1. John Whitmer was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.
31 Facts About John Whitmer
1. 2.
John Whitmer was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates.
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John Whitmer was born in Pennsylvania on August 27,1802, to Peter John Whitmer, Sr.
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In 1809, the John Whitmer family moved to Fayette, New York.
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John Whitmer was baptized into the movement by Oliver Cowdery in June 1829, nearly a year prior to the formal organization of the Church of Christ.
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In that same month, John Whitmer became one of eight men who signed a testimony that they had handled and been shown the golden plates.
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John Whitmer moved to the church's new headquarters at Kirtland, Ohio, in December 1830 at the encouragement of Joseph Smith.
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The next year, on March 8,1831, Smith said that he received a revelation from God, calling John Whitmer to "write and keep a regular history" of the church.
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John Whitmer soon began writing a historical record of the church, a project he worked on until about 1847.
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John Whitmer was made a high priest in the church by Lyman Wight on June 4,1831 and acted as one of Joseph Smith's scribes during the final steps of the Book of Mormon translation.
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Later in 1831, John Whitmer joined the growing number of Latter Day Saints in Jackson County, Missouri.
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John Whitmer wrote several petitions to Missouri's governor, Daniel Dunklin, asking that the Latter Day Saints be allowed to return to their lands in Jackson County.
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John Whitmer edited the Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate from 1835 to 1836 in his capacity as a member of the church presidency.
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Together with Phelps, John Whitmer founded the town of Far West.
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John Whitmer remained a member of the church presidency until his excommunication in 1838.
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John Whitmer was accused of "persisting in unchristianlike conduct," particularly in his financial dealings; he allegedly allotted $2,000 worth of the church's money for his own personal use.
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John Whitmer continued to live in Far West for a time and became known as one of the "dissenters".
18.
John Whitmer continued to live in Far West, buying up land and eventually amassing a large farm.
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John Whitmer occasionally gave visitors tours of the former settlement.
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In 1847, John Whitmer was briefly part of a renewed Church of Christ.
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John Whitmer never recanted the testimony of the Book of Mormon he'd given as one of the Eight Witnesses.
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When Jacob Gates visited him in 1861, John Whitmer reaffirmed that he believed in the Book of Mormon but expressed dismay with the practice of plural marriage that Brigham Young and his followers adhered to.
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John Whitmer died at the age of 75 on July 11,1878, in Far West.
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John Whitmer is buried in nearby Kingston, Missouri in the Kingston Cemetery.
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In 1831 Whitmer was called as Church Historian, and began then to write a record entitled The Book of John Whitmer, Kept by Commandment.
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John Whitmer's book begins with an account of events leading up to the relocation of the church's headquarters from New York to Kirtland, Ohio.
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John Whitmer 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.
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John Whitmer initially resisted Joseph Smith's 1831 request to serve as the church historian but eventually accepted after receiving a revelation affirming it as God's will.
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Once appointed, John Whitmer diligently recorded church events, incorporating revelations, letters, and other documents into his history.
30.
John Whitmer later revised his work, removing earlier conciliatory remarks and adding critical commentary on church leadership.
31.
John Whitmer's manuscript was given by a descendant of David John Whitmer to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who maintained ownership for over a century.