Mormon Devotion and Rebellion: The Story of the Oliver Granger Family

Oliver Granger became a devoted follower to a fledgling religious movement started by Joseph Smith, which later became the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After being a sheriff in the western New York county, where Joseph was repeatedly in trouble with the law, Oliver had a remarkable conversion to the Mormon beliefs. After joining the Mormon church in 1833, he became Joseph Smith’s chief financial confidant during the infamous Mormon banking crisis in 1837, and he continued to handle church finances until his death in 1841.

Oliver and his wife had four children, three of which remained devoted to the Mormon church. Indeed, a daughter, Sarah Granger Kimball, became one of the founders of the church’s Relief Society and later president of the Utah Woman Suffrage Association. The Granger family is filled with intrigue as son, Gilbert, challenges Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders with unpaid financial notes, and starts a prolonged battle with the church leader.