Oliver Cowdery's arrival in Harmony, Pa., on April 5, 1829, was avowed by the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., to be an answer to prayer. Joseph had pled with the Lord that His sending a scribe was imperative to the continued work of translation.

On April 7, 1829, Oliver was busily employed in his new capacity as scribe.Nearly six years before, on Sept. 22, 1823, the Angel Moroni had declared, "When they the gold platesT are interpreted, the Lord will give the holy priesthood to some, and they shall begin to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after that they shall have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands." (History, 1832, Joseph Smith Letterbook 1, p.6.)

The preliminary fulfillment of that announcement took place on May 15, 1829, as Joseph and Oliver continued the meticulous work of translation. They were visited by John the Baptist, who conferred the priesthood upon them.

The appearance of John the Baptist at the commencement of the dispensation of the fullness of times has been described in these salient words:

"Approximately eighteen hundred years after his mortal life had been rudely terminated in the Machaerus dungeon, this same John, still holding the keys and priesthood of his ministry, descended from the skies as an angel of God in the glory of his resurrected body, in preparation for the Messiah's return and permanent reign upon the earth. Characteristic of his mission as a forerunner, he brought the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the preparatory gospel." (Robert J. Matthews, A Burning Light: The Life and Ministry of John the Baptist, pp.107-108.)

In September 1835, Oliver recorded a very important description of the physical setting and procedural events of the day that the Aaronic Priesthood was restored:

"He JosephT was ordained by the angel John, unto the lesser or Aaronic priesthood, in company with myself, in the town of Harmony, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, on Friday, the 15th day of May, 1829, after which we repaired to the water, even to the Susquehanna River, and were baptized, he first ministering unto me and after I to him. But before baptism, our souls were drawn out in mighty prayer to know how we might obtain the blessings of baptism and of the Holy Spirit, according to the order of God, and we diligently sought for the right of the fathers and the authority of the holy priesthood, and the power to administerT in the same. . . . " ("Father Joseph Smith's Patriarchal Record 1834," Vol. 1, pp.8-9.)

The Prophet informed us that the baptisms were attended by significant spiritual manifestations.

A unique occurrence was then experienced by the two translators following the departure of John the Baptist. Joseph recorded the spiritual phenomenon thus:

"Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of." (Joseph Smith - History 1:74).

During John the Baptist's appearance, Joseph and Oliver were informed that "this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter." The angel also confided "that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us." (Joseph Smith - History 1:70,72).

That this announced restoration of the higher priesthood was subsequently accomplished is amply attested to in the scriptures and records of the Church. (D&C 27:12).

Unfortunately, it is also a matter of record that Oliver Cowdery was lost to the Church for a 10-year period following his separation from the saints during the Missouri period in 1838. For a decade he experienced the pursuits of the legal profession in Ohio and Wisconsin.

Finally, he tired of "eating husks," knowing too well the realities of the heavenly manifestations of which he had been a direct participant and confident of where the actual keys to the powers of the priesthood lay. Leaving his home in Elkhorn, Wis., Oliver, his wife Elizabeth Ann Whitmer, and daughter Maria Louise, journeyed to the October 1848 conference of the Church held at Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa.

At the invitation of the presiding officer, Elder Orson Hyde, Oliver bore his personal witness to the congregation:

"I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred, or restored, the Aaronic Priesthood and said at the same time it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by the holy angels of God, which we then confirmed on each other by the will and commandment of God. This priesthood is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy priesthood we conferred upon many and is just as good and valid as if God had conferred it in person." (Reuben Miller Journal, Oct. 21, 1848.)

The next November, Oliver appeared before the high priests quorum gathered in the log tabernacle at Kanesville to plead his case for re-admittance into the Church. Ironically, he was now seeking the compassion and understanding of men who were the fruits of the very priesthood that he had helped to put in motion during the earliest days of the restoration.

After discussion among the brethren, it was unanimously agreed that Oliver should be re-baptized into the faith, which was done Nov. 12, 1848.

Oliver Cowdery died at Richmond, Mo., March 3, 1850. As death approached he gave family members assembled at his bedside a final admonishment to observe the teachings found in the Book of Mormon and that, if faithful, they would assemble again with him in heaven.

David Whitmer later testified to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, "Oliver died the happiest man I ever saw, after shaking hands with the family and kissing his wife and daughter . . . ."

Today, as the body of the Church commemorates these early events connected with the restoration of the priesthood, thousands of brethren are now living witnesses of the restoration of the priesthood and daily exhibit the powers associated with that high and holy calling.