Larry Morris spoke on the Cowdery Controversies.

Here is the list of his questions covered, minus all the source documentation and his extended explanation.

1.  Were William Cowdery and Joseph Smith Sr. involved in an 1802 money-digging fiasco that came to be known as the “Wood Scrape”?  Answer:  Neither man is mentioned in contemporary accounts of the incident.

2.  Did Oliver Know Ethan Smith?  Answer:  We don’t know; no evidence of an association has been found.

3.  Did Oliver go to New York in the early 1820s, get involved in the printing business, visit Joseph Smith’s family, or act as William Morgan’s scribe?  Answer:  The best evidence indicates that he did not arrive in New York until about 1827, had no printing experience until 1829, did not meet the Smiths until 1828, and never met William Morgan.

4.  Did Oliver deny his testimony in published writings?  Answer:  No, “Confession” and Defence are now both considered to be forgeries.

5.  Did Oliver practice plural marriage in the 1830s?  Answer:  Quite possibly; Brigham Young and Benjamin F. Johnson both make this claim.

6.  Did Oliver accuse Joseph Smith of adultery?  Answer: Yes, as shown by his letter to Warren Cowdery and the Far West minutes.

7.  Did Oliver renounce Mormonism and join the Methodist Church?  Answer:  Gabriel Keen made an uncorroborated claim in 1885 that Oliver had renounced Mormonism; Oliver was definitely affiliated with the Methodist Church in Tiffin, Ohio.

8.  Did Oliver bear his testimony in a dramatic courtroom setting?  Answer:  Brigham Young and others make this claim, which “rests on less than satisfactory grounds.”

9.  Was Oliver known to be unstable?  Answer:  No contemporary of Oliver’s is known to have made this claim.