Oliver H. Olney

1842 * Squaw Grove, Illinois

Oliver H. Olney (1796-1845?) was president of the teachers quorum at Kirtland, Ohio, in 1836. In December 1836, he was ordained a seventy. On March 17, 1842, was removed from fellowship in the Original Church on charges of having set himself up as a prophet. An editorial comment in the Times and Seasons reads, “Mr. Olney has also been tried by the high council and disfellowshipped because he would not have his writings tested by the word of God; evidently proving that he loves darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil.”

Olney claimed to have been set apart by the “ancient of days” as a prophet and charged with setting up a new dispensation. Squaw Grove, Illinois, was to be the gathering place.

Olney published two pamphlets, one called The Absurdities of Mormonism Portrayed, published March 3, 1843, and Spiritual Wifery at Nauvoo Exposed, published in St. Louis in 1845.

In his first publication, Olney touches on the practices and doctrines of the Original Church with which he disagreed. He also makes reference to his writings, including his revelations, which were taken from him, presumably by the high council which tried his case of membership in the church. Olney gives evidence of polygamy at Nauvoo, including information that it had its earliest beginnings in Kirtland. He discusses a brief history of the church and the persecutions endured by the church. He talks about the temple, John C. Bennett, and the inequalities he felt existed in the church.

Whether Olney was successful in gathering converts is unknown.