BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 50 | Issue 1 Article 17 1-1-2011 Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery Rachel Ozanne Alexander L. Baugh Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Ozanne, Rachel and Baugh, Alexander L. (2011) "Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 50 : Iss. 1 , Article 17. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol50/iss1/17 This Notice is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Ozanne and Baugh: Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery Book Notices V 173 Likewise, some of the articles break may not be aware of Cowdery’s impor- from the ecumenical spirit that pre- tance in the founding of the Church. vails in much of this book. For example, This book gives a good sense of Richard John Neuhaus’s article sought Cowdery’s extensive presence and to explain the dichotomy between papal activities in the earliest days of the infallibility and the individual Chris- Church. His conversion, his roles in tian’s need for autonomy. However, the restoration of the Aaronic and as a convert to Catholicism, Neuhaus Melchizedek priesthoods, and his par- seemed more interested in defending ticipation in the transcription and pub- the Catholic position than he was in lication of the Book of Mormon are simply explaining it. Likewise, I felt covered in detail. Cowdery was also that Stephen Ricks’s article did little to centrally involved in disseminating establish what the orthodox LDS posi- Church doctrine by editing the Book of tion is on authority. Rather, the arti- Commandments, by writing the earli- cle felt more like a polemic designed est known version of Joseph Smith’s to gently debunk the contemporary initial visions, and by serving as edi- Roman Catholic doctrine of apostolic tor of the Messenger and Advocate. succession through bishops. Underscoring Cowdery’s significance, While the inevitable typos and a authors in this book declare: “No one somewhat inconsistent tone cause was more involved in the key events of some chapters to feel very academic the restoration than Oliver Cowdery” while others feel rather folksy, overall (15), and “excluding Joseph Smith, this book is well worth reading. For no other person is mentioned more Latter-day Saint readers, one of the often in the Doctrine and Covenants benefits they will gain from reading than Oliver Cowdery” (91). Cowdery’s this book is an awareness that many importance to Mormon history could people in other Christian traditions not be clearer. see some of the questions posed by This book also addresses a number Mormons on the subject of religious of events and experiences in Cowdery’s authority as nonissues. professional and personal life. Sig- —Alonzo L. Gaskill nificant new information is presented about Cowdery’s involvement with the Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver financial affairs of the Kirtland Safety Cowdery, edited by Alexander L. Society and the Bank of Monroe, as Baugh (BYU Religious Studies Center well as facts about his life working as a and Deseret Book, 2009) lawyer during the 1840s in Tiffin, Ohio. Days Never to Be Forgotten presents the The allegation that Cowdery practiced fruits of the 2006 BYU Church History polygamy is discussed and rejected. Symposium on the life and work of Oli- Two additional essays provide informa- ver Cowdery in honor of the two hun- tion about Cowdery’s wife, Elizabeth dredth anniversary of his birth. Eleven Ann Whitmer Cowdery, and about the scholars of Mormon history contrib- monument built in honor of Cowdery uted essays about various aspects of at Richmond, Missouri, in 1911. Cowdery’s life and involvement in The Because this book was produced Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day near the same time as a second bicen- Saints. Ultimately, the contributors tennial collection, entitled Oliver have two goals: to honor Cowdery’s Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness (pub- memory and to inform believers who lished in 2006 by the Neal A. Maxwell Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2011 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 50, Iss. 1 [2011], Art. 17 174 v BYU Studies Institute for Religious Scholarship), it 1831 and ending with the St. Louis Stake is recommended that these two books jubilee in 2008. This book is essential be used in tandem. The 2006 volume reading for scholars of Mormonism contains seventeen additional, previ- seeking to understand the experience ously published studies. Between these of the Latter-day Saints in St. Louis. two anthologies, a fairly full biogra- By using a chronological, encyclo- phy of Cowdery emerges. For example, pedic approach, the authors tell of St. Cowdery’s excommunication from the Louis being more than a trailhead for Church in 1838 is mentioned only in Latter-day Saints. They explain that the passing in the Religious Studies Center town was a refuge for Saints fleeing volume (because it did not happen to from Governor Boggs’s extermination be examined by any of the present- order. They tell of fundraising meet- ers at its conference), but readers can ings held by St. Louis citizens to aid find that event covered in the Max- Mormon exiles seeking relief from per- well Institute volume (282–83, 322–23). secution. They describe the experience Readers can also consult Donald Q. of LDS British converts in St. Louis on Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook’s Far their twelve-day trip from New Orleans West Record (Deseret Book, 1983, pages to Nauvoo. The authors include infor- 162–71) if they wonder about the details mation about three to four thousand of Cowdery’s excommunication or Latter-day Saints who made St. Louis about how best to reconcile this odd their home by 1849 and of the first St. situation with one who could be con- Louis Stake organized with Elder Eras- sidered “the co-founder of Mormon- tus Snow presiding in 1854. They write ism” (15). These welcome publications of Snow and his successors publishing give readers a better appreciation for the St. Louis Luminary (November 22, Cowdery’s personality and his many 1854, to December 18, 1855) in an effort crucial contributions to the Church. to keep the Saints informed of local He is a fascinating figure, central to a news and emigration plans. full understanding of the earliest his- Woods and Farmer relate many tory of the Latter-day Saints. instances of a Church presence in the —Rachel Ozanne city throughout the remaining nine- teenth and twentieth centuries. The When the Saints Came Marching In: authors tell of Brigham Young send- A History of the Latter-day Saints ing missionaries in 1866 to reestablish in St. Louis, by Fred E. Woods and the St. Louis District and reorganize Thomas L. Farmer (Orem, Utah: Mil- a St. Louis Branch. They write of the lennial Press, 2009) St. Louis World’s Fair and of LDS offi- Most of our histories about Mormons in cials featuring Utah in their displays. Missouri speak of dramatic events in They describe in detail the creation the 1830s in the western region of the of the St. Louis Stake in 1958 and the state. Congratulations to Fred Woods St. Louis Temple dedication in 1997. and Thomas Farmer for writing a his- Another valuable contribution of this tory of the Latter-day Saints in St. work is an alphabetical index of early Louis. Woods, a professor of Church Latter-day Saints in St. Louis. History and Doctrine at BYU, and —Susan Easton Black Farmer, a lifetime St. Louis resident, wrote of the LDS presence in St. Louis beginning with early missionaries in https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol50/iss1/17 2.