David Whitmer was born January 7, 1805, near Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. While he was young, his parents, Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman, moved to western New York. A reporter who met his father in 1885 wrote that Peter raised his family as “a hard-working, God-fearing man, a strict Presbyterian [who] brought his children up with rigid sectarian discipline” (Chicago Tribune, 17 Dec. 1885).

David Whitmer

The Whitmer family were active Church goers in the German Reformed Church. David’s mother was born in Germany. David’s three older brothers were confirmed members of that church. However, in 1829, the family began to hear of a young man named Joseph Smith, who was gaining attention for his teachings about a new book of religious scripture called the Book of Mormon. David, still living at home with his parents, met a man named Oliver Cowdery. Both men were curious about Joseph Smith and even more curious about the book. They learned that Joseph Smith was translating the book in Pennsylvania, and Oliver Cowdery decided to go there and find out about the book directly from its translator. He promised to keep David informed as to what he learned.

Oliver wrote three letters to David during this time. In his first letter, he told David he was not only convinced the book was true, but he had volunteered to act as Joseph Smith’s scribe, helping the work advance much more quickly. A second letter also emphasized Oliver’s belief that the book was authentic and quoted portions of it. The third letter changed the lives of the Whitmer family forever. Oliver asked if he and Joseph could come to David’s home to work on the translation. The work and even the life of Joseph Smith was in danger from people who were afraid to let the new book come to light.

Joseph Smith Moves to David Whitmer’s Home

David took the request to his family. His parents were concerned because David had a great deal of work to do and taking time to go for Joseph and Oliver would hamper the family’s efforts. They decided David shouldn’t go unless God required it of him. David accepted his parents’ request but then took the problem to God in prayer. He asked that God help him complete his work in record time. He was able to do two days’ work in one day. This convinced his father that God intended David to bring the men to their home. He told David he could go for them as soon as he’d finished the fertilizing.

Whitmer Home

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery moved into the Whitmer home and Emma, Joseph’s wife, joined them not long after. This created a great deal of work for Mary, David’s mother. One day, as she was going to milk the cows, an angel appeared and told her that because her contribution to the work was so great, she was entitled to receive a personal testimony that what they were doing was truly God’s work. She was shown the gold plates on which the book was written in ancient times. Although her sons would later serve as official witnesses to the reality of those plates, Mary actually saw them before any of the men in her family. She found that the work no longer seemed to be a burden to her.

David Whitmer Sees the Gold Plates

David Whitmer was later permitted to view the plates and other sacred objects as well, while an angel held them. He signed his name to a testimony of this vision. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ in 1829.

David’s home was the center of historically significant events—the work of translation, many visions and revelations, and the first conference of the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which many continue to inadvertently refer to as the “Mormon Church,” was formally organized in the Whitmer home. David was listed as one of the first six members, helping to fill a legal requirement for the organization of churches.

David Whitmer took several missionary trips with Joseph Smith, but after a time, he was chastised by revelation for being too focused on worldly things. He was instructed to return to his father’s home for a time.

The Whitmer family faced some trials in their work with the Church. While Joseph was back in Pennsylvania translating, Oliver Cowdery decided a revelation which had been received needed to be changed. He did not, of course, have that authority, since revelations come from God to a prophet. However, he persisted and also convinced the Whitmers that he was right. Joseph returned to their home and helped them to understand that the revelations must be written as given by God and not according to the desires of men.

However, Hyrum Page, a church member, claimed to be receiving his own revelations through a seer stone. He convinced Cowdery and the Whitmers these were true revelations. They did not yet understand how God worked and that having multiple prophets would only lead to confusion, which is why there could only be one at a time. Page’s so-called revelations contradicted the New Testament and modern revelations. After a revelation came to Joseph Smith explaining how revelation works, Page and the Whitmers, as well as others who had believed them, renounced Page’s claims.

In 1831, David Whitmer married Julia Ann Jolly. Later that year he was called to serve a mission to Missouri. He and his missionary companion, Harvey Whitlock, were to preach as they journeyed to Missouri. Near the end of the year, David traveled to Ohio, where he became a high priest in the Church, and then he and his wife moved to Missouri.

David Whitmer Defends Mormonism at Gunpoint

The Mormons encountered intense persecutions in Missouri. David Whitmer, along with other men, was forced into the ironically named Independence Square with a bayonet at his back, where he had his clothing removed and he was tarred and feathered. He was ordered to denounce the Book of Mormon or face death. Other men clicked their guns to reinforce the order but David boldly testified of the Book of Mormon. The captors let him go.

The Whitmer family moved to Clay County. There, two of David’s brothers died as a result of persecution, one leaving a young wife and the other a wife and small children. A third died later of a leg infection. David’s mother was a faithful member all her life.

The remaining Whitmers began to have problems with their faith as a result of the many trials they had to bear and the new financial challenges arising in the young church. David was appointed to oversee the Church in Missouri and helped to select the first apostles, but when he began to challenge various aspects of Mormon doctrine, his membership was called into question. He was invited to meet with church leaders to work out the problems, but he refused. He was excommunicated for various reasons, including writing letters calling himself the president of the church, even though he’d been removed from his responsibilities in the church. He had become very vocal in his attacks on the church and its leaders.

The Whitmer Family Falters

When the Mormons were forced by mob activity to leave Missouri, the Whitmers stayed behind. David moved to Richmond, where he served as mayor for a year. He retained his testimony of the Book of Mormon, however. In 1878, two Mormon apostles visited him in Missouri. He was asked about his testimony and reiterated the vision in which he was shown the gold plates. Again, in 1882, a young Mormon missionary named Matthias Cowley visited him and also asked to hear his testimony. He gave it, but Cowley wrote that it was given as a duty. He felt that David Whitmer knew what was true but had lost sight of the joy the gospel can bring when it is fully lived.

In 1888, the American Cyclopedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica claimed that David and two other witnesses had denied ever having seen the plates. David was nearing death at that time, but publicly refuted those claims. He testified that none of the witnesses, including those who had left the church, had ever denied those sacred experiences.

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 my statements, as then made and published.

‘He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear’; it was no delusion! What is written is written, and he that readeth let him understand. (See Keith W. Perkins, “True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers,” Ensign, February 1989.)

After the Mormons left Missouri, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ, attempted to convince David Whitmer to join with them. However, he felt they were not properly informed of what Joseph had really taught. David disliked centralized authority and felt Joseph had fallen as a prophet just before David left the church. William McClellan and some of his relatives convinced David to join them in forming a new church to continue where they felt Joseph had left off. David became president of this church, but in time, he and the others recognized they were operating without authority from God. The church had only a few members and dissolved after its last surviving member, Jacob Whitmer’s granddaughter, passed away.

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007.

Richard Lloyd Anderson, The Whitmers: A Family That Nourished the Church, Ensign, August 1979

Keith W. Perkins, True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers, Ensign, February 1989

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

The following year he became a member of the first High Council and then traveled with Zion’s Army to try to effect a peaceful rescue of Mormons under attack by mobs in Missouri. Although the group did not achieve its goal, many future church leaders came from this group of courageous volunteers, including Luke S. Johnson. In 1835, at the age of just 27, he was chosen to be an apostle. He spent his first summer in that position traveling in the east, establishing new congregations and carrying out church work. After returning from additional missions to Canada and New York, he saved the prophet Joseph Smith from death or persecution several times.

Unfortunately, the next year his commitment to the church became a bit shakier. He got upset when Joseph Smith needed to offer some chastisement to certain members who were not doing what they were supposed to be doing. Then he got caught up in financial speculation along with some other church members who had grown tired of the poverty that came with constantly abandoning all you had to escape persecution. He, along with others, tried to remove Joseph Smith as the prophet, wanting to replace him with David Whitmer. However, those who left the church could not even cooperate with each other and ended up battling one another as well, failing to establish any new religious movement. Thirteen percent of the members left at this time, but some returned later. Luke wrote later, “My mind became darkened, and I was left to pursue my own course. I lost the Spirit of God, and neglected my duty; the consequence was, that at a Conference held in Kirtland, September 3, 1837, … I was cut off from the Church.”

He and two others were disfellowshipped at the conference, but he asked to be reinstated the next Sunday. His request was accepted, but in April of 1838, he was excommunicated for apostasy due to continuing poor choices.

He began to teach school and then decided to study to become a doctor. In 1846, he returned to Kirtland, Ohio, where the Mormons lived, and set up practice. He had stayed on good terms with the church, despite not being a member, and so his request for rebaptism and restored membership was granted in March of that year.

When the Mormons emigrated to Utah, he traveled with them and became the first bishop in Toole County. He died in 1861, a member in full standing.

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

Called and Chosen, James A. Faust, October General Conference, 2005

A Warning From Kirtland, Milton V. Backman, Jr., Ensign, 1989

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

David was born November 19, 1799, in Theresa, New York, to Benenio or Benonio Patten and Edith (Abigail) Cole. He had a strong interest in religion and in his early years had a number of dreams and visions in which he saw a number of future events, including the restoration of Christ’s true church in his own lifetime. In 1830, the year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, he learned of and examined a copy of the Book of Mormon. Mormon is a nickname sometimes applied to members of the Church and the Book of Mormon is used by Mormons in addition to the Bible.

In 1832, his brother John joined the Church in Indiana. He wrote to David W. Patten about the church. David decided to travel to Indiana to discuss it further with his brother. He gained a testimony of the gospel while there and was baptized in June by his brother. He immediately, as was common at that time, began to serve the first of many missions.

David W. Patten had an unusual gift for spiritual healings. During his mission, he had many opportunities to heal those who were sick. He healed so many that people began to travel to him to be healed, including one woman who was instantly healed of an illness she had struggled with for two decades.

In 1832, he went to Kirtland, Ohio, where the Mormons were largely gathered, and spent several months helping build the temple. This temple still stands, although it no longer belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He then left on another mission, lasting seven weeks. He was ill most of the trip, but refused to stop his work. He was then instructed by revelation to return to Kirtland.

On several occasions, he found himself in great danger from those who fought against the Church using violence. One man threatened to slit his throat with a knife. David placed his hand in his left breast pocket and advised the man not to do anything rash. The man, thinking he was pulling out a gun, became frightened and pleaded with David not to shoot him. The man fled. Another time, while serving a mission, an entire mob threatened to shoot him. He invited them to go ahead and shoot, but they unexpectedly ran away. In 1835, he was staying in a home in Tennessee when a mob surrounded the house and arrested him and two other men in the home. The arrest was carried out at the request of a Methodist priest. When they appeared in court, they were not given a trial, but were instead instantly found guilty. David rebuked them, through inspiration, for holding a wicked and illegal trial. The judge accused him of being armed with a concealed weapon if he had the courage to verbally attack an armed court. He responded that he was armed only with the Holy Ghost. The judge decided to let them go in exchange for court costs, which church members paid. They returned to the home to rest, but were visited by an angel and warned that mobs were coming again. The messenger instructed them to leave immediately, which they did.

In 1835, the first Mormon apostles were chosen. David was the fifth apostle chosen, but since all were chosen the same day, they were given seniority by age rather than by when they were called. This left him the second in seniority. He was just thirty years old, which today would be very young for an apostle. Since the role of an apostle is to be a special witness of Jesus Christ, the new apostles left on missions. David W. Patten was sent to the East Coast in the United States and Canada. After returning home for a short time, he left again, this time taking his wife with him. (They had no known children.) In Tennessee, he healed a woman who promised to be baptized. She changed her mind and Elder Patten warned her she needed to repent and be baptized or her illness would return, since it was conditioned on her faith. He left the area, continuing his mission service. When he returned, she was indeed ill again. She promised she would be baptized this time if she were healed. She was healed and then baptized.

In 1838, David W. Patten returned to Missouri and assist Thomas Marsh in overseeing the area until Joseph Smith arrived. He wrote a letter and gave a talk. Listeners did not know they were hearing or reading his final testimony to the world. He was killed that year.

In April, he was given a revelation to settle his business and sell his merchandise in order to serve a mission God had for him.  In October, three Mormons were kidnapped and threatened with murder. The mob that took the men also promised to burn the Mormons out of the area and David was instructed by revelation to lead a group of men to Crooked River to rescue them. A battle began that night. The mob began destroying property, taking prisoners, and committing other crimes. David W. Patten was hit in the battle and was in so much pain, he asked to be left there. The others refused, however, and carried him and another badly wounded man to Log Creek, where they were met by Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum Smith, and Heber C. Kimball, another Church leader. He died an hour after being taken to a home to recover.

Joseph Smith said, “He was one of the Twelve Apostles, and died as he had lived, a man of God, and strong in the faith of a glorious resurrection, in a world where mobs will have no power or place” (History of the Church, 3:171).

Article adapted from Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Heber immediately began missionary work and baptisms with Brigham Young and Joseph Young. Early in April, he had the opportunity to meet Joseph Smith, the president and first prophet of the Church, for the first time. He also became a member of Zion’s Camp, initially organized to try to peacefully stop mob attacks on Mormons in Missouri. Many future leaders came from this volunteer group. Later, when the Camp reorganized, he became a bodyguard to Joseph Smith, whose life was in constant danger.

In 1835, Heber became an apostle, following the New Testament model of Christian church leadership. He served a mission in the eastern states and was also able to attend the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio. He was particularly proud of his wife’s accomplishments in the building of the temple:

Our women were engaged in spinning and knitting in order to clothe those who were laboring at the building, and the Lord only knows the scenes of poverty, tribulation, and distress which we passed through in order to accomplish this thing. My wife toiled all summer in lending her aid towards its accomplishment. She had a hundred pounds of wool, which, with the assistance of a girl, she spun in order to furnish clothing for those engaged in the building of the Temple, and although she had the privilege of keeping half the quantity of wool for herself, as a recompense for her labor, she did not reserve even so much as would make her a pair of stockings; but gave it for those who were laboring at the house of the Lord. She spun and wove and got the cloth dressed, and cut and made up into garments, and gave them to those men who labored on the Temple; almost all the sisters in Kirtland labored in knitting, sewing, spinning, etc. for the purpose of forwarding the work of the Lord  (Instruments in the Hands of God, James E. Faust, General Conference, October 2005).

1837 was a very difficult time in Mormon history. Many people left the church this time, including leaders. However, not once did Heber C. Kimball waver, even during this time period. Despite frequent threats to his life, persecution, and mob violence, he stayed faithful to the Church and to God. While others complained, he went cheerfully off to England as a missionary, where he taught and baptized about 1500 people.

After returning from his mission, he moved with his family to Far West, where the Mormons were currently living in their constant search for freedom of religion. However, a mob invaded that community as well. Heber C. Kimball offered himself as a hostage to protect others. In December of that year, he and a few other leaders petitioned the state of Missouri to protect the Mormons and their constitutional rights. (Instead, Missouri would eventually put out an extermination order against all Mormons.)

A committee had been organized to plan for the safe movement of the Mormons to a new place. In April of the year following the petition, Heber C. Kimball warned the committee to finish up and get out of the area, because their lives were in danger. At about that same time, members of a mob tried to kill him on the street. He took his family and moved to Quincy, Ilinois. He then moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Mormons again tried to found a city.

While Heber was in Washington, DC, trying to seek help from the federal government for the unceasing attacks on Mormons, Joseph Smith was murdered. This set off another round of apostasy as some people rebelled against God’s plan for Church succession, which made the head of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles the new prophet. Heber C. Kimball stayed firm and followed Brigham Young’s leadership.

The Mormons were forced to abandon their city and their homes to flee west, in the historic journey to Utah. Heber C. Kimball was made one of the two captains of the groups that left first—Brigham Young being the second. He was with the first group to reach the Great Salt Lake Valley and one of the first three speakers at the first church service. He offered a revelation that introduced an essential term into Mormon terminology, that of borrowed light:

To meet the difficulties that are coming, it will be necessary for you to have a knowledge of the truth of this work for yourselves. The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess this personal knowledge or witness will fall. If you have not got the testimony, live right and call upon the Lord and cease not till you obtain it. If you do not you will not stand. …

The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. …

If you don’t have it you will not stand; therefore seek for the testimony of Jesus and cleave to it, that when the trying time comes you may not stumble and fall. (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1967, p. 450.)

He became a member of the First Presidency (consisting of the president of the Church and two counselors), making him the second-highest ranking church member. He had the opportunity to help lay the cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple and to offer the dedicatory prayer.

In 1856, the Mormons were facing potential starvation. Heber and his family chose to eat less so they could share what they had stored with those who were in need. He once wrote that he cared only for things of eternity. He died in 1868. His grandson, Spencer W. Kimball, later became the president of the Church.

This article is adapted from:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Erastus Snow Becomes a Mormon

Erastus was anxious to join the church, however, so he began to pray for a way to make that happen. His mother convinced his father to let him visit his married brothers, and one of them baptized Erastus. He began studying the Bible even more, determined to become a missionary someday. In time, all but two of his siblings were baptized, as was his mother.

When he was sixteen, he was sent on a ten-day mission into Vermont. He traveled with a relative the same age. They hosted a variety of large meetings where they taught the gospel to both Mormons and those who were curious about Mormons. They were very excited about the results of this first mission trip. Later, he went on another trip that was less successful.

Between mission trips, Erastus continued to study the scriptures as he worked on his father’s farm, reading each time he gave his teams a rest. Just before his seventeenth birthday, he decided to move to Kirtland, Ohio, where the majority of Mormons lived. His father recognized his love of preaching and allowed him to go, even financing the journey. When Erastus arrived, he, like many other newly arrived converts, stayed in the home of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, for a few weeks until he was settled. Then he enrolled in school to continue his education, preaching on weekends. At the end of the school year, he headed to Pennsylvania on a mission, bringing only five cents to see him through. The 1,600-mile journey led to sixty baptisms. He continued taking mission trips at every opportunity, sometimes baptizing and sometimes meeting with challenges, including having rotten eggs thrown at him. When he was nineteen he moved to Missouri, where many Mormons had gathered. His parents had already moved there, so he was reunited with them. His father was still not a member and did not convert. During this time, Erastus began to have frequent bouts of ague, an illness that included fever, chills, and sweats and is often associated with malaria.

Mormon Persecution

Erastus again lived with Joseph Smith, doing chores to earn his keep, but then Joseph Smith was arrested. Erastus married Artimesia Beman and became a teacher until the Saints were forced to flee to Illinois.

In 1839, he and other church members were asked to visit Joseph Smith and additional church leaders who were falsely imprisoned in Liberty Jail. He and the others were imprisoned during an attempt to help Joseph escape, since the purpose of these spurious arrests was to end the church and potentially allow Joseph Smith to be killed. He was eventually freed and returned home.

After moving to Illinois, Erastus departed on another mission, but had a dream that his family was very ill. He quickly returned home and saw how ill they were. He contracted the illness himself while caring for and administering to both is family and others in the city who were ill.

Although in poor health, Erastus was determined to continue the missionary work that God had revealed to be his life’s work. However, he became so ill he was forced to recuperate in the home of another Mormon. While he struggled to become well, he learned his wife was dying. He raced home, but she had recovered before he arrived. He next headed for Pennsylvania. Upon learning his wife’s mother had died, he returned home to take Artimesia with him as he traveled.

Erastus and his family moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, when the Mormons established a city there, but he continued to travel on missionary journeys. While preaching in Salem, he learned that Joseph Smith had been murdered while in prison. He hurried home to participate in the challenge of figuring out how God intended succession in the Church to work. He supported Brigham Young, who, as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was next in line of authority.

Despite the death of the prophet and some power struggles among those who sought an opportunity to take control of the Church, the work of the Lord continued. Erastus Snow set out to serve a mission in portions of Illinois and Wisconsin, but returned home when his horse became ill. He attended the mock trial of Joseph Smith’s murderers while at home.

He took a second wife under the spiritual law of polygamy in 1846, and he and his family began moving west that year. He was sent ahead with Orson Pratt into the Salt Lake Valley, entering it on July 21, 1847. In 1849, he became a Mormon apostle, replacing Lyman Wight, who had been disfellowshipped. He helped to guide people into Salt Lake and served in the Utah legislature.

Erastus Snow founded Saint George, Utah, in 1861.

In 1873, he had the opportunity to serve a mission to Scandinavia that was extremely successful and was responsible for having the Book of Mormon translated into their language. He served as the mission president over that mission.

He died at home in 1888, when he was seventy years old.

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

William G. Hartley, Snow on Fire, New Era, Jan-Feb, 1984

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Don Carlos was born March 25, 1816, in Norwich, Windsor, Vermont to Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. On June 9, 1830, the Mormons held a conference in Fayette, which was followed by a baptismal service. Don Carlos was among those baptized that day. He received the priesthood at age fourteen.

Don Carlos was six feet four inches, very powerful looking, and very kind and charitable. Many felt he was much like his more famous brother, Joseph, in personality.

Don Carlos Smith married Agnes Moulton Coolbrith on July 30,1835, at Kirtland. He became a high priest on January 15, 1836. That same year he became the president of the high priests quorum. He also oversaw the Elders’ Journal.

Mormon Missionary

In 1838, Don Carlos served a mission in Tennessee and Kentucky, although his primary goal was to raise money to buy out the mobbers who were persecuting the Mormons in Daviess County. Unfortunately, before he could return, they had driven his family out of the area. The mobs burnt down the house, leaving the family homeless in the middle of winter.

Don Carlos served a number of missions in his short life, including one with his father to the Asael Smith family in St. Lawrence County, New York, in 1830. He served several missions in Pennsylvania and New York and one in Virginia.

In 1839, he began working on plans to print the Times and Seasons in Nauvoo and the first issue was released in November of that year. He noted that since the world was flooded with literary and religious trash, it was important for the church to distribute truth.

Don Carlos Smith Community Service

When the Mormons were forced out of Missouri, Don Carlos and his family left at different times. Joseph and Hyrum were in jail indicted on spurious charges, a common practice designed to undo the church. Don Carlos led a large group of people to safety despite the dire winter storms that nearly killed them during the exodus.

The last year of his life found him serving in a range of very important positions. In January of 1841, he was again called as president of the high priests quorum and that same year was elected to the city council. He was appointed a regent of University of Nauvoo and also appointed brigadier general in Nauvoo Legion.  He had helped to administer priesthood blessings to those who were ill during an attack of malaria in the city. During this time, however, he wrote that he saw many miracles occur.

Don Carlos died August 7, 1841, at the age of 25 from a respiratory illness with symptoms similar to those of pneumonia.

Sources:

Richard Lloyd Anderson, Joseph Smith’s Brothers: Nauvoo and After, Ensign, September 1979.

Smith, Don Carlos (JS’s brother), Joseph Smith Papers

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Willard Richards was born on June 24, 1804, in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His family moved to Richmond, Massachusetts, when he was ten years old.

Willard’s family was very religious, and he attended many different religious revivals. He selected the Congregational Church for membership, but they disregarded his request to join. He decided he needed to know more about religion before making a decision. After studying, he decided the true church did not exist at that time, but he felt it would soon be restored in its entirety. He chose to wait for that church and so did not join another, although he was vocal about his beliefs.

Book of Mormon

In 1835, Willard’s cousin, Brigham Young (a future Mormon prophet) left a copy of the Book of Mormon at another cousin’s home. Willard Richards began to read that copy and after just a half a page decided that it was not written by man and therefore had to be the work of either the devil or God. He read the entire book twice in ten days and then decided it was true. He made a decision to sell his medical practice and anything that kept him at his home near Boston to travel to Kirtland, Ohio, where the Mormons had settled. However, as soon as he made this decision, he developed palsy.

Willard’s brother Levi was also a doctor and he treated Willard. In 1836, they left together for Kirtland, Ohio, where they stayed with Brigham Young. Willard continued to learn about the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church” today) and was baptized on December 31, 1836, by Brigham Young.

This was a difficult time in Mormon history, when many members were leaving for easier paths. However, Willard Richards stayed firm. On March 6, he became an Elder, a level of Mormon priesthood. A few days later he headed east on his first mission. He returned in July and then was sent to England with three other Mormon leaders as a missionary.

Missionary in England

While serving in Preston, England, he was ordained a high priest and became a counselor to Joseph Fielding. Joseph was serving as the president of the British Mission. On July 8, Willard became a Mormon apostle, fulfilling the same role as the ancient apostles of the Bible. In September, he married Jannetta Richards, the daughter of a non-Mormon reverend.  While still in England, he worked in the editorial department of the Millennial Star, a Mormon newspaper.

Willard left England in 1841 and moved to Warsaw, Illinois. He was elected to the city council of the Mormon city of Nauvoo, Illinois, in October and moved there with his family. He was the recorder of the city council and the municipal court clerk. He was appointed recorder for the temple and also became a private secretary to Joseph Smith and kept Joseph’s private journal.

Murder of Joseph Smith

In 1844, a number of Mormon leaders were in jail on trumped-up charges, a common practice designed to cause the downfall of the Church, when a mob attacked. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered. Willard Richards was also in that prison and survived the attack with only a grazing on his ear from a bullet. John Taylor, who later became a Mormon prophet, was injured and Willard carried him upstairs and hid him under a bed. Willard expected to be killed, but the mob became nervous after killing Joseph Smith and fled, afraid of retribution by the Mormons. It was left to Richards to inform the Church members of the tragedy and the next day he and others accompanied the bodies of the brothers to Nauvoo. Since all other apostles were either traveling or dead, Richards took charge briefly of the local church members.

When the Mormons were forced to flee west, Willard served as Church historian. He left Nauvoo on February 4, 1846, with Brigham Young and others in the first group to leave.

On the first Sunday the Mormons were in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah, two church services were held and Willard Richards spoke at the first session. On December 5, the First Presidency, which leads the Church, was reorganized, with Brigham Young named prophet. Richards was named his second counselor.

In 1850, Willard Richards became the editor of the new Church-owned newspaper, the Deseret News. He died in 1854 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sources:

This article is adapted from Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007.

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Early Life of Mary Ellen Smoot

Mary Ellen was born August 19, 1933, in Ogden, Utah. Her parents, Melvin and LaVora Blood Smith Wood, were a Mormon family, descendants of early Mormon pioneers. “Mormon” is a nickname sometimes used to describe members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her parents taught their six daughters to live the gospel and to work hard. They grew their own food and raised animals, all of which Mary Ellen helped with. She also worked in her grandfather’s canning factory. She developed a strong love of genealogy and authored several books on the subject.

As a teenager, Mary Ellen became involved in student government and held a number of volunteer church positions, which gave her experience in leadership. When she and her family attended a local Mormon conference, Harold B. Lee, a future prophet, was presiding. He invited her to come forward, without warning, to share her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mary Ellen Smoot’s Community Service

Mary Ellen met her husband, Stanley Millard Smoot, while in her freshman year of high school. He served a mission in Hawaii as a young adult and when he returned, they married. Together, they raised seven children and also took in five foster children. While raising this large family, Mary Ellen managed to be involved in a wide range of activities. She served as the president of the PTA, an American organization made up of parents who work to improve the schools their children attend. She headed the Centerville (Utah) Women’s Republican Club. She also hosted a radio program for teenagers.

From 1966 to1971 Mary Ellen Smoot served on the editorial board for a Mormon children’s magazine, The Children’s Friend. She and her husband both served on Church public affairs committees and also directed the Church Hosting for VIPS program from 1993 to1997.

General Relief Society President

During her tenure as General Relief Society President, Mary Ellen spearheaded a project that resulted in providing 350,000 homemade quilts for Kosovo refugees, 50,000 more than had been requested. This allowed them to ship additional quilts to other countries with great need. Mary Ellen Smoot was the keynote speaker at the second World Congress on Families in Rome, Italy, in 1999. She often encouraged women to develop inner strength, to find the good in whatever life they were living, and to become everything they were capable of becoming.

Mary Ellen will likely be best remembered, however, for introducing the Relief Society Declaration, a statement that outlined the role of a Latter-day Saint woman in God’s world. She introduced it at the 1999 conference for Mormon women. It was written to unite all Mormon women around the world who, though living in far-flung places in very different lifestyles and circumstances, would find commonality in their eternal heritage. It began with this bold assertion: “We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity.”

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

In 1825, Joseph Smith, first prophet of the Mormons, came to work for Joseph’s business partner. When Joseph returned home, he kept in contact with the two men, and was hired in 1826 to work for Joseph Knight. Knight considered Joseph Smith the best hired hand the family had ever employed and young Joseph Smith got along well with the entire family, but developed a particular friendship with the father.

The family learned that Joseph Smith had been called by God to bring to light an ancient record in the future. Joseph Knight and his youngest son, also named Joseph, believed him, but Newel and his brother Nahum did not. However, Newel continued his high respect for Joseph Smith, describing the prophet as a close friend and a kind man.

After the plates were translated and published as the Book of Mormon, the Church was organized. Over time, members of Newel’s family began to be baptized. When Joseph Smith traveled to Colesville to preach at a series of meetings, Newel attended each one and also held private discussions with his friend concerning the new religion. One day he went into the woods to pray privately about the faith and an evil spirit sealed his lips, making him unable to pray. Joseph Smith was sent for, who commanded the spirit to leave. Newel was overcome by the spirit and was lifted from the floor. This was the first miracle in modern times and it helped many people decide to join the Church.

Newel was baptized by David Whitmer, because Joseph Smith was not performing baptisms at that time. He was the first person in his family to convert, and was possibly the first person in Colesville as well, although there would be many baptisms in that town in the near future. At the church’s first conference, Newel would have his first vision, one in which he came to know a great work would occur because of the restoration of the gospel. He also saw the Savior in his vision and received assurances of his salvation. A baptism was to follow the conference and his father was among those scheduled to be baptized. However, mobs destroyed the dammed stream. It was quickly repaired and the baptisms commenced. Before the confirmations could occur, the mobs had Joseph Smith arrested. Newel’s father sent his lawyer to assist in clearing the obviously false charges designed to stop the confirmations and Newel testified at the trial. The charges were dropped and the confirmations continued.

The persecutions of the Knight family increased and Newel’s father and sister were forced to flee their home. Newel remained so he could help other church members prepare to leave as soon as the ice cleared the waters.

The Mormons continued to seek a place where they could enjoy the religious freedom promised by the Constitution. In Missouri, Newel’s mother died, followed by a number of other relatives. When his uncle died, he took in his aunt and cared for her without complaint. He wrote that they faced life cheerfully. During the very worst of the persecution, he wrote that the Mormons never forgot to thank God for the many blessings they were receiving. His newborn son died, as did his wife, who, he wrote, was unable to withstand the persecutions and hardships the mobs imposed on them with her frail constitution. He was also ill and this time and struggled to care for his aunt and his remaining child. Despite being so ill he could barely walk, he answered a general call for people to help build the Kirtland Temple. By the time he completed the 900-mile journey, he was feeling healthier and had begun preaching along the way. During the time he spent on this project, he met his second wife, a young convert whose husband had abandoned her. They were married by Joseph Smith in his first wedding ceremony.

When the couple returned home to Missouri, persecution was intense. The Mormons were being ordered to leave, but Newell had no money to do so, having worked without pay on the temple while maintaining his home and providing for the care of his aunt and son. He was also in poor health. He stayed behind with others who could not yet leave. His aunt died. When he finally was able to leave, he settled in Caldwell County, but mobs destroyed the city. Governor Boggs issued an extermination order, making it legal to kill all Mormons and thereby increasing the danger. Once again, Newel was forced to leave, this time for Nauvoo. During this time, he was sometimes without food or clothing, but other times there was even enough for a few luxuries. He wrote that regardless of which circumstance he was in, he never lost his testimony.

Joseph Smith was murdered and again the family had to uproot and leave. This was a time of personal grief to Newel, because he and Joseph were good friends. However, he and his family, which now included seven children, moved to Council Bluffs, en route to Utah. Newel was not to reach Utah, however. A fire endangered their fort and Newel responded to the call for help. He became very ill as a result, probably with pneumonia, and died. His family continued on to Utah in a few years, when they could afford to do so.

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

The Joseph Knight Family, Larry Porter, Ensign, October, 1978

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

In 1827, Joseph Smith was hired to work for Knight’s business partner, Josiah Stowell, to work for him shortly before the young prophet became the first leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which church is frequently misnamed the “Mormon Church”), whose members are sometimes nicknamed Mormons. Stowell believed there was a mine hidden nearby and hired Joseph to dig until he found it. Joseph did so, but eventually convinced Stowell it was a waste of time. Joseph continued to have connections with both men and was eventually hired by Knight.

Joseph Knight and his family took a strong liking to the 21-year-old man, who was about the same age as one of Joseph Knight’s sons, and soon Joseph Smith was confiding in Joseph Knight about the work he had been called by God to do. Knight told his son that Joseph Smith was honest and hard-working, the best hired hand they’d ever hired. Knight and his namesake son believed what Joseph told them; the older sons did not initially accept it, although they liked Joseph Smith. Newell described the young prophet as a kind man.

Joseph Smith had seen the plates on which the Book of Mormon were written, but had been forbidden to take them until he was worthy and prepared. When the time finally came, Joseph Knight, Sr. came to his home with a carriage and horse and stayed several days. It was this carriage that Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, used to go and get the plates. On the way home with them, they were attacked, although the attackers did not obtain the plates. When they returned home and reported the event, Joseph Knight and another man, also staying at Joseph Smith’s home, went out to try to find the men.

Once the plates were safely in Joseph’s possession, the work of translation began. Joseph Knight was interested in the work and frequently sent provisions to Joseph Smith’s home, allowing him to continue working without the need to spend as many hours earning a living.

Joseph Knight and his family accepted the Universalian doctrine but had chosen not to join a church.  Universalians believed that everyone eventually goes to Heaven. Despite not being a Mormon, he was the subject of several revelations, which came more frequently in those early days of the Church. In one, he was reassured that anyone who wished to be called to serve God was called. In another, he was encouraged to add vocal prayers to his silent ones. In a third, God admonished him to join the church, since he had a testimony of it. Joseph did so and soon after the first conference, he and his wife were baptized. Knight had considered being baptized the day he watched Joseph Smith baptize the prophet’s own father, but wanted to wait until he had read the Book of Mormon. Later, he wished he had gotten baptized that first day, but he was the sort of man who made careful decisions.

The baptism was a challenging one. The previous day they had dammed up the stream, but mobs destroyed the dam overnight. The small group of church members rebuilt it and then carried out the baptism while facing the jeering of the mob. The mob, having been unable to prevent the baptisms, had Joseph arrested for being a disorderly person before he could carry out the confirmations. The mobs then proceeded to Knight’s home, where they destroyed wagons, piled rails against the doors, and caused other destruction. When Joseph Smith was cleared of the clearly manufactured charges, they had him arrested twice more in rapid succession, and each time, he was cleared, partly with the help of Knight’s testimony at each trial. Finally, Joseph was free to return home and to carry out the confirmations.

Persecution of Joseph Knight and his family intensified and they were eventually forced to flee their home in the middle of the night. The family began a series of migrations forced on them by mob violence. His wife died during one migration, the first person to die in Missouri. Her death came from illness that was intensified by the constant strain of persecution, but many other deaths there would come from violent attacks on the Saints. Her husband noted that she had refused to die until they reached Missouri, which she hoped would become their faith’s Zion.

Joseph Smith always considered Joseph Knight to be a good friend, one of the first to volunteer his efforts on behalf of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wrote of Joseph Knight, Sr.:

“[He] was among the number of the first to administer to my necessities. … For fifteen years he has been faithful and true, and even-handed and exemplary, and virtuous and kind, never deviating from the right hand or to the left. Behold, he is a righteous man, may God Almighty lengthen out the old man’s days; and may his trembling, tortured, and broken body be renewed, … and it shall be said of him, by the sons of Zion, while there is one of them remaining, that this man was a faithful man in Israel.”

Knight died in Iowa, yet another stop on the search for religious freedom, in 1847.

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007

The Joseph Knight Family, Larry Porter, Ensign, October, 1978

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.