Newel K. Whitney
Newel Kimball Whitney (born February 5, 1795 in Marlboro , Vermont , † September 23, 1850 in Salt Lake City , Utah ) was a businessman and Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .
Newel K. Whitney was the second child and the first son of a total of nine children of Samuel Whitney and his wife Susanna nee. Kimball. When he left his home is unclear. In 1814 he was a sutler or trader in the village of Plattsburg, New York, and took part (according to his brother Samuel F. Whitney) in the Battle of Champlain.
In about 1817 he moved to Painsville, Ohio, where he met a merchant named Algernon Sidney Gilbert. He recognized his business skills, took him on amicably into his shop and taught him accounting skills. A few years later there is talk of the flourishing trading company Gilbert & Whitney in Kirtland, a few kilometers from Painsville . Whitney married Elizabeth Ann Smith on October 20, 1822. He continued to increase his wealth.
Initially not particularly religious, the couple joined the Campellites, whose preacher in Kirtland Sidney Rigdon was. As elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preached the restored gospel in Kirtland, both of them, along with most of the campellites, joined that church. Newel K. Whitney was baptized on November 30, 1830 a few days after his wife.
When Joseph Smith came to Kirtland in February 1831, he first lived in the Whitney's house for a few weeks, where he also wrote some of the revelations that are today in the Doctrine and Covenants . On December 4, 1831, Newel K. Whitney was called by revelation as the Second Bishop of the Church in charge of Kirtland. In this capacity he had a great deal to do with the material basis of the church, the center of which was initially his shop and warehouse. Whitney remained loyal to the Prophet when many followers turned away from Joseph Smith in 1837 over the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society and other controversial matters, some of them hostile to him.
On October 5, 1839, after the Saints were driven from Missouri, Whitney was called to serve as bishop of the Nauvoo Middle Ward . He held this office until October 7, 1844, when he was called to be First Bishop of the Church. In this capacity he handled many emigration matters that became particularly urgent after the premature expulsion from Nauvoo in February 1846. Therefore he stayed in Winter Quarters until 1848, where he was confirmed as Presiding Bishop. In 1848 he led a pioneer train to Salt Lake City, where he arrived on October 8th.
On September 23, 1850, Newel K. Whitney died of pleurisy at His home in Salt Lake City. According to the commandments of the time, he had lived in plural marriage and had 14 children.
Individual evidence
- ^ Deseret Morning News, Church Almanac 2007, p. 93
- ↑ Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
- ↑ See Doctrine and Covenants 72: 5-8
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Whitney, Newel K. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Whitney, Newel Kimball (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Businessman and Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 5, 1795 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marlboro, Vermont |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 23, 1850 |
| Place of death | Salt Lake City , Utah |