All three
witness fall away from the church but never deny their testimony regarding the
plates.
1)
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver
Cowdery was excommunicated from the church on April 11, 1838 in Far West,
Missouri. Neither the prophet nor Oliver was not in attendance at his
excommunication. The decision was made by the high council of the church at Far
West. Although two years earlier he stood by the prophet as they witnessed the
return of Elias, Elijah, and Moses in the Kirtland Temple (DC 110), Oliver had
exhibited the spirit of apostasy. He disagreed with the prophet regarding the
rights of the church to advise the members on the handling of their property,
etc. The following is a list of grievances which were procured against
Oliver:
“Elder
Seymour Brunson preferred the following charges against Oliver Cowdery, to the
High Council at Far West:
“To the
Bishop and Council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I prefer
the following charges against President Oliver Cowdery:
‘First-For
persecuting the brethren by urging on vexatious law suits against them, and thus
distressing the innocent.
‘Second-For
seeking to destroy the character of President Joseph Smith, Jun., by falsely
insinuating that he was guilty of adultery.
‘Third-For
treating the Church with contempt by not attending
meetings.
‘Fourth-For
virtually denying the faith by declaring that he would not be governed by any
ecclesiastical authority or revelations whatever, in his temporal
affairs.
‘Fifth-For
selling his lands in Jackson county, contrary to the
revelations.
‘Sixth-For
writing and sending an insulting letter to President Thomas B. Marsh, while the
latter was on the High Council, attending to the duties of his office as
President of the Council, and by insulting the High Council with the contents of
said letter.
‘Seventh-For
leaving his calling to which God had appointed him by revelation, for the sake
of filthy lucre, and turning to the practice of law.
‘Eighth-For
disgracing the Church by being connected in the bogus business, as common report
says.
‘Ninth-For
dishonestly retaining notes after they had been paid; and finally, for leaving
and forsaking the cause of God, and returning to the beggarly elements of the
world, and neglecting his high and holy calling, according to his
profession.’
“The Bishop
and High Council assembled at the Bishop's office, April 12, 1838. After the
organization of the Council, the above charges of the 11th instant were read,
also a letter from Oliver Cowdery, as will be found recorded in the Church
record of the city of Far West, Book A. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 9th
charges were sustained. The 4th and 5th charges were rejected, and the 6th was
withdrawn. Consequently he (Oliver Cowdery) was considered no longer a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (History of the Church,
vol 3, p. 16-7)
Oliver had
written a letter that was read during his court. He was apparently not in
attendance. Portions of the letter read as follows:
“FAR WEST, MISSOURI, APRIL 12,1838
Dear sir:--I
received your note of the 9th inst., on the day of its date,
containing a copy of nine charges preferred before yourself and Council against
me, By Elder Seymour Brunson.
“I could
have wished that those charges might have been deferred until after my interview
with President Smith; but as they are not, I must waive the anticipated pleasure
with which I had flattered myself of an understanding on those points which are
grounds of different opinions on some Church regulations, and others which
personally interest myself.
“The fifth
charge reads as follows: ‘For selling his lands in Jackson County contrary to
the revelations.’ So much of this charge, ‘for selling his lands in Jackson
County,’ I acknowledge to be true, and believe that a large majority of this
Church have already spent their judgment on that act, and pronounced it
sufficient to warrant a disfellowship; and also that you have concurred in its
correctness, consequently, have no good reason for supposing you would give any
decision contrary….
“The fourth
charge is in the following words, ‘For virtually denying the faith by declaring
that he would not be governed by any ecclesiastical authority nor revelation
whatever in his temporal affairs….
“With regard
to this, I think I am warranted in saying, the judgment is also passed as on the
matter of the fifth charge, consequently, I have no disposition to contend with
the Council….the three great principles of English liberty, as laid down in the
books, are ‘the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty, and
the right of private property.’….they are so woven into my nature…that I am
wholly unwilling to exchange them for anything less liberal, less benevolent, or
less free.
“The very
principle of which I conceive to be couched in an attempt to set up a kind of
petty government, controlled and dictated by ecclesiastical influence, in the
midst of this national and state government. You will, no doubt, say this is not
correct; but the bare notice of these charges, over which you assume a right to
decide, is in my opinion, a direct attempt to make the secular power subservient
to Church direction—to the correctness of which I cannot in conscience
subscribe—I believe that principle never did fail to produce anarchy and
confusion.
“This
attempt to control me in my temporal interests, I conceive to be a disposition
to take from me a portion of my Constitutional privileges and inherent right—I
only, respectfully, ask leave, therefore, to withdraw from a society assuming
they have such right…..
“With
considerations of the highest respect, I am, your obedient
servant,
[signed] OLIVER COWDERY”
(History
of the Church, footnote, p. 17-18)
This
interchange is interesting because it shows that Oliver did have a rebellious
spirit. He was a man of dignity and pride, But
beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation (DC 23:1). As
the second Elder of the Church, it was probably hard for him to stomach taking
these charges from the high council at Far West. He might have felt like he was
above that church body. He certainly felt (maybe rightfully so) that if he could
have had an interview with the prophet that all conflicts could have been
resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. Joseph did not come to Oliver to try to
patch things up. He let the decision of the high council stand rather than
overturn its decisions and undermine its authority. Later, Oliver recounted his
feelings at this time:
“Upon
carefully inquiring as to his long absence from the body of the Church, he
stated that he had never met the Prophet Joseph, after his expulsion from the
Church, while he lived, apparently feeling that the Prophet could with equal
propriety inquire after him as for him to visit the Prophet, and as his pride
would seemingly not allow him to become suppliant without that inquiry, it was
never made; while he felt quite sure that had he ever met the Prophet there
would have been no difficulty in cheering a reconciliation, as a feeling of
jealousy towards him, on the part of his accusers, had entered largely into
their purpose of having him removed, which he thought Joseph must have
discovered after going up to Missouri.” (Samuel W. Richards, “Oliver Cowdery,”
The Improvement Era, p. 94 as taken from The Case of the Book of
Mormon Witnesses by Eldin Ricks, p. 11)
In spite of
the fact that no resolution between Oliver and the church came for another 10
years, during that interval, he remained true to the testimony he gave regarding
the plates. The following incident is instructive:
“A gentleman
in Michigan said to him, when he was pleading law, ‘Mr. Cowdery, I see your name
attached to this book; if you believe it to be true, why are you in Michigan?’
The gentleman read over the names of the witnesses, and said, ‘Mr. Cowdery, do
you believe this book?’ ‘No, sir,’ replied Oliver Cowdery. ‘That is very well,
but your name is attached to it, and you say that you saw an angel, and the
plates from which this book is said to be translated, and now you say that you
do not believe it. Which time was you right?’ Mr. Cowdery replied, ‘There is my
name attached to that book, and what I have there said that I saw, I know that I
saw, and belief has nothing to do with it, for knowledge has swallowed up the
belief that I had in the work, since I know it is true.’” (Brigham Young,
Journal of Discourses, 2:257-258 as taken from Testimony of the Book
of Mormon Witnesses by Preston Nibley)
In 1848,
Oliver and his family return to the church:
“In October
1848, Oliver Cowdery, with his wife and daughter, arrived at Council Bluffs,
Iowa, the gathering place of the Saints who were preparing to make the long
journey across the plains to Utah. Here he requested of Orson Hyde, who was
presiding over that branch at the time, the privilege of again being baptized
into the Church. At a special conference of the members held on October 21st
[1848], the request was granted and shortly afterwards Oliver Cowdery was
baptized by Orson Hyde.
“In the
spring of 1849, Oliver Cowdery expressed the desire to visit with his wife's
family in Richmond, Missouri, before undertaking the long journey across the
plains. Accordingly, the trip was made to that place, and there, as a guest of
his father-in-law, Peter Whitmer, in whose home near Waterloo, New York, the
Church had been organized, he spent several pleasant months. As the result of a
severe cold, contracted sometime during 1849, he became infected with the
dreaded disease known then as ‘consumption,’ which brought about his death on
March 3, 1850. Oliver Cowdery, at the time, was a few months past his 43rd
birthday.” (Preston Nibley, Testimony of the Book of Mormon Witnesses,
p.41)
“…Oliver
Cowdery just before breathing his last, asked his attendants to raise him up in
bed that he might talk to the family and his friends, who were present. He then
told them to live according to the teachings contained in the Book of Mormon,
and promised them, if they would do this, that they would meet him in heaven. He
then said, 'Lay me down and let me fall asleep.' A few moments later he died
without a struggle.
“To the
foregoing I add a statement by David Whitmer. Although himself outside the
Church at the time he wrote these words, Whitmer says, ‘I was present at the
death of Oliver Cowdery, and his last words were, 'Brother David, be true to
your testimony to the Book of Mormon.' He died here in Richmond, Mo. on March
3d, 1850.’” (Eldin Ricks, The Case of the Book of Mormon Witnesses, p.
11-12)