyone. On November 12, 1848, Oliver Cowdery was rebaptized by Orson Hyde, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. This happened in Indian Creek at Kanesville, Iowa, into what was now called the LDS Church.
After being rebaptized, Oliver wanted to move to the State of Deseret (which is now Utah) in the spring or summer. However, because of money problems and poor health, he realized he could not make the journey in 1849. Since he was not living with the main group of Latter Day Saints in Utah, he was not immediately given a leadership position. But in July 1849, Brigham Young wrote to Oliver, inviting him to travel to Washington, D.C., with Almon W. Babbitt. Their task was to ask for the State of Deseret to become a U.S. state and to write a formal application. Oliver's health was getting worse, so he could not accept this assignment. He passed away eight months later.
In 1912, an official church magazine called Improvement Era published a statement from Jacob F. Gates. His father, an early Mormon leader, had died twenty years before. According to Jacob F. Gates, his father had visited Oliver Cowdery in 1849 and asked him about his testimony of the Book of Mormon. Oliver reportedly confirmed his witness, saying:
"Jacob, I want you to remember what I say to you. I am a dying man, and what would it profit me to tell you a lie? I know," said he, "that this Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. My eyes saw, my ears heard, and my understanding was touched, and I know that whereof I testified is true. It was no dream, no vain imagination of the mind—it was real."
Oliver Cowdery died on March 3, 1850, at David Whitmer's home in Richmond, Missouri.
Ideas About the Book of Mormon's Creation
Oliver Cowdery's Role in the Book of Mormon
Some people who question the traditional story of how the Book of Mormon was created have wondered if Oliver Cowdery helped write it. However, a scholar named Daniel Peterson argues against this idea. He says that when experts look at the original handwritten copies, it seems that Joseph Smith mostly dictated the Book of Mormon. There are mistakes in the writing that happen when someone is writing down what they hear, not when they are creating it themselves. Also, the copy of the manuscript that Oliver helped prepare for the printer has many copying errors in his handwriting. This suggests he didn't know the book's content fully beforehand.
Connections Between the Smith and Cowdery Families
Oliver Cowdery was a third cousin of Lucy Mack Smith, who was Joseph Smith's mother. There were also family connections in the places they lived. In the 1790s, Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, along with two of Oliver Cowdery's relatives, lived in Tunbridge, Vermont.
Oliver Cowdery and View of the Hebrews
For several years, Oliver Cowdery and his family attended the Congregational Church in Poultney, Vermont. The minister there was Rev. Ethan Smith, who wrote a book in 1823 called View of the Hebrews. This book suggested that Native Americans might have come from Hebrew people, which was a common idea at the time.
Some people have suggested that Oliver Cowdery's knowledge of View of the Hebrews might have influenced the Book of Mormon. This idea was first brought up in 1902. However, other scholars like Richard Bushman and John W. Welch disagree. They argue that there are not many similarities between the two books.
Images for kids
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Oliver Cowdery's signature
See also
In Spanish: Oliver Cowdery para niños
