John Whitmer
Encyclopedia
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. He was one of the Eight Witnesses
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who signed a statement stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith, Jr. said was his source material for the book...
of the Book of Mormon's
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
. He was also the first official Church Historian and a member of the presidency of the church in Missouri.
Foundation of the Latter Day Saint Movement
John Whitmer was born in York, PennsylvaniaYork, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
to Peter Whitmer, Sr.
Peter Whitmer, Sr.
Peter Whitmer, Sr. was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, and father of the movement's second founding family.Peter Whitmer, Sr. was born April 14, 1773 in Pennsylvania and married Mary Elsa Musselman. The Whitmers had eight children together: Christian, Jacob, John, David,...
and Mary Musselman
Mary Whitmer
Mary Musselman Whitmer was a Mormon Witness, the wife of Peter Whitmer, Sr. Through her son David Whitmer, she and her family became acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jr. around 1828...
. By the 1820s, the Whitmer family had moved to a farm in Fayette
Fayette, New York
Fayette is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 3,643 at the 2000 census.The Town of Fayette is on the western border of the county and is southeast of Geneva, New York.- History :...
, in New York's Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
area. John Whitmer's brother, David
David Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
and his entire family became early believers in Joseph Smith Jr. — the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Whitmer was baptized into the movement by Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
in June 1829, nearly a year prior to the formal organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In that same month, Whitmer became one of eight men who signed a testimony that they had handled and been shown the Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
. Known as the "Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who signed a statement stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith, Jr. said was his source material for the book...
" the statement was printed in the first edition of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
and has been included in almost every subsequent edition.
The original church was formally organized on April 6, 1830, traditionally in the Whitmer home in Fayette. Whitmer was one of the earliest members and he was ordained an elder of the church on June 9. The next year, on March 8, 1831, Joseph Smith said that he received a revelation from God, calling Whitmer to "write and keep a regular history" of the church. This revelation was printed by Latter Day Saints as Book of Commandments
Book of Commandments
The Book of Commandments is the earliest published volume said to contain the revelations of Joseph Smith Jr. Text published in the Book of Commandments is now considered scripture by Latter-day Saints as part of the larger Doctrine and Covenants....
50, and in the Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
(originally section 63, the revelation is now section 47 of the current LDS edition).
Leader of the Church in Missouri
Later in 1831, Whitmer joined the growing number of Latter Day Saints in Jackson County, MissouriJackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
. Local opposition to Mormon settlement in the county resulted in the expulsion of most of the Latter Day Saints by the summer of 1833. Whitmer, along with many of the others, took refugee in neighboring Clay County. At a July 3, 1834 conference of the church, Whitmer's brother David was called to be president of the church in Missouri. John Whitmer and William Wines Phelps were called as David's counselors. Because David returned to Kirtland, Whitmer and Phelps were left to preside in his absence. Whitmer wrote several petitions to Missouri's governor, Daniel Dunklin
Daniel Dunklin
Daniel Dunklin was the fifth Governor of Missouri from 1832 to 1836. He was born in 1790 in Greenville, South Carolina, and died in 1844 near Herculaneum, Missouri, where he is buried. His grave is a state historic site and interprets Dunklin's role as the Father of Public Schools, as well as...
, asking that the Latter Day Saints be allowed to return to their lands in Jackson County.
Working with sympathetic non-Mormon residents in Clay County, including Alexander Doniphan, Whitmer and Phelps began to purchase land northeast of Clay in what became a new county, set aside for Mormon settlement. Together with Phelps, Whitmer purchased land for the church in his name in what became Caldwell County
Caldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri in November of 1833 and had been refugees in...
and founded the town of Far West
Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
.
Whitmer's excommunication
Problems at church headquarters in Kirtland relating to the Kirtland Safety SocietyKirtland Safety Society
The Kirtland Safety Society was a quasi-bank organized in 1836 by leaders and followers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. According to KSS's 1837 "Articles of Agreement", it was intended to serve the banking needs of the growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio...
bank, caused Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
to relocate to Far West in early 1838. A brief leadership struggle ensued, which led to the excommunication of the John Whitmer and the entire Whitmer family as well as Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, W. W. Phelps and others. These men continued to live in Far West for a time and became known as the "dissenters". Sidney Rigdon, in his Salt Sermon
Salt Sermon
The salt sermon was an oration delivered on June 17, 1838 by Mormon leader, Sidney Rigdon, against Mormon dissenters. Rigdon was First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and often acted as spokesman for Joseph Smith, Jr....
, warned the dissenters to leave the county and his words were soon followed up by perceived threats from the newly formed Mormon confraternity known as the Danite
Danite
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the 1838 Mormon War...
s.
The Whitmer family moved to Richmond
Richmond, Missouri
Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,797 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ray County.-Geography:Richmond is located at...
in neighboring Ray County, Missouri. Their complaints and those of the other dissenters are sometimes cited as one of the causes of the 1838 Mormon War. This conflict between Latter Day Saints and their neighbors in northwestern Missouri ended with the expulsion of the former, who eventually relocated to a new headquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
.
Whitmer returns to Far West
John Whitmer's parents and his brother David remained in Richmond for the rest of their lives, but John and his own family returned to Far West. Emptied of the Latter Day Saints, Far West became something of a ghost town. Many of its houses were moved off to other settlements, and Far West lost the county seat to nearby KingstonKingston, Missouri
Kingston is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 287 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caldwell County.-Geography:Kingston is located at...
. Whitmer continued to live in Far West, buying up land (including the temple site) and eventually amassing a large farm. He occasionally gave visitors tours of the former settlement.
After Joseph Smith's assassination in 1844, several leaders asserted their claims to be his rightful successor. Among these was Whitmer's brother David. In 1847, Whitmer was briefly part of a renewed Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
The Church of Christ was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement based on the claims of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates....
.
Whitmer died on July 11, 1878 in Far West. He is buried in Kingston Cemetery in nearby Kingston.
Scholars honor John Whitmer
An independent body of historians of the Community of Christ movement, the John Whitmer Historical AssociationJohn Whitmer Historical Association
The John Whitmer Historical Association "is an independent scholarly society composed of individuals of various religious faiths who share a lively interest in ......
, takes their name from John Whitmer.
Whitmer's Manuscript
After his call as Church Historian, Whitmer began to write a record entitled, The Book of John Whitmer, Kept by Commandment. His book begins with an account of events leading up to the relocation of the church's headquarters from New York to Kirtland, Ohio. He discusses many of the troubles experienced by the Latter Day Saints in Missouri and ends the work with an account of his own excommunication in March 1838. Afterwards, a continuation tells of the mistreatment he felt he and the other "dissenters" had received at the hands of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. Whitmer's manuscript is now in the archives of the Community of ChristCommunity of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
, the second largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
.