John Whitmer
| John Whitmer | |
|---|---|
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| Official church historians | |
| March 8, 1831 – 1835 | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith |
| Predecessor | Oliver Cowdery (Acting) |
| Successor | Oliver Cowdery |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 27, 1802 York, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | July 11, 1878 (aged 75) Far West, Missouri, United States |
| Resting place | Kingston Cemetery 39°38′51″N 94°02′12″W / 39.6474°N 94.0367°W |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah M Whitmer |
| Parents |
Peter Whitmer, Sr. Mary Elsa Musselman |
| Relatives | Including brothers: Christian Whitmer Jacob Whitmer David Whitmer Peter Whitmer, Jr. |
| Website | Brief Biography of John Whitmer |
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John Whitmer (August 27, 1802 – July 11, 1878) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Whitmer was also the first official Church Historian and a member of the presidency of the church in Missouri.
Whitmer was born in York, Pennsylvania, to Peter Whitmer, Sr. and Mary Musselman. By the 1820s, the Whitmer family had moved to a farm in Fayette, in New York's Finger Lakes area.
Whitmer's brother David and his entire family became early believers in Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. 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. In that same month, Whitmer became one of eight men who signed a testimony that they had handled and been shown the golden plates. Known as the "Testimony of the Eight Witnesses", the statement was printed in the first edition of the Book of Mormon and has been included in almost every subsequent edition.
The church was formally organized on April 6, 1830. 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, 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 50, and in the Doctrine and Covenants (originally section 63, the revelation is now section 47 of the LDS Church edition).
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