Oliver Granger
Encyclopedia
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. He was the subject of one of the prophecies of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr.
Early life
Granger was born in PhelpsPhelps (town), New York
Phelps is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 7,017 at the 2000 census. The town is named after one of the original proprietors.The Town of Phelps contains a village called Phelps. Both are north of Geneva, New York....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to Pierce Granger and Clarissa Trumbull. Before becoming a Latter Day Saint, he was a member of the Methodist Church and a licensed preacher. On September 8, 1813, Granger married Lydia Dibble. During the 1820s, Granger was a sheriff in Ontario County, New York
Ontario County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 100,224 people, 38,370 households, and 26,360 families residing in the county. The population density was 156 people per square mile . There were 42,647 housing units at an average density of 66 per square mile...
. In 1827, Granger lost most of his vision due to cold and exposure.
Latter Day Saint member and missionary
Granger and his wife became converted to the Latter Day Saint religion after they both read the Book of MormonBook of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
in 1832. Granger was baptized at Sodus, New York
Sodus, New York
Sodus, New York may refer to:*Sodus , New York in Wayne County*Sodus , New York in Wayne County...
, by Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
and was ordained to be an elder of the Church of Christ by Young on the same day. Almost immediately, Granger set out on a mission
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
for the young church.
In 1833, Granger joined the gathering of Latter Day Saints in Kirtland
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He was assigned by Joseph Smith to serve another mission in the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with Samuel Newcomb. When Granger returned to Kirtland he was ordained to the priesthood office of high priest and became a member of the Kirtland high council
High council (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter-day Saint denominations...
. In 1836, Granger was again asked by Smith to serve a mission; he worked mainly in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with John P. Greene
John P. Greene
John Portineus Greene was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.Greene was born in Herkimer, New York. He was a Methodist minister at Mendon, New York. He was friends with Heber C. Kimball and they claimed to witness "signs in the heavens" on September 22, 1827...
, establishing large branches of the church in Huntsburg and Perry
Perry, New York
Perry, New York is the name of two locations in Wyoming County, New York.*Perry , New York*Perry , New York...
.
Special assignment and prophecy
In 1838, after most of the Latter Day Saints had left Kirtland and settled in Far WestFar West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Granger was asked by the First Presidency
First Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
to return to Kirtland to be the church's agent in settling outstanding church debts and selling property the Latter Day Saints owned in Ohio. This calling was extended to Granger in a revelation
Revelation (Latter Day Saints)
Latter Day Saints teach that the Latter Day Saint movement began with a Revelation from God . They also teach that revelation is the foundation of the church established by Jesus Christ and that it remains an essential element of His true church today...
given to Joseph Smith on July 8, 1838, which is today printed as the 117th section of the LDS Church's edition of the Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
. The portion of the revelation addressed to Granger reads as follows:
And again, I say unto you, I remember my servant Oliver Granger; behold, verily I say unto him that his name shall be had in sacred remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord. Therefore, let him contend earnestly for the redemption of the First Presidency of my Church, saith the Lord; and when he falls he shall rise again, for his sacrifice shall be more sacred unto me than his increase, saith the Lord. Therefore, let him come up hither speedily, unto the land of Zion; and in the due time he shall be made a merchant unto my name, saith the Lord, for the benefit of my people. Therefore let no man despise my servant Oliver Granger, but let the blessings of my people be on him forever and ever.
Granger performed this assignment with such satisfaction to the creditors involved that one of them wrote: “Oliver Granger’s management in the arrangement of the unfinished business of people that have moved to the Far West, in redeeming their pledges and thereby sustaining their integrity, has been truly praiseworthy, and has entitled him to my highest esteem, and every grateful recollection.” However, Granger was largely unsuccessful in selling the church's property, and most of it would eventually fall into the hands of others who would never pay the church any remuneration.
Granger remained in Kirtland until his death in 1841 at the age of 47. Even though there were few Latter Day Saints in the area at the time, his funeral was attended "by a vast concourse of people" from Kirtland and neighboring towns.
Prophecy controversy
Some critics of Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saint movement have pointed to Smith's revelation to Granger as an example of a "false prophecy"; the critics allege that even though Smith's revelation stated that Granger's name would be held "in sacred remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever", most MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s are unfamiliar with Granger's name or his activities. A Latter-day Saint apologist has responded to these charges by stating that "the words 'sacred remembrance' most likely refer to the fact that the Lord would remember him. After all, the verse begins with the Lord saying, 'I remember my servant Oliver Granger.'" Another Latter-day Saint apologist has written:
"Detractors ... imply that the Doctrine and Covenants says everyone will remember him. That is not what the revelation says. As long as we have the Doctrine and Covenants, Oliver Granger's name will be there, and therefore this declaration is fulfilled. The Bible student will find an interesting parallel in Matt. 26:13. Here the Savior states that wherever the gospel is preached, the act of the woman anointing him will be as a memorial to her. Last time the gospel was preached, did anyone tell the story about this woman? Not likely. But this doesn't detract from the truthfulness of the statement in the Bible any more than it would have regarding the Doctrine and Covenants, if that had been what D & C 117 had said. Her act was preserved in the Bible, and therefore this prophecy is fulfilled."