David Whitmer

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Photograph by David Whitmer from 1864

David Whitmer ( January 7, 1805 near Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , † January 25, 1888 in Richmond , Missouri ) was instrumental in the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as one of the three witnesses whose testimony was given to the Book of Mormon authenticity is reproduced in each copy.

Life

David Whitmer was born near Harrisburg on January 7, 1805 to Peter Whitmer senior and Mary Whitmer, b. Musselmann born. The family moved to Fayette , New York State , in 1809 , where they ran a large farm. The family learned by Oliver Cowdery by the work of Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon and believed in the divine order for this work. When the persecution grew too severe in Harmony , Pennsylvania, the Whitmer family offered Joseph Smith and his scribe Oliver Cowdery their farm as shelter and additional support for the final phase of this work. The translation was completed there in June 1829, and in the same month David Whitmer, along with Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery, were called as the "three witnesses" whose testimony has since been found in every copy of the Book of Mormon.

In the same month, David Whitmer and his brothers John and Peter jun. commissioned by Joseph Smith to teach the new doctrine as missionaries.

When the Church moved from New York to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1831, and then to Jackson County, Missouri , designated as Zion , the meeting place for the Saints, the Whitmer family moved with it. In July 1832 they were settled in the village of Kaw on the Big Blue River (now Kansas City ). Differences with other residents turned into violence that led to the eviction of the Saints from Jackson County in 1833. The Whitmers also settled in more northerly Clay County, Missouri , where a stake was organized in 1834 due to the increasing number of church members , and David Whitmer became president.

In 1835, David Whitmer, along with Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris, selected the first twelve modern apostles based on an earlier revelation from Joseph Smith (the three witnesses) . After David Whitmer had repeated differences with Joseph Smith, he finally fell out with the Prophet in the wake of the turmoil over the Kirtland Safety Society of 1837. As early as February 1837, apostates wanted him to head the Church in place of Joseph Smith. He was expelled from the Church on April 13, 1838 on the grounds that he had the same spirit as the apostate.

As David Whitmer felt his life threatened by his former co-religionists, he left them and settled in Richmond, where he spent the rest of his life. Whitmer ran a horse rental stable until his death and lived as a respected citizen who held numerous public offices. He worked on exhibition committees, was a city councilor and was elected mayor. David Whitmer died in Richmond on January 25, 1888, bearing testimony on his deathbed that the Book of Mormon was an actual scripture.

Witness for the Book of Mormon

Most importantly, David Whitmer is of outstanding importance to both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their critics because of the three Witnesses he was the only one who never returned to the Church and who was most responsive to his experiences was asked about the coming of the Book of Mormon. There are numerous reports of such interviews. The most detailed is his 1887 pamphlet To all believers. Here he describes his rejection of many things that were done in the Church and that Joseph Smith decided, but maintains that he actually saw the gold plates of the Book of Mormon and that they are of divine origin.

President of the Church of Christ (Whitmerite)

After Joseph Smith's death in 1844, some disagreed with Brigham Young's leadership rallied and organized the Church of Christ (Whitmerite) in 1847. Recalling David Whitmer's previous role in the leadership of the Church, they asked him to be their President. David Whitmer did not join the movement and it broke up relatively quickly. Whitmer revived it in 1876 by calling his nephew John C. Whitmer an elder and giving him the title of "first elder." The last member of this community died in 1961.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Mormonism, McMillan Publishing Company, New York 1992, p. 1564 ff, also digitized under [1]
  2. ↑ Testimony of the three witnesses
  3. ↑ See Doctrine and Covenants, sections 14 , 15, and 16
  4. Jump up ↑ Doctrine and Covenants 18:37
  5. ↑ With Joseph Smith III and others (Richmond, Missouri, July 1884), originally published in The Saints' Herald , January 28, 1936; Letter from David Whitmer to Anthony Metcalf, March 1887. Quoted in Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1981; P. 86. etc.
  6. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter Day Saint Movement ; Bountiful, UT: Restoration Research, 1982, 3rd edition
personal data
SURNAME Whitmer, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Co-founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
DATE OF BIRTH January 7, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH near Harrisburg , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1888
Place of death Richmond , Missouri