Christian Whitmer
{{Short description|Witness of the Book of Mormon's golden plates}}
{{Infobox Latter Day Saint biography
| name = Christian Whitmer
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1798|01|18|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Dauphin, Pennsylvania, United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1835|11|27|1798|01|18|mf=yes}}
| death_place = Clay County, Missouri
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| known_for = One of the Eight Witnesses
| spouse = Ann Schott
| parents = Peter Whitmer, Sr.
Mary Musselman
| portals = movement
}}
Christian Whitmer (January 18, 1798 – November 27, 1835) was the eldest son of Peter Whitmer, Sr. and Mary Musselman. He is primarily remembered as one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates.
Biography
Born in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, Whitmer moved with his parents to New York in 1809. On February 22, 1825, he married Ann Schott (1801–1866) in Fayette, New York. In June 1829 he possibly assisted Joseph Smith with the translation of a few pages of the Book of Mormon by acting as his scribe.{{cite book |last=Welch |first=John W. |date=2005 |editor-last=Welch |editor-first=John W. |title=Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844 |publisher=BYU Press |pages=94-95 |chapter=The Miraculous Translation of the Book of Mormon}}{{cite web |url=https://interpreterfoundation.org/news-publication-of-part-6-of-volume-3-of-the-critical-text-of-the-book-of-mormon |title=Summary of Spelling in the Manuscripts and Editions, Part 6 of Volume 3, The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon |last=Skousen |first=Royal |date=2020-07-01 |access-date=26 June 2023}} That same month, Joseph Smith showed Whitmer, along with several of his brothers, the gold plates; Whitmer subsequently signed a declaration of the Eight Witnesses. On April 11, 1830, he and Ann were baptized into the newly organized Church of Christ. Upon its organization, Whitmer was made a teacher in the church.{{cite web|title=The Joseph Smith Papers: Minutes, 9 June 1830|url=http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/minutes-9-june-1830|publisher=The Church Historian's Press: The Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|access-date=11 February 2014}} They subsequently moved to Jackson County, Missouri, where Whitmer was appointed a leading elder of the church.
By 1835, Whitmer and his family had relocated to the new Latter Day Saint settlement of Far West, Missouri, where Whitmer was a member of the high council. He died there on November 27, 1835,{{Cite news|url=https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/7197/rec/2|title=Died|date=December 1835|work=Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate|access-date=January 2, 2020|volume=2}} leaving no children. His widow, Ann, eventually returned to Fayette.
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book | last = Jenson | first = Andrew | title = Latter-day Saint biographical encyclopedia: A compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints | volume = 1 | date = 1901 | publisher = The Andrew Jenson History Company (Printed by The Deseret News Press) | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | page = [https://archive.org/details/latterdaysaint01jensuoft/page/276 276]}}
- Keith W. Perkins, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/02/true-to-the-book-of-mormon-the-whitmers "True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers"], Ensign, February 1989.
{{Book of Mormon Witnesses}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmer, Christian}}
Category:American Latter Day Saints
Category:Book of Mormon witnesses
Category:Converts to Mormonism
Category:Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
Category:People from Far West, Missouri
Category:People from Fayette, New York
Category:Religious leaders from New York (state)
{{LDS-stub}}