The Whitmers
A Preface to Studying Doctrine and Covenants 14, 15, and 15
J.J.
In the Come Follow Me manual for the Doctrine and Covenants, the authors note the relative obscurity of the region in which the Book of Mormon was translated:
Most people around the world have probably never heard of Harmony, Pennsylvania. The Lord often chooses humble places for the most significant events in His kingdom. In a wooded area near Harmony on May 15, 1829, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He placed his hands on their heads and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon them, calling them “my fellow servants” (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1).
This geographical note reminded me to share a map of this region:
This map of the Northeastern United States of America is also helpful:
In this map we zoom in to Palmyra and the Hill Cumorah where Joseph Smith retrieved the records:
It is no coincidence that Joseph Smith was born where he was born. It is no coincidence that the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took place in this region. This is the same region where two great prior civilizations were destroyed. The Jaredites were destroyed in what is now the northeastern United States, and the Nephites were destroyed in the same region. Out of the rubble and ashes of these two great and fallen civilizations, the Jaredites and the Nephites, Joseph Smith, phoenix-like, arose.
In June of 1829, in Fayette, New York (in the Finger Lakes region, not far from Palmyra), the Prophet Joseph Smith received revelations through the Urim and Thummim on behalf of three sons of Peter Whitmer, Sr., namely David Whitmer (D&C 14), John Whitmer (D&C 15), and Peter Whitmer, Jr. (D&C 16). The Whitmer family had become greatly interested in the Book of Mormon, and Joseph and Oliver moved into the home of Peter Whitmer, Sr. to complete the translation of the Book of Mormon. These three Whitmer sons, David, John, and Peter, received testimonies of the truth of the work of the Lord and, like Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Joseph Knight, Sr. and others before them, they became deeply concerned about their individual duty in the Lord’s work. These three revelations (D&C 14, 15, 16) were given in response to their faith and righteous desires and the inquiry of the Prophet Joseph Smith through the Urim and Thummim.
The Whitmer brothers played an important role in the early Restoration and the rise of the Church of Jesus Christ. David Whitmer later became one of the three special witnesses of the Book of Mormon, and John Whitmer and Peter Whitmer were later numbered among the eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon. As with the Lord’s revelations to Oliver Cowdery before them (even though these revelations are similar in many ways), the Lord’s revelations to the Whitmer brothers demonstrate His intimate personal knowledge of each one of them.
The Lord’s personal message to David Whitmer (D&C 14) and to us is similar to previous revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants in that the Lord announces that His great and marvelous work is about to come forth, commands David (and us) to give heed to His quick and powerful word, declares that the field is white already to harvest, promises to open unto those who knock, commands to seek to bring forth and establish His Zion, and commands to keep His commandments in all things.
Along with His commandments, the Lord promises blessings, to David and to us:
And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
And it shall come to pass, that if you shall ask the Father in my name, in faith believing, you shall receive the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance, that you may stand as a witness of the things of which you shall both hear and see, and also that you may declare repentance unto this generation. (D&C 14:7-8)
David Whitmer later stood as a witness (one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon) of the things that he both heard and saw, and that he also declared repentance. David Whitmer had helped Joseph and Oliver to move from Harmony, Pennsylvania to Fayette, New York (about 135 miles). David Whitmer was about a year older than Joseph Smith, although he was born earlier in the same year (1805). On July 7, 1834, David Whitmer was even chosen and ordained as the successor to Joseph Smith and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
David Whitmer assisted in choosing the twelve apostles in 1835, and he participated in the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836. However, he was rejected by the Missouri saints as president of the Church in Missouri on February 5, 1838. Soon thereafter, he was excommunicated for apostasy, and even though he was recognized by his peers as a prominent citizen and business man, and elected mayor in Richmond, Ray County, Missouri, he remained separate from the Church for about fifty years until his death in 1888. This is a story that I would like to learn more about. (see The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, by Lyndon W. Cook, pp. 24-25))
Let’s examine the rest of the Lord’s revelations to the Whitmer brothers in the next post.
S.D.G.