Oliver Cowdery

Oliver Cowdery (3 October 1806 ? 3 March 1850) was the primary participant with Joseph Smith, Jr. in the early formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1829 through 1836. He was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates. After the organization of the Church of Christ ? as the early Latter Day Saint church was known ? he became the church's Second Elder. Fellow Witness, David Whitmer, described Cowdery as a "man of piety, of candor, of truth, of integrity, of feeling for the welfare of the human family, and in short, he is a man of God."

References

• Legg, Phillip R., Oliver Cowdery: The Elusive Second Elder of the Restoration, Herald House: Independence, Missouri, 1989.
• {{Journal reference url | Author=Morris, Larry E. | Title="Oliver Cowdery's Vermont Years and the Origins of Mormonism | Journal=BYU Studies | Volume=39(1) | Year=2000 | Pages=105–129 | URL=https://byustudies.byu.edu/shop/PDFfiles/39.1Morris.pdf}}