Oliver Cowdery - Preserved from Persecution and Privations Through Divine Care

Oliver Cowdery reflected on his experiences from 1829 onward as he traveled with Joseph Smith in proclaiming the gospel. He wrote: 'Many have been the fatigues and privations which have fallen to my lot to endure, for the gospel's sake, since 1829, with this brother. Our road has frequently been spread with the fowler's snare, and our persons sought with the eagerness, of the Savage's ferocity, for innocent blood, by men, either heated to desperation by the insinuations of those who professed to be guides to the kingdom of glory, or the individuals themselves!' Despite these dangers and hardships, Oliver testified: 'Not only have I been graciously preserved from wicked and unreasonable men, with this our brother, but I have seen the fruit of perseverance in proclaiming the everlasting gospel, immediately after it was declared to the world in these last days, in a manner not to be forgotten while heaven gives my common intellect.' Oliver's preservation through all these trials was a direct manifestation of divine protection for one who had been called to be a special witness of the Restoration.