Book
72 Chapters
In a revelation given in April 1829, Oliver Cowdery was called to “write for my servant Joseph” (D&C 9:4). However, by the spring of 1831 Oliver was away leading the mission to the Lamanites, to which he had been called by revelation (D&C 28:8). In his absence, the need arose for a new scribe and historian to take Oliver’s place. John Whitmer was already serving as Joseph’s scribe in a number of capacities when the call came to him to fill the post of Church Historian. At first John was reluctant to serve in this calling. He later wrote, “I was appointed by the voice of the Elders to keep the Church record. Joseph Smith Jr. said unto me you must also keep the Church history. I would rather not do it but observed that the will of the Lord be done, and if he desires it, I desire that he would manifest it through Joseph the Seer. And thus came the word of the Lord.”1
Although he accepted the calling reluctantly, John diligently worked to fulfill the Lord’s command. A few months later in June 1831 he began writing a history he titled “The Book of John Whitmer.” His history records many important details about the early Saints and their struggles in Ohio and Missouri. However, it seems that John felt insecure about his work. In 1833 he wrote to Oliver Cowdery, saying, “I want you to remember me to Joseph in a special manner, and enquire of him respecting my clerkship[;] you very well know what I mean and also my great desire of doing all things according to the mind of the Lord.”2
John was excommunicated from the Church in 1838 on a charge of “unchristian like conduct.”3 He left the Church along with several other members of the Whitmer family, including David Whitmer and brother-in-law Oliver Cowdery. At the time John left he refused to turn his history over to the Church. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon wrote to John, saying, “We are still willing to honor you, if you can be made to know your own interest and give up your notes, so that they can be corrected, and made fit for the press.” After John’s refusal, in 1838 Joseph began working on a new history that contained much more detail about early events in the Church. In January 1844 John offered to sell his history to the Church. Willard Richards, who was then compiling the history of the Church, wrote back informing John that Church historians had “already compiled about 800 pages of church history . . . which covers all the ground you took notes, therefore anything which you wrote in the shape of church history would be of little or no consequence to the church at large.”4
After Joseph Smith’s death, John joined James Strang’s movement and began writing in his history again. He later left Strang’s group and crossed out the portions of his history that were about Strang. John never rejoined the Church, and after his passing in 1878 his history eventually came into the custody of the Community of Christ. The final document is ninety-six pages in length.
In recent years, John’s reputation as a historian has been somewhat rehabilitated. Historians working to compile the Joseph Smith Papers have noted that the number of documents related to the history of the Church increased substantially after John was called as Church Historian. In addition, after he began his service, the minutes of Church conferences and other meetings generally contained more information. Most importantly, John did a superb job recording most of the early revelations given to Joseph Smith in Revelation Book 1. The rich documentary record of the early Church owes a great debt to this reluctant historian. In the last entry of his history, John wrote and then crossed out his own hopes for salvation, writing, “Therefore I close the history of the church of Latter Day Saints, Hoping that I may be forgiven of my faults, and my sins be blotted out and in the last day be saved in the kingdom of God notwithstanding my present situation, which I hope will soon be bettered and I find favor in the eyes of God and all men, his saints. Farewell.”5
“Historical Introduction,” Revelation, circa 8 March 1831–B [D&C 47]
1 Behold, it is expedient in me that my servant John should write and keep a regular history, and assist you, my servant Joseph, in transcribing all things which shall be given you, until he is called to further duties.
2 Again, verily I say unto you that he can also lift up his voice in meetings, whenever it shall be expedient.
3 And again, I say unto you that it shall be appointed unto him to keep the church record and history continually; for Oliver Cowdery I have appointed to another office.
4 Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by the Comforter, to write these things. Even so. Amen.
The commandment given here highlights the importance of keeping a history. Note that the two words the Lord uses to describe the history are “regular” and “continual” (D&C 47:1, 3). Throughout his prophetic service, Joseph Smith made diligent attempts to keep a regular and continual written and documentary record of the history of the Church. The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ contained a brief sketch of the rise and progress of the Church, totaling about sixteen verses in the current version of the revelation (D&C 20:1–16). Beginning with this revelation, John Whitmer began recording a history, “The Book of John Whitmer,” which included copies of revelations, letters, and other materials important to the history of the Church. In summer 1832, the year after this revelation was given, Joseph Smith and Frederick G. Williams wrote a six-page account titled “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith,” which contained the earliest account of the First Vision. Oliver Cowdery began another history in 1834 and continued it until 1836; it contains many journal entries and transcripts of newspaper articles.
Ironically, it was John Whitmer’s departure in 1838 that fully prompted Joseph Smith to take the reins in compiling and writing the history of the Church. This was a collaborative effort involving the assistance of clerks such as James Mulholland, Willard Richards, Howard Coray, and Robert B. Thompson. By the time Joseph Smith was killed in 1844, the “manuscript history of the Church” as it came to be known, numbered 812 pages in two substantial volumes. The history directly overseen by Joseph Smith ran up to August of 1838. After Joseph’s death, Brigham Young directed other Church leaders, such as Willard Richards and Wilford Woodruff, to complete the work. They relied on accounts from diligent record keepers, such as Thomas Bullock, William Clayton, and Eliza R. Snow. By 1856 the work had been reviewed by the First Presidency and was published as “The History of Joseph Smith.”6
The massive task of compiling Church history should not overshadow the importance of each individual member keeping his or her own history. Such personal works are critical in the composition of larger historical stories and are an invaluable resource to loved ones. Individual leaders such as Heber J. Grant and Spencer W. Kimball kept journals that provide important insights into their lives and times. Wilford Woodruff’s journal was so important to the compilation of the history of the Church that one historian declared, “Wilford Woodruff largely made the glasses through which we see the [Latter-day Saint] past.”7
Addressing some of the concerns around keeping a regular and continual history, President Spencer W. Kimball made this prophetic promise: “People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations.”8
Book
72 Chapters
Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.