Oliver Granger

In Doctrine and Covenants 117 we read the following:

12 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.

Enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints like to ask members who Oliver Granger is. Normally they get a blank look in response. Do you know who he is? I wouldn't know if I had not researched this alleged "false prophecy". Stephen R. Gibson answers this better than I can so I'll simply give you his wonderful response. He writes the following in One Minute Answers.

Anti-Mormons take great delight in asking unsuspecting Latter-day Saints who Oliver Granger was. Few know the answer. Then the detractors claim, "That proves that this is a false prophecy since Joseph Smith said that all would remember Oliver Granger and no one does."

Let's look a little further into the subject. Oliver Granger was the financial agent for the Church who was asked to settle the affairs of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio, after the Saints left that area. The surest evidence that Oliver Granger is held in sacred remembrance is that his name is included in one of our four most sacred books, the Doctrine and Covenants. This, in itself, fulfills the prophecy. The verse also states that the Lord remembers him. How much more sacred remembrance can one have than being remembered by the Lord? Detractors instead 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.

Psalms 45:17 contains an additional Old Testament parallel. Here, David writes about a woman: "I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee forever and ever." The problem is, her name is not included in the Bible so that we might remember it forever.

The double standard of expecting the Latter-day Saints to remember Oliver Granger, but not expecting all believers in the Bible to remember to preach about the woman who anointed the Savior, nor the woman about whom David spoke, should be quite evident.

What can I say? He's right.