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David Whitmer (January 7, 1805 – January 25, 1888) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint Movement and one of the Three Witnesses to the gold plates of the Book of Mormon. Whitmer later distanced himself from Joseph Smith and was excommunicated from the church in 1838, but continued to affirm his testimony of the Book of Mormon.
McLellin encouraged Whitmer to come forward and lead his church. Whitmer agreed and gathered others to his cause, including fellow Book of Mormon witnesses Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, Hiram Page and John Whitmer. Taking the original name of the church, the Church of Christ published a periodical from Kirtland called, The Ensign of Liberty.
The Three Witnesses as depicted by Edward Hart, 1883: Oliver Cowdery (top), David Whitmer (left), and Martin Harris (right) The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon; [1] they also stated that they had heard God's ...
When the members of the Whitmer family were excommunicated from the church in 1838, Page withdrew from church fellowship. [8] He later bought a farm in Excelsior Springs, in Ray County. On September 6, 1847, William E. McLellin baptized Page, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Jacob Whitmer into his newly formed Church of Christ (Whitmerite).
[citation needed] Several prominent members, including William E. M'Lellin and Benjamin Winchester, separated from Rigdon's church and established another organization centered around the leadership of David Whitmer. However, some followers of Rigdon, including Bickerton, refused to join this group of dissenters.
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David Whitmer was similarly adamant that none of the Three Witnesses ever denied their affidavit that they had seen the angel Moroni, who showed them the plates of gold, and that The Book of Mormon was of divine origin – even though each of the three separated from Joseph Smith and the church they had helped him found.
At a July 3, 1834, conference of the church, Whitmer's brother David was called to be the president of the church in Missouri. [citation needed] John Whitmer was called as his brother's second counselor, [2] and W. W. Phelps was called as his first. When David returned to Kirtland, John Whitmer and Phelps were left to preside in his absence.