Oliver Granger - Special Assignment and Prophecy

Special Assignment and Prophecy

In 1838, after most of the Latter Day Saints had left Kirtland and settled in Far West, Missouri, Granger was asked by the First Presidency 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 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. 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.