Oliver Cowdery's life stands as a testimony of the restored gospel of Christ. This volume, which includes an award-winning article on the return of the Second Elder, helps readers understand and appreciate the remarkable Oliver Cowdery, renowned as Book of Mormon scribe, recipient with Joseph of restored priesthood power, and co-founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The story of the creation of the Book of Mormon has been told many times, and often ridiculed. A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon presents and examines the primary sources surrounding the origin of the foundational text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the most successful new religion of modern times. The scores of documents transcribed and annotated in this book include family histories, journal entries, letters, affidavits, reminiscences, interviews, newspaper articles, and book extracts, as well as revelations dictated in the name of God. From these texts emerges the captivating story of what happened (and what was believed or rumored to have happened) between September 1823-when the seventeen-year-old farm boy Joseph Smith announced that an angel of God had directed him to an ancient book inscribed on gold plates-and March 1830, when the Book of Mormon was first published. By compiling for the first time a substantial collection of both first- and secondhand accounts relevant to the inception of the divine revelation-or clever fraud-that launched a new world religion, A Documentary History makes a significant contribution to the rapidly growing field of Mormon Studies.

For the first time, the unexpurgated diaries of the Mormon church founder, Joseph Smith, are presented, including references to wine, women, the church, accounts of the First Vision, and early rituals.

Larger print edition!Anyone interested in the Book of Mormon needs to know what Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery taught about the Hill Cumorah. Together, they wrote this letter that explains where the final battles of the Nephites and Jaredites took place and how many people were actually killed there. They affirm that the depository of Nephite records was in New York.This must-read book explains the historical context of Letter VII and how it was endorsed by all of Joseph's contemporaries and successors.

The letters of Oliver Cowdery to W.W. Phelps are influenced by Cowdery's earlier position of Joseph Smith during the translation of the Book of Mormon. There he shares his views on the history of Christianity and its meaning to the life of people in his times.