Oliver Cowdery's 1848 Kanesville Testimony

On October 21, 1848, Oliver Cowdery addressed a congregation of nearly 2,000 at Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa, after arriving for conference and being escorted to the stand by Orson Hyde. Seeking to return to Church fellowship and be rebaptized after years of estrangement, Cowdery testified that he had written the Book of Mormon as it fell from Joseph Smith's lips, had seen and handled the gold plates, and had handled the interpreters (Urim and Thummim). He reaffirmed that the Book of Mormon was true and had come forth in fulfillment of prophecy, and testified of the restoration of the priesthoods through angelic ministration. His address included the words, “I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands.” The accounts identify Samuel W. Richards and Reuben Miller in connection with accounts or records of the testimony; Orson Hyde escorted Cowdery to the stand. The gathering included many non-members.

Richard L. Anderson notes that George A. Smith wrote a letter within ten days of the Kanesville conference describing Cowdery’s remarks as having produced a significant sensation among the non-member gentlemen present at the meeting. Reuben Miller later insisted that his record of the testimony was a verbatim report taken from notes made at the time.