It would be logical to assume that the Prophet Joseph would have given the first public discourse in this dispensation, but he didn't. Just as Aaron was chosen to be the spokesman for Moses, Oliver Cowdery was given the same privilege for Joseph. Thus it was Oliver whom Joseph chose to deliver the talk to the public, which had been invited to meet in the Peter Whitmer, Sr. home at Fayette New York on April 11 1830. Several neighbors attended that first public meeting of the Church and several were baptized in Seneca Lake following the discourse. Unfortunately, there was no scribe to record exactly what Oliver said or whether Joseph had anything to say on that historic occasion.

HC, 1:81