Creative Retirement / Friday Roundtable   MORMONS   September 21, 21, 2012

The ex-step-son is of the line of a founder of the Morman Church.
This might provide some history and insight to Mormons.

Offical Description
Oliver Cowdery boarded with the Smith family as a schoolteacher in 1828-29 where he met Joseph Smith. He became one of the three special witnesses to the Book of Mormon, Oliver was the "second elder" of the restored Church and one of the six founding members of the Church. Oliver served as Joseph Smith's scribe in writing the Book of Mormon. He was presence when the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood were restored by divine messengers; and his instrumentality in the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon.

Jim's comments
Oliver Cowdery wrote the book of Mormon. Joseph Smith simply spoke it. Joseph sat with his head buried in a hat listening and speaking with a magic stone. Thus is born the expression, talking through his hat. The other founding witnesses also found magic stones and began to make prophecies. Joseph had to suppress competition with his stone and declared the other talking stones as false.

Oliver is listed as The Second Witness.
Oliver performed the first Baptism : the baptized party was Joseph Smith.
Then Joseph baptized Oliver, as the second person baptized.
Would not this make Oliver the first Bishop?

Oliver felt he was the natural successor of Joseph. Family tradition says that he was afraid that if he pressed his rights he would be attacked by the goon squads of Brigham Young. Oliver was excommunicated on trumped up charges, the family says, that of drinking honey-tea for a cold. The formal charges were his letter of disapproval of Joseph Smith's adultery, to have stopped attending meetings, leaving his sacred position to practicing law -- in defacto having left the church, which they formalized.

Oliver never renounced the church. He never said that any of the thingd – miracles, vision of angles, to which he is listed as Witness were in any way false. We must assume he believed in the tenets of Mormonism as something good.
The church later restored his membership, Brigham invited him to Salt Lake City after he renounced any claim of leadership, but he died before making the trip.

Some Membership Terminology:
baptized&children Member 14.4MM, 4th largest US protestant
baptized at age 8+ is a Saint.
Aaronic priesthood are administrative and financial agents and open to boys 12 and up or to adults with one year of church membership.
typically age 12 Deacon
14 Teacher
16 Priest
18 Elder
18 Bishop must be Melchizedek High Priest and married
Melchizedek priesthood
mel kez' @ dek High Priest, President of various councils
married 55 Patriarch
Seventy , Top 70 several dozen 70s regions, married
Apostle , Top 12
President , Top man

Local Organization:
Branch , small Ward
Ward , 200-500 members , Bishop + 2 counselor, unpaid
District, small Stake.
Stake , 2 or more area wards , one church building , High Priest + counselors