Oliver Cowdery

Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American religious leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement in the 1820s and 1830s.

He was the principal scribe to the Book of Mormon, the first baptized Latter Day Saint, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, a key early missionary, and a member of the First Presidency in Kirtland.

Cowdery's relationship with Joseph Smith and the church's leadership deteriorated in the mid-1830s, and in 1838 he was excommunicated with several other prominent Missouri leaders amid a leadership struggle with Smith.

After his excommunication, Cowdery moved to Wisconsin, where he practiced law and became involved in local politics. Cowdery briefly joined a Methodist church before being rebaptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1848.