Without Disclosing My True Identity
Despite what one may assume from what Oliver wrote above, he saw nothing with
his physical eyes, but only through the “eyes of his understanding.” Oliver received a vision
and saw “the angel from glory” exactly like Sidney Rigdon would later see “the Father, the
Son and the holy angels” on February 16, 1832, at Hiram, Ohio. Sidney publicly declared
while alongside Joseph, that he
beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of
his fulness; And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his
throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.
And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is
the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw
him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record
that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.^128Neither Oliver nor Sidney saw or heard anything with their physical senses. “By the
power of the Spirit, [their] eyes were opened and [their] understandings were enlightened, so as to
see and understand the things of God.” As these adrenaline and spiritually driven men were
“meditat[ing] upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of [their] understandings and they were
opened.”^129 Oliver reported it correctly when he wrote, “No; nor has this earth power to give the joy,
to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were
delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit!”
Hyrum understood the difference between an actual experience and an event
“given by God” to enlighten one’s wisdom and understanding. For this reason, there is
no record in the annals of Mormon history where Hyrum makes a claim of actually
seeing an angel or hearing the voice of God, or asserts to any other supernatural event to
which others would later bear personal witness. He did, however, sign an affidavit
concerning the gold plates, but makes no assertion of any special manifestation. (The
reason for him giving his affidavit as one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
was explained in chapter 24.)
Oliver also understood the difference. As mentioned earlier in this book, Oliver
recognized the importance of Joseph giving the people what they desired as instructed
by the Lord and supported by Book of Mormon scripture.^130 He supported Joseph’s role in
what God expected of his messenger until Joseph began to do things that Oliver did not
personally like or understand.
Oliver assumed that the events of May 15, 1829 would be held “sacred” and undisclosed
to the people. So when Joseph approached Oliver in 1837 and asked for him to support
presenting the “ordination of the priesthood as coming from an actual visitation from John the
Baptist (Hyrum) through the laying on of hands, and then also a “higher priesthood” being
received from Peter, James, and John, Oliver would not agree.
“Why couldn’t Joseph just leave it alone and allow the people to have the
priesthood without worrying about where it came from, except that it came from ‘an angel
of God’?” Oliver would often ask himself. After his excommunication, Oliver never again
supported a “stumbling block” given by Joseph. In 1838, Cowdery left Joseph and quit
organized religion for good, along with the other two actual witnesses and the only
mortals at the time, besides Joseph, who had ever seen an advanced being—Martin Harris
and David Whitmer.