David Whitmer - The Most Interviewed Book of Mormon Witness

The Most Interviewed Book of Mormon Witness

Because Oliver Cowdery died in 1850 at age 43 and Martin Harris died in 1875 at age 91, David Whitmer was the only survivor of the Three Witnesses for 13 years. At Richmond, Missouri, he sometimes received several inquirers daily asking about his connection to the Book of Mormon, including Mormon missionaries who were traveling from Utah to the eastern United States and Europe. Despite his hostility toward the LDS Church, Whitmer always stood by his claim that he had actually seen the Golden Plates.

Nevertheless, his testimonies were recorded differently from one retelling to another. Recounting the vision to Orson Pratt in 1878, Whitmer claimed to have seen not only the Golden Plates but the "Brass Plates, the plates containing the record of the wickedness of the people of the world....the sword of Laban, the Directors (i.e. the ball which Lehi had) and the Interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed...."

In 1880, John Murphy interviewed Whitmer and later published an account suggesting that perhaps Whitmer's experience was a "delusion or perhaps a cunning scheme." Murphy's account said that Whitmer had not been able to describe the appearance of an angel and had likened Whitmer's experience to the "impressions as the quaker when the spirit moves, or as a good Methodist in giving a happy experience." Whitmer responded by publishing A Proclamation, reaffirming his testimony and saying,

"It having been represented by one John Murphy, of Polo, Caldwell County, Mo., that I, in a conversation with him last summer, denied my testimony as one of the three witnesses to the BOOK OF MORMON. To the end, therefore, that he may understand me now, if he did not then; and that the world may know the truth, I wish now, standing as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make this public statement: That I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof, which has so long since been published with that Book, as one of the three witnesses. Those who know me best, well know that I have always adhered to that testimony. And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do again affirm the truth of all of my statements, as then made and published. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear; it was no delusion!"

To the Proclamation Whitmer attached an affidavit attesting to his honesty and standing in the community. Whitmer ordered that his testimony to the Book of Mormon be placed on his tombstone.

A table listing the interviews of David Whitmer

The following table shows which interviews were cited in the following publications:

  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "David Whitmer and the Shaping of Latter-day Saint History," in The Disciple As Witness: Essays on Latter-Day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, edited by Richard Lloyd Anderson, Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry, and Andrew H. Hedges, Provo: FARMS, 2000, pp. 223–256.
  • Lyndon W. Cook, David Whitmer Interviews, Grandin Book, 1991.
  • Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, Vol. V, Signature Books, 2003.
  • John W. Welch and Erick B. Carlson eds., Opening the Heavens, Accounts of Divine Manifestations 1820-1844, Deseret Book, 2005. Twenty-one interviews were cited, the "x-#" refers to the document number in this volume only.
  • Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, Deseret Book, 1981.
Interviewer Interview Date Name of Publication Publication Date Godfrey Cook Vogel Welch Anderson
Eber D. Howe 1834 Mormonism Unvailed 1834 x
Lumon Andros Shurtliff 21 August 1836 Autobriography, LDS Church Archives 1852–1876 x
Thomas B. Marsh 1838 Deseret News 24 March 1858 x x
David H. Cannon 1861 Beatrice Cannon Evans and Janath Russell Cannon, eds. Cannon Family Historical Treasury, 250. 1967 x
David H. Cannon 1861 A. Karl Larson and Katherine Miles Larson, eds., Diary of Charles Lowell Walker, 1773—74, (11 June 1894). 1980 x x x
Davis H. Bays 13 September 1869 Saints' Herald 1 November 1869 x x
Henry Moon 9 January 1872 Deseret Evening News 10 April 1872 x x x
Eri B. Mullin 1874 Saints' Herald 27, 76 1 March 1880 x x x-83
James Caffall August 1874 Saints' Herald 15 September 1874 x x
Mark H. Forscutt 2 March 1875 Scrapbook, 16-17, reproduced in Inez Smith Davis The Story of the Church. Independence: Herald House, 75 1964 x
Chicago Times reporter August 1875 Chicago Times 7 August 1875 x x x
Dr. James N. Seymour 8 December 1875 Saints' Herald 26, 223 (Letter from David) 1879 x x x
Thomas Wood Smith January 1876 Fall River Herald (Mass.) 28 March 1879 x x-80
Thomas Wood Smith January 1876 Saints' Herald 27, 13 1 January 1880 x x x-82
Edward Stevenson 22—23 Dec. 1877 Diary of Edward Stevenson, LDS Church Archives x x x
Edward Stevenson 22—23 Dec. 1877 Journal History, LDS Church Archives x x
Edward Stevenson 22—23 Dec. 1877 Salt Lake Herald 2 February 1878 x x
Edward Stevenson 22—23 Dec. 1877 Reminiscences of Joseph, the Prophet and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon 1893 x
Joseph Smith III 2 February 1878 Community of Christ Library Archives (Letter) x x
P. Wilhelm Poulson 13 August 1878 Deseret Evening News 16 August 1878 x x x-79 x
Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith 7—8 Sept. 1878 Joseph F. Smith Diary, LDS Church Archives x x
Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith 7—8 Sept. 1878 Deseret News 16 November 1878 x
Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith 7—8 Sept. 1878 Orson Pratt correspondence, LDS Church Archives x x x
Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith 7—8 Sept. 1878 Andrew Jenson, Historical Record 6, 1886, 210. 1886 x-78
Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith 7—8 Sept. 1878 Joseph F. Smith Collection, LDS Church Archives x
Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith 7—8 Sept. 1878 Brian H. Stuy. Collected Discourses, Burbank: B.H.S. Pub. vol 2 1987-92 x
William E. McLellin June 1879 William E. McLellin Collection, NY Public Library. (Letter to James T. Cobb) 14 August 1880 x x
J. L. Traughber Jr. October 1879 Saints' Herald 26, 341 15 November 1879 x x-81
J. L. Traughber October 1879 T. A. Schroeder Papers, NY Public Library. (Letter to Theodore A. Schroeder) 21 August 1901
Heman C. Smith 5 December 1876 Community of Christ Library Archives (Letter) x x
John Murphy June 1880 Hamiltonian 21 January 1881 x x
John Murphy June 1880 Kingston Times 16 December 1887 x
E. S. Gilbert 1 August 1880 New Light on Mormonism by Ellen E. Dickson, NY: Funk and Wagnalls. 1885 x
David Whitmer 19 March 1881 Proclamation - Leaflet 19 March 1881 x x
David Whitmer 19 March 1881 Proclamation in Richmond Conservator 24 March 1881 x x
David Whitmer 19 March 1881 Proclamation in Hamiltonian 8 April 1881 x
David Whitmer 19 March 1881 Proclamation in Saints' Herald 1 June 1881 x
David Whitmer 19 March 1881 Proclamation in Address to All Believers in Christ 1 April 1887 x
Jesse R. Badham 20 March 1881 Diary of Jesse R. Badham, RLDS Church Library—Archives x x x
Jesse R. Badham 20 March 1881 Saints' Herald 1 April 1881 x x x
Kansas City Daily Journal reporter 1 June 1881 Kansas City Daily Journal 5 June 1881 x x-84 x
David Whitmer's corrections to Kansas City Daily Journal (13 June 1881) Kansas City Daily Journal 19 June 1881 x x-85
Chicago Times correspondent 14 October 1881 Chicago Times 17 October 1881 x x-86 x
Edwin Gordon Woolley 1882 Diary of Edwin Gordon Woolley, BYU Library—Archives x x x
Edwin Gordon Woolley 1882 E. G. Woolley Biography, BYU Library—Archives x
William H. Kelley, G. A. Blakeslee 15 January 1882 Saints' Herald 29, 68 1 March 1882 x x-87 x
Joseph Smith III et al. 4 April 1882 Saints' Herald 1 May 1882 x x x
John Morgan, Matthias F. Cowley 13 April 1882 John Morgan Diary, LDS Church Archives x x x
John Morgan, Matthias F. Cowley 13 April 1882 Arthur M. Richardson and Nicholas G. Morgan. The Life and Ministry of John Morgan. 323 1965 x x x
John Morgan, Matthias F. Cowley 13 April 1882 Diary of Matthias F. Cowley, LDS Church Archives x x x
J. W. Chatburn No Date Saints' Herald 15 June 1882 x
S. T. Mouch 18 November 1882 Whitmer Papers, Community of Christ Library Archives (Letter from David). x x
Moroni Pratt, S. R. Marks, et al. 30 June 1883 Bear Lake Democrat 3 & 14 July 1883 x x x
Moroni Pratt, S. R. Marks, et al. 30 June 1883 Deseret News 19 & 21 July 1883 x x x
James H. Hart 21 August 1883 James H. Hart Notebook (see Mormon in Motion: The Life and Journals of James H. Hart, 1825—1906, 216) x
James H. Hart 23 August 1883 Deseret Evening News 4 September 1883 x x
James H. Hart 21 August 1883 Bear Lake Democrat 15 September 1883 x
James H. Hart 21 August 1883 Contributor 5, 9-10 October 1883 x x
James H. Hart 21 August 1883 An Interview with David Whitmer in August, 1883 (Poem) 1883 x
George Q. Cannon 27 February 1884 George Q. Cannon Journal, LDS Church Archives x x-90
George Q. Cannon 27 February 1884 Instructor 80, 520 1945 x
James H. Hart 10 March 1884 Deseret Evening News 25 March 1884 x x-89
James H. Hart 10 March 1884 Deseret Evening News 10 April 1884 x
James H. Hart 10 March 1884 Bear Lake Democrat 28 March 1884 x
E. C. Briggs, Rudolph Etzenhouser 25 April 1884 Saints' Herald 31, 396-397 21 June 1884 x x-88
J. Frank McDowell 8 May 1884 Saints' Herald 22 July & 9 August 1884 x x x
Heman C. Smith, William H. Kelley 19 June 1884 Saints' Herald 31, 442 12 July 1884 x x x x
Heman C. Smith, William H. Kelley 19 June 1884 Joseph Smith III, Heman C. Smith, and F. Henry Edwards. The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Independence: Hearld House, 4:448-49 1968 x x
Joseph Smith III et al. mid-July 1884 Saints' Herald 28 January 1936 x
St. Louis Republican mid-July 1884 St. Louis Republican 16 July 1884 x x-91
Unknown July 1884 "The True Book of Mormon" unknown newspaper clipping in William H. Samson Scrapbook, 18:76-77, Rochester Public Library. July 1884 x
B. H. Roberts 1884 Contributor 9, 169 March 1888 x
B. H. Roberts 1884 Millennial Star 50, 120 20 February 1888 x
B. H. Roberts 1884 Conference Report, 126 October 1926 x
Editor 9 January 1885 Richmond Conservator (Statement) 9 January 1885 x x
Zenas H. Gurley 14 January 1885 Gurley Collection, LDS Church Archives January 21, 1885 x x-92
Zenas H. Gurley 14 January 1885 Autumn Leaves 5, 452 1892 x
E. C. Brand 8 February 1885 Kingston Times (Missouri) 23 December 1887 x
Franklin D. Richards and Charles C. Richards 25 May 1885 Charles C. Richards, "An Address Delivered by Charles C. Richards at the Sacrament Meeting Held in SLC, UT, Sunday Evening, April 20, 1947," signed. LDS Church Archives. 1947 x
James H. Moyle 28 June 1885 James H. Moyle Journal, LDS Church Archives x x
James H. Moyle 28 June 1885 24 November 1928 reminiscence x
James H. Moyle 28 June 1885 Conference Reports April 1930 x
James H. Moyle 28 June 1885 Deseret News 2 August 1944 x
James H. Moyle 28 June 1885 Instructor 1945 x x
Chicago Tribune correspondent 15 December 1885 Chicago Tribune 17 December 1885 x x-93 x
Edward Stevenson 9 February 1886 Diary of Edward Stevenson, LDS Church Archives x
Edward Stevenson 9 February 1886 Millennial Star 8 March 1886 x
Edward Stevenson 9 February 1886 Utah Journal 10 March 1886 x
Nathan Tanner Jr. 13 April 1886 Nathan Tanner Jr. Journal, LDS Church Archives x x
Nathan Tanner Jr. 13 April 1886 Tanner reminiscence, LDS Church Archives x
Nathan Tanner Jr. May 1886 Nathan A. Tanner Jr. to Nathan A. Tanner, LDS Church Archives 17 February 1909 x-98
Omaha Herald correspondent 10 October 1886 Omaha Herald 17 October 1886 x x-94 x
Omaha Herald correspondent 10 October 1886 Chicago Inter-Ocean 17 October 1886 x-94
Omaha Herald correspondent 10 October 1886 Saints' Herald, 33. 706 13 November 1886 x-94
D. C. Dunbar 10 October 1886 Dunbar correspondence, LDS Church Archives x
M. J. Hubble 13 November 1886 Missouri State Historical Society, Columbia, Missouri x x-95
Edward Stevenson 2 January 1887 Diary of Edward Stevenson, LDS Church Archives x
Edward Stevenson 2 January 1887 Juvenile Instructor 15 February 1887 x
Edward Stevenson 2 January 1887 Millennial Star 14 February 1887 x
David Whitmer An Address to All Believers in Christ: By a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, Richmond, MO 1887 x x-96 x
Edward Stevenson 2 January 1887 Juvenile Instructor 1 January 1889 x
Sister Gates 11 February 1887 Whitmer Papers, Community of Christ Library Archives. (Letter from David) x x
Robert Nelson 15 February 1887 Whitmer Papers, Community of Christ Library Archives. (Letter from David) x x
Anthony Metcalf March 1887 Ten Years Before the Mast, 74 1888 Malad, ID x
Angus M. Cannon 7 January 1888 Angus M. Cannon Diary, LDS Church Archives x x x
Angus M. Cannon 7 January 1888 Deseret Evening News 13 February 1888 x x x x
Chicago Tribune correspondent 23 January 1888 Chicago Tribune 24 January 1888 x
Unidentified Chicago man Chicago Times 26 January 1888 x x x x
Richmond Conservator report 26 January 1888 Richmond Conservator 26 January 1888 x x x x
Richmond Democrat report January 1888 Richmond Democrat (Borrowed from Omaha Herald. Article written by Joe Johnson) 26 January 1888 x x
Richmond Democrat report January 1888 Richmond Democrat (Re-run) 2 February 1888 x-97 x
John C. Whitmer September 1888 Deseret News 13 & 17 September 1888 x
John C. Whitmer September 1888 Saints' Herald (Reprint of Deseret News) 13 October 1888 x
George W. Schweich 1899 Woodbridge I. Riley. The Founder of Mormonism. NY: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903, 219-20. (Letter from George W. Schweich to I. Woodbridge) 22 September 1899 x x
Philander Page January 25, 1888 George Edward Anderson Diary, Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum, 27-28. 1907 x
John J. Snyder 1886–1887 W. H. Cadman. A History of the Church of Jesus Christ, Organized at Green Oak, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in the Year 1862. Monongola, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ, 1945, 24-25. 10 October 1928 x

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