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| Oliver Cowdery's History
of the Church (1) |
| Letter
1—Oliver meets Joseph in April 1829 and begins writing as Book
of Mormon scribe. They wonder about authority to baptize and receive "a
vision of the Almighty" that includes the voice of the Lord and the
appearance of an angel who confers the priesthood so that Levites may
again offer offerings.
Letter 2—Apostasy following the death of the ancient
apostles and the universal tendency to reject contemporary teachers of
truth because of their imperfections (real or perceived), and their unwillingness
to repent. |
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| Originally
intended for the Evening and Morning Star |
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The
following communication was designed to have been published in the last
No. of the Star; but owing to a press of other matter it was laid over for
this No. of the Messenger and Advocate. Since it was written, upon further
reflection, we have thought that a full history of the rise of the church
of the Latter Day Saints, and the most interesting parts of its progress,
to the present time, would be worthy the perusal of the Saints.
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MA 1, no. 1 (Oct. 1834): 13–16.
Star: Evening and Morning Star
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| Plan
one installment in every issue |
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If circumstances admit,
an article on this subject will appear in each subsequent No. of the Messenger
and Advocate, until the time when the church was driven from Jackson Co.
Mo. by a lawless banditti; & such other remarks as may be though appropriate
and interesting. |
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Joseph
assisting
Factual |
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That our narrative may
be correct, and particularly the introduction, it is proper to inform our
patrons, that our brother J. SMITH jr. has offered to assist us. Indeed,
there are many items connected with the fore part of this subject that render
his labor indispensable. With his labor and with authentic documents now
in our possession, we hope to render this a pleasing and agreeable narrative,
well worth the examination and perusal of the Saints.—To do justice
to this subject will require time and space: we therefore ask the forbearance
of our readers, assuring them that it shall be founded upon facts.
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Norton, Medina co.
Ohio, Sabbath evening, September 7, 1834. |
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Norton township |
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Dear Brother,— |
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| September
1834 to New Portage with Joseph |
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[14] … On Friday,
the 5th, in company with our brother JOSEPH SMITH jr. I left Kirtland for
this place (New Portage,) to attend the conference previously appointed.
To be permitted, once more, to travel with this brother, occasions reflections
of no ordinary kind. Many have been the fatigues and privations which have
fallen to my lot to endure, for the gospel's sake, since 1828, with this
brother. … |
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Has
seen progress of the gospel from the beginning
First baptized
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Not only have I been
graciously preserved from wicked and unreasonable men, with this our brother,
but I have seen the fruit of perseverance in proclaiming the everlasting
gospel, immediately after it was declared to the world in these last days,
in a manner not to be forgotten while heaven gives my common intellect.
And what serves to render the reflection past expression on this point is,
that from his hand I received baptism, by the direction of the angel of
God—the first received into this church, in this day. |
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Meets
Joseph on April 5, 1829
Begins as Book of Mormon scribe on April 7 |
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Near the time of the setting of the Sun, Sabbath evening, April 5th, 1829,
my natural eyes, for the first time beheld this brother. He then resided
in Harmony, Susquehanna county Penn. On Monday the 6th, I assisted him in
arranging some business of a temporal nature, and on Tuesday the 7th, commenced
to write the book of Mormon. These were days never to be forgotten—to
sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened
the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted,
to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim, or,
as the Nephites would have said, "Interpreters," the history,
or record, called "The book of Mormon." |
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In
1832 Joseph writes that Oliver had a vision. "Therefore he was desirous
to come and write for me and translate." In the vision, the Lord showed
Oliver the plates and what Joseph was about to do. ¶
Joseph Smith's 1832 History.
Oliver does not mention first hearing of Moroni, the gold plates, or a
First Vision. Lucy reports that Oliver lived at their house while teaching
school, and that Joseph Sr. told him of the plates. "One day, Oliver
came home from school in quite a lively mood and; as soon as he had
on an opportunity of conversing with Mr Smith he told him that he (Oliver)
had been in a deep study all day and it had been put into his heart that
he would have the priviledge of writing for Joseph." Later, Joseph
Sr. and Lucy urge him "to seek for a testimony concerning it <for
himself> he
did so and received the witness spoken of in the book of doctrine and covenants."
Lucy, 432, 434. ¶ D&C 6:14–15. |
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Question of authority arises |
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[15] … After writing
the account given of the Savior's ministry to the remnant of the seed of
Jacob, upon this continent, it was easily to be seen, as the prophet said
would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of
the people. On reflecting further, it was as easily to be seen, that amid
the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from
God to administer the ordinances of the gospel. For, the question might
be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny
revelations? when his testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy?
and his religion based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations in
all ages of the world, when he has had a people on earth? If these facts
were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft would have been
in danger, if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they were no
longer to us; and we only waited for the commandment to be given, "Arise
and be baptized." |
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Voice
of the Lord
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This was not long desired
before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing
to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon
him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest
to us his will. |
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| Angel
descends |
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On
a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake
peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed
with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys
of the gospel of repentance!—What joy! what wonder! what amazement!
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| We
saw, heard |
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While the world were
racked and distracted—while millions were grouping as the blind for
the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general
mass, our eyes beheld—our ears heard. |
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As in the "blaze
of day;" yes, more—above the glitter of the May Sun beam, which
then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! |
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| Angel
speaks |
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Then his voice, though
mild, pierced to the center, and his words, "I am thy fellow servant,"
dispelled every fear. |
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Vision
of the Almighty
Uncertainty fled |
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We listened—we
gazed—we admired! 'Twas the voice of the angel from glory—'twas
a message from the Most High! and as we heard we rejoiced, while his love
enkindled upon our souls, and we were rapt in the vision of the Almighty!
Where was room for doubt? No where: uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk,
no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever! |
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Priesthood
and authority conferred
That Levites may offer an offering |
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But, dear brother think,
further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts and with what surprise
we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed [16] the knee for such
a blessing?) when we received under his hand the holy priesthood, as he
said, "upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer
this priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that
the sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!" |
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| Unspeakably
beautiful personage |
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I shall not attempt
to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and
glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when
I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to
clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. |
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| Joy,
peace wisdom |
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No; nor has this earth
power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which
was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the
Holy Spirit! |
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| No
deception |
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Man may deceive his
fellow man; deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked
one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till nought but fiction
feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy
to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of
glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from
the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it
forever from the mind! |
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| Angel's
presence, Jesus' voice, glorious |
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The assurance that
we were in the presence of an angel; the certainty that we heard the voice
of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated
by the will of God, is to me, past description, and I shall ever look upon
this expression of the Savior's goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while
I am permitted to tarry, and in those mansions where perfection dwells and
sin never comes, I hope to adore in that DAY which shall never cease! |
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| Church
meeting |
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Today the church in
this place assembled, and were addressed on the great and important subject
of salvation by brother JARED CARTER, followed
by brother SIDNEY RIGDON. The cheering truths ably and eloquently advanced
by these brethren were like "apples of gold in baskets of silver."
The saints listened with attention, after which bread was broken, and we
offered another memorial to our Lord that we remembered him. … |
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today:
Sept. 7, 1834 |
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O. Cowdery.
To W. W. Phelps, Esq.
P.S. I shall write you again on the subject of the Conference. O.C. |
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* I will hereafter give
you a full history of the rise of this church, up to the time stated in
my introduction; which will necessarily embrace the life and character of
this brother. I shall therefore leave the history of baptism, &c. till
its proper place.
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Asterisk
in the original. |
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LETTER
II. |
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MA 1, no. 2 (Nov. 1834): 27–32. |
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To W. W. Phelps,
Esq.
DEAR BROTHER:— |
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In the last Messenger
and Advocate I promised to commence a more particular or minute history
of the rise and progress of [28] the church of the Latter Day Saints; and
publish, for the benefit of enquirers, and all who are disposed to learn.
There are certain facts relative to the works of God worthy the consideration
and observance of every individual, and every society:—They are that
he never works in the dark—his works are always performed in a clear,
intelligible manner: and another point is, that he never works in vain.
This is not the case with men; but might it not be? When the Lord works,
he accomplishes his purposes, and the effects of his power are to be seen
afterward. In view of this, suffer me to make a few remarks by way of introduction.
The works of man may shine for a season with a degree of brilliancy, but
time changes their complexion; and whether it did or not, all would be the
same in a little space, as nothing except that which was erected by a hand
which never grows weak, can remain when corruption is consumed. … |
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This
paragraph is typical of the rhetoric that is omitted
elsewhere in the document (indicted by ellipses). |
| Apostasy |
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… the ministry
of the apostles of that church; with a cursory view of the same till it
lost its visibility on earth; was driven into darkness, or till God took
the holy priesthood unto himself, where it has been held in reserve to the
present century, as a matter of right, in this free country, I may take
the privilege. This may be doubted by some indeed by many—as an admission
of this point would overthrow the popular systems of the day. I cannot reasonably
expect, then, that the large majority of professors will be willing to listen
to my argument for a moment, as a careful, impartial, and faithful investigation
of the doctrines which I believe to be correct, and the principles cherished
in my bosom—and believed by this church—by every honest man must
be admitted as truth. Of this I may say as Tertullian said to the Emperor
when writing in defence of the saints in his day: "Whoever looked well
into our religion that did not embrace it?" |
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Tertullian (ca
160–ca 230), born in Carthage, one of the "Latin Apologists,"
who wrote to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over philosophies
of the day. |
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[29] … The fact
is, as Tertullian said, no man ever looked carefully into its consistency
and propriety without embracing it. It is impossible: That light which enlightens
man, is at once enraptured; that intelligence which existed before the world
was, will unite, and that wisdom in the Divine economy will be so conspicuous,
that it will be embraced, it will be observed, and it must be obeyed! |
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| Truth
= true religion, always same principles |
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Look at pure religion
whenever it has had a place on earth, and you will always mark the same
characteristics in all its features. Look at truth (without which the former
could not exist,) and the same peculiarities are apparent. Those who have
been guided by them have always shown the same principles; and those who
were not, have as uniformly sought to destroy their influence. … |
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| Ancient
apostles were men of perfection, holiness |
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[30] …Since the
apostles fell asleep all men who profess a belief in the truth of their
mission, extol their virtues and celebrate their fame. It seems to have
been forgotten that they were men of infirmities and subject to all the
feelings, passions, and imperfections common to other men. But it appears,
that they, as others were before them, are looked upon as men of perfection,
holiness, purity, and goodness, far in advance of any since. … |
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| Imperfection
excuse |
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But in reviewing the
lives and acts of men in past generations, whenever we find a righteous
man among them, here always were excuses for not giving heed or credence
to his testimony. The people could see his imperfections; or, if no imperfections,
supposed ones, and were always ready to frame an excuse upon that for not
believing. No matter how pure the principles, nor how precious the teachings—an
excuse was wanted—and an excuse was had. |
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| John
the Baptist rejected for not eating bread or drinking wine |
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When John the son of
Zacharias came among the Jews, it is said that [31] he came neither eating
bread nor drinking wine. In another place it is said that his meat was locusts
and wild honey. The Jews saw him, heard him preach, and were witnesses of
the purity of the doctrines advocated they wanted an excuse, and they soon
found one—"He hath a devil!"—And who, among all generations,
that valued his salvation, would be taught by, or follow one possessed of
a devil? |
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| Jesus
rejected for eating and drinking |
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The Savior came in form
and fashion of a man; he ate, drank, and walked about as a man, and they
said, "Behold, a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans
and sinners!" You see an excuse was wanting, but not long wanting till
it was found—Who would follow a dissipated leader? or who, among the
righteous Pharisees would acknowledge a man who would condescend
to eat with publicans and sinners? This was too much—they could not
endure it. |
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Taught
the kingdom present
Contradictory expectations |
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An individual teaching
the doctrines of the kingdom of heaven, and declaring that that kingdom
was nigh, or that it had already come, must appear different from others,
or he could not be received. If he were athirst he must not drink, if faint
he must not eat, and if weary he must not rest, because he had assumed the
authority to teach the world righteousness, and he must be different in
manners, and in constitution, if not in form, that all might be attracted
by his singular appearance: that his singular demeanor might gain the reverence
of the people, or he was an impostor—a false teacher—a wicked
man—a sinner—and an accomplice of Beelzebub, the prince of devils!
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Saw
or imagined expectations
Unwilling to repent |
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One of two reasons may
be assigned as the cause why the messengers of truth have been rejected
perhaps both. The multitude saw their imperfections, or supposed ones, and
from that framed an excuse for rejecting them; or else in consequence of
the corruption of their own hearts, when reproved, were not willing to repent;
but sought to make a man an offender for a word: or for wearing camels'
hair, eating locusts, drinking wine, or showing friendship to publicans
and sinners! |
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| Prophets
are "men of like passions" |
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When looking over the
sacred scriptures, we seem to forget that they were [32] given through men
of imperfections, and subject to passions. It is a general belief
that the ancient prophets were perfect—that no stain, or blemish ever
appeared upon their characters while on earth, to be brought forward by
the opposer as an excuse for not believing. The same is said of the apostles;
but James said that Elias was a man subject to like passions as themselves,
and yet he had that power with God that in answer to his prayer it rained
not on the earth by the space of three years and a half. |
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Elias:
later understood as a reference to Elijah. |
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that prophets must be perfect |
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There can be no doubt
but those to whom he wrote looked upon the ancient prophets as a race of
beings superior to any in those days; and in order to be constituted a prophet
of God, a man must be perfect in every respect.— |
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The idea is, that he
must be perfect according to their signification of the word. If a people
were blessed with prophets, they must be the individuals who were to prescribe
the laws by which they must be governed, even in their private walks. The
generation following were ready to suppose, that those men who believed
the word of God were as perfect as those to whom it was delivered supposed
they must be, and were as forward to prescribe the rules by which they were
governed, or rehearse laws and declare them to be the governing principles
of the prophets, as though they themselves held the keys of the mysteries
of heaven, and had searched the archives of the generations of the world.
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| Savior
an exception |
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You will see that I
have made mention of the Messiah, of his mission into the world, and of
his walk and outward appearance; but do not understand me as attempting
to place him on a level with men, or his mission on a parallel with those
of the prophets and apostles—far from this. I view his mission such
as none other could fill; that he was offered without spot to God a propitiation
for our sins; that he rose triumphant, and victorious over the grave and
him that has the power of death.—This, man could not do—It required
a perfect sacrifice—man is imperfect—It required a spotless offering—man
is not spotless—It required an infinite atonement—man is mortal!
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truth teachers are mocked |
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I have, then, as you
will see, made mention of our Lord, to show that individuals teaching
truth, whether perfect or imperfect, have been looked upon as the worst
of men. And that even our Savior, the great Shepherd of Israel, was mocked
and derided, and placed on a parallel with the prince of devils; and the
prophets and apostles, though at this day, looked upon as perfect as perfection,
were considered the basest of the human family by those among whom they
lived. It is not rumor, though it is wafted by every gale, and
reiterated by every zephyr, upon which we are to found our judgments of
ones merits or demerits: If it is, we erect an altar upon which we sacrifice
the most perfect of men, and establish a criterion by which the "vilest
of the vile" may escape censure.
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But lest I weary you
with too many remarks upon the history of the past, after a few upon the
propriety of a narrative of the description I have proposed, I shall proceed.
—Editor.
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Oliver Cowdery's History of the Church (2)
Oliver Cowdery's History of the Church (3)
Oliver Cowdery's 1834–1835 History
Ohio
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