Editing David Whitmer (section)

==Role in the early Latter Day Saint movement==
{{Book of Mormon}}
Whitmer and his family were among the earliest adherents to the Latter Day Saint movement. Whitmer first heard of Mormonism and the [[golden plates]] in 1828 when he made a business trip to [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra, New York]], and talked with his friend [[Oliver Cowdery]], who believed that there "must be some truth to the matter".<ref>David Whitmer interview with ''Kansas City Journal'', June 1, 1881, in ''Early Mormon Documents'' '''5''':74.</ref> Cowdery continued to write Whitmer letters concerning the matter, which Whitmer then shared with his parents and siblings. One of Cowdery's letters inquired as to whether the Whitmers would be willing to provide the Smiths with lodging and a place to complete the translation of the [[Book of Mormon]]. The family agreed, and Joseph Smith, his wife, [[Emma Smith]], and Cowdery came to the Whitmer farm to live on June 1, 1829. The translation was completed about a month later.<ref name=":0" />

===Book of Mormon witness===
[[File:David Whitmer - 1864.jpg|150px|thumb|Whitmer by R. B. Rice, c. 1864]]
Whitmer was baptized in June 1829, nearly a year prior to the formal organization of the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]]. During that same month, Whitmer said that he, along with Smith and Cowdery, saw an [[angel]] present the golden plates in a vision. [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] reported that he experienced a similar vision with Smith later in the day. Evidence places this event near Whitmer's father's home in Fayette, New York, on June 28, 1829.<ref name=Anderson2012>{{citation |first= Gale Yancey |last= Anderson |date=Spring 2012 |title= Eleven Witnesses Behold the Plates |journal= [[Journal of Mormon History]] |volume= 38 |issue= 2 |pages= 146–52|doi= 10.2307/23292761 |jstor= 23292761 |s2cid= 254492716 }}</ref> Later, in an 1878 testimony, Whitmer claimed to have seen a light, "not like the light of the sun, nor like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful".<ref name=":0" /> He then went on to describe a table appearing with the [[golden plates]], the [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]], and other objects referenced in the Book of Mormon narrative. Whitmer continued: "I heard the voice of the Lord, as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life, declaring that the records of the plates of the Book of Mormon were translated by the gift and power of God."<ref name=":0" /> Whitmer, Cowdery, and Harris signed a [[Three Witnesses|joint statement]] declaring their testimony to the reality of the vision. The statement was published in the first edition of the Book of Mormon and has been included in nearly every subsequent edition.<ref>[[Richard Lyman Bushman]], ''[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]]'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), pp. 77-79.</ref>

===Founding church member===
When Smith organized the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] on April 6, 1830, Whitmer was one of six original members. In 1835, Whitmer assisted Cowdery and Harris in selecting and ordaining the first [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]] of the church. He also participated in some of the earliest [[Mormon missionary|missionary]] trips, accompanying Joseph Smith and baptizing new converts.<ref name=":0" />

===Church offices===
Whitmer had been ordained an [[Elder (Latter Day Saints)|elder]] of the church by June 9, 1830, and he was ordained to the office of [[High Priest (Latter Day Saints)|high priest]] by Cowdery on October 5, 1831. Soon after the organization of the church, Smith specified [[Jackson County, Missouri]], as a "gathering place" for Latter Day Saints. According to Smith, the area would be the "center place" of the [[Zion (Latter Day Saints)|City of Zion]], the [[New Jerusalem]]. On July 7, 1834, Smith ordained Whitmer to be the president of the church in Missouri and his own successor, should Smith "not live to God".

<blockquote>
By virtue of his position as President of the High Council in Zion, David Whitmer was sustained as "the president of the church in Zion," not merely as a Stake President. Since the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Quorum of the Seventy had not yet been organized, this meant that there was a short period of time—from July 3, 1834, until February 14, 1835—when the High Council in Zion stood in an administrative position next to the First Presidency. It also meant that from July 3, 1834, until December 5, 1834, at which time Oliver Cowdery was made the Associate President of the Church, David Whitmer, as President of the High Council in Zion, was the Prophet's rightful successor."<ref>Hyrum L. Andrus, ''Doctrines of the Kingdom'', Bookcraft, 1973, p. 195.</ref>
</blockquote>

Cowdery and Whitmer were also called to "search out" twelve "disciples", who would become the [[Quorum of the Twelve]].<ref>Doctrine and Covenants, {{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=Section 18|verse=27,37}}</ref>