An Address to All Believers in Christ – 1887 edition
In 1887, David Whitmer, who was a first-hand witness to the events in the early church, published a book detailing 12 critical ways that the Utah based church had fallen into error. His book, An address to All Believers in Christ, is applicable today since he was one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon and was central to numerous events in the early church. Many of his concerns are things we are still struggling with almost 150 years later.
Overview
In looking at David Whitmer’s book, I want to go through each of his high-level points and briefly discuss why they are still a concern today and why we shouldn’t just automatically oppose them because our religious leaders said so. It is quite tempting to accept things today because that is the way we have always done it or just because everyone else does it as well. However, this is how the slow apostasy from truth starts. We let one error enter after another and then we are very far off track as David Whitmer detailed.
Whitmer’s book has two main parts. The first part is an explanation as to why we should accept the Book of Mormon. The second part is a discussion as to why the Mormon church went into error almost immediately. Of course, if someone doesn’t accept the Book of Mormon then they won’t accept anything the church teaches. Therefore, a basic belief in the restoration is assumed for the second part.
In the second part, David Whitmer discusses errors in the LDS church and makes an overall argument as to why a belief in the Book of Mormon shouldn’t automatically be taken to mean a belief in the LDS church. Even on my mission I taught a version of this idea. If you believe in the Book of Mormon, then you must believe in Joseph. If you believe in Joseph, then you must believe in the LDS church. If you believe in the LDS church, then you must believe in the leaders today. This is obviously not correct. Yet many still use this train of thought to defend their beliefs.
I won’t discuss much about David Whitmer personally. I may do that separately. However, an easy trap to fall into is simple character assassinations. We discount entire logical arguments simply because one misperceived action or another. This is so common today. If we don’t like an argument someone is making, then we just point to something they supposedly did or said in the past and label them a “bad” person. This makes everything they have to offer questionable, in our minds, allowing us to discount it without any further thought at all. Truth rises or falls on its own.
In a discussion like this the word ‘church’ is really hard to use since everyone understands it differently. To many a church is a collection of people who share an ideology. To many a church is a physical building used to worship. However, ‘church’ is also a highly structured, government recognized, organization which typically has extensive tax benefits. These are widely different concepts, yet we use the same word to describe them.
In defining what a church is, David Whitmer used church the first way, which was a group of believers. He extensively spoke against the formal organization of the church in one of his key points which we will see. According to him, this formal organization was the start of all the troubles which the church later saw.
Church Can Go Astray
The first major point that David Whitmer made in his book, is that the church can in fact go astray. Many today think this is not possible simply because they have been told it over and over and over again. However scripturally it seems to be possible and very common. Once you become a prophet of God, then you don’t automatically lose your agency.
In looking at the scriptures, we actually have several cases of people that served in prophetic roles and then went astray. We also have the Israelites who went astray repeatedly. In fact, they even went astray just after Moses had only been gone from them for a mere 40 days. That is remarkably quick when you think about it.
In the Bible we see prophet-kings like Solomon, Saul, and Uzziah who went astray and helped lead the people astray as well. We also see that David, who was called a prophet in Acts 2:30, went astray and committed atrocious acts. Jeremiah in Jeremiah 23 absolutely derided the false prophets who were leading people astray. He also did this in Jeremiah 5 and spoke about how the people actually loved being led astray by the false prophets and wicked priests.
David Whitmer pointed out many other biblical scriptures which spoke about the people, and consequently the church, going astray. He mentioned Lamentations 4:13, Ezekiel 13:3, Ezekiel 14:4-5, and Isaiah 66:2-4. All of these mention that the people of God could and did go astray when their prophets started teaching their own ideas as the truth of God. In addition, he mentioned that according to 2 Corinthians 11:14, Satan can appear as an angel and deceive whomever he chooses. This would be incredibly hard to defend against unless you have a deep understanding of the workings of God. In his book, David Whitmer mentioned:
When a prophet, or any other man, prays to God and asks wisdom concerning a matter, his conscience will reveal an answer to him just according to the desires of his heart. If his desires are in any way carnal, he being deceived, an answer will be revealed to him accordingly
David Whitmer
The last point, on this subject, that David Whitmer pointed out was that Joseph himself was prone to error. In the LDS church, we don’t really like to think about this. However, a revelation that Joseph received in July 1828 stated that he was prone to violating the commandments of God as he often wanted the approval of men more than that of God. When this revelation was published, as D&C 3 today, then it was subtly changed to paint Joseph in a much more favorable light.
Polygamy is Wrong
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that polygamy in the church was a serious mistake. This does seem to be a subject which is very polarizing today with endless online discussions. Scripturally, it is hard to see a justification for polygamy, since there is not a single case where a righteous people engaged in it. In his reasoning, Whitmer showed this by comparing the prohibition of polygamy in Jacob 2 with the condoning of it in D&C 132. The two are very much opposed, unless you employ twisted logic. David Whitmer mentioned:
We denounce the doctrine of polygamy and spiritual wifeism. It is a great evil, shocking to the moral sense, and the more so because practiced in the name of Religion. It is of man and not of God, and is especially forbidden in the Book of Mormon
David Whitmer
David Whitmer himself wasn’t a direct witness to the polygamy that happened in Nauvoo since he left the church in 1838. He mentioned not really knowing the origin of the doctrine until he saw the first edition of the RLDS publication, Latter Day Saints Herald, which was published in 1860, just 16 years after Joseph died. The RLDS church at that time was composed of many of the members that didn’t follow Brigham westward. These members all had first-hand experience to the events of Nauvoo and earlier. After reading this David Whitmer concluded that it was Joseph that instituted the doctrine of polygamy since the newspaper listed firsthand testimonies describing this.
The first of these testimonies that David Whitmer discussed was from Isaac Sheen who was an influential early member and involved with several of the official publications of the church. Isaac mentioned that Joseph had practiced polygamy however he decided that it was wrong and “repented of his connection with this doctrine”. According to Isaac, it was this repentance that made Joseph want to sacrifice himself for the church.
David Whitmer then quoted from the same RLDS publication where it mentioned that the leaders of the church determined in their minds that polygamy was acceptable and so they approached Joseph for a revelation on the subject. According to Ezekiel 14, God gave them an answer according to their idols and they joyfully accepted it. After this, the article clarifies again, that Joseph repented of his connection to polygamy and abhorred it at his death.
David Whitmer then concluded this section with a quote from William Marks who was the Nauvoo Stake President and editor of the RLDS newspaper. In this quote, William Marks stated that Joseph came to him and mentioned that polygamy was a cursed doctrine, and the church must now remove it otherwise they would have to leave the United States. Joseph was now “satisfied” that it was a “cursed doctrine”. It is also interesting to note that William Marks was an editor for the entire publication therefore he would have endorsed the overall contents.
Many twist William Marks’ statements to mean what they want them to mean. However, when his statements are looked at together, then it is quite obvious that according to Marks, Joseph instituted polygamy, was repentant of it, and finally wanted to remove it from the church. This is clear in William Marks’ personal statements, and the RLDS publication itself. David Whitmer used this information to conclude that he believed Joseph was the author of polygamy and that Joseph repented of this evil doctrine right before his death.
Dubious Revelations
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that all revelations can’t be treated as being equal. In the church today we do like to think that if Joseph said it or did it, then it is a divine communication from God. This does however treat Joseph as a one-dimensional person, which is contrary to everything that the scriptures teach. As we saw, the scriptures are full of people who frankly have good days and bad days just like us.
To support this claim, Whitmer discussed the revelation that Joseph received to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon. After Oliver Cowdrey, and others, attempted to sell it and were unable to, then they returned to Joseph and wondered how a revelation from God could fail. According to David Whitmer, Joseph inquired of God and was told that not all revelations were from him. Joseph then said:
Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of man: and some revelations are of the devil.
David Whitmer’s recounting Joseph’s reaction
This concept also agrees with the overall deceptive nature of Satan. If Satan can deceive us, then he must be able to give us false knowledge. This false knowledge can then be seen as true knowledge from God. The scriptures also mention in, Revelation 12, Jeremiah 23, and Daniel 8, that Satan can deceive us if we are not careful. 2 Thessalonians 2 even mentions that we will be deceived unless we love the truth. This is a very high bar that we should always be trying to reach. Many however fall short and they are completely unaware.
The next reason that Whitmer mentioned is that after Joseph used the seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon, and receive the initial revelations, then he mentioned that he was finished with the work of God. Joseph was just going to preach from that point forward as he had completed the work that God gave him. David Whitmer mentioned:
After the translation of the Book of Mormon was finished, early in the spring of 1830, before April 6th, Joseph gave the stone to Oliver Cowdery and told me as well as the rest that he was through with it, and he did not use the stone any more. He said he was through the work that God had given him the gift to perform, except to preach the gospel.
David Whitmer
This agrees with the initial revelations very well. For instance, Joseph was told, in a March 1829 revelation, that he had a single gift which was to translate the Book of Mormon. This revelation was changed to include additional gifts. A June 1829 revelation also said that the church was to teach from the scriptures not the words of the leaders. After Joseph gave the stone to Oliver, then according to David Whitmer everything afterwards was from Joseph personally and not from God as it was during the translation process.
Formal Organization
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that the church itself didn’t even need to be formally organized. According to him, the church was functioning perfectly fine prior to April 6th, 1830, when it was officially organized. He mentioned that between August 1829, when members started joining the church to April 6th, 1830, there were 70 total members and 3 branches of the church. These branches were in Fayette, NY, Manchester, NY, and Colesville, PA. According to David Whitmer:
We were as fully organized — spiritually — before April 6th as we were on that day. The reason why we met on that day was this; the world had been telling us that we were not a regularly organized church … I do not consider that the church was any more organized or established in the eyes of God on that day than it was previous to that day.
David Whitmer
According to him the only reason the church was organized on April 6th was because they wanted to meet legal obligations and be officially recognized as a church. It also should be remembered that the church met in Peter Whitmer’s home, and Peter was the father of David Whitmer. David Whitmer was also one of the 6 officially recognized members of the church on April 6th. Therefore, it is safe to assume that David Whitmer had an intimate knowledge of the workings of the church at the very beginning.
Whitmer supported the claim, of the church only being organized to meet legal obligations, by quoting from an April 10th, 1830, revelation which states that the church was organized according to the laws of the country. This may seem like a minor point, however the laws of God have always been opposed to the laws of man. The revelation stated that the church was:
Regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country
April 10, 1830, revelation (D&C 20)
After being formally organized, the church was granted the rights afforded by the law. However, it also was restricted by the law as well. Today this is a major problem because churches have to walk a very fine line, so they don’t lose their legal standing. However, if a church is never legally organized then it avoids this problem entirely. I personally doubt Christ is going to setup his church according to all the esoteric laws of man.
Not To Lead
The next major point that David Whitmer made is that immediately after formally organizing as a church, Joseph was made a prophet, seer, and revelator to the church. This revelation is known today as D&C 21, and according to Whitmer, was received without the seer stone. According to him, this makes it an invalid revelation and a product of Joseph’s personal desires. In the revelation, the church was told to listen to all of Joseph’s words and commandments. According to him, this was the first error that entered the church and was the foundation for every other error that the church entered into. David Whitmer mentioned:
I consider that on that day the first error was introduced into the Church of Christ, and that error was Brother Joseph being ordained as “Prophet Seer and Revelator” to the church. The Holy Ghost was with us in more power during the eight months previous to April 6, 1830, than ever at any time thereafter.
David Whitmer
He supported this argument by mentioning that the New Testament apostles had no prophet, seer, and revelator for the whole church. Neither did the Book of Mormon disciples that Jesus called. In fact, the Book of Mormon describes how the church at the time was uncertain what they should call themselves and so Christ appeared to let them know his will.
If they had a single top leader for the entire church then that single leader would have made the decision and there would be no room for disagreement. In fact, there has never been a single time where there was one leader for the entire church. It was always many leaders who individually were called by God to the work.
Whitmer also pointed out that the idea of a single leader for the entire church is contradictory to many scriptures. For instance, in Jeremiah 17, Mark 9, Matthew 20, and Luke 9 we are told not to trust in the arm of flesh and that our leaders should be servants of all. Yet the revelation explicitly states that the members should trust in Joseph and look to him for guidance. Essentially they were to trust in the arm of flesh as Joseph would guide. This seems contradictory to all of scriptures.
Lastly, Whitmer pointed out that Joseph received a revelation, through the seer stone, that said the church was supposed to rely on the scriptures for their guidance, not the words of the leaders. This revelation is known today as D&C 18 however it has been changed from the original wording to indicate that the scriptures should just be a guide instead of what the church actually relies on. This was very convenient and very wrong according to David Whitmer. The church was supposed to rely on the scriptures and should still rely on the scriptures for the guidance and direction.
Changed Revelations
The next major point that David Whitmer made is that Joseph would commonly change the revelations. These changes would almost always benefit himself or what Joseph wanted to do. According to Whitmer, if the revelations were from God, then they shouldn’t have been changed at all. David Whiter mentioned:
Some of the revelations as they are now in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants have been changed and added to. Some of the changes being of the greatest importance as the meaning is entirely changed on some very important matters; as if the Lord had changed his mind a few years after he gave the revelations
David Whitmer
David Whitmer pointed out in his book several of the revelations that changed. He mentioned D&C 5 which was changed to allow Joseph more than the single gift to translate the Book of Mormon. He mentioned D&C 18 which was changed to indicate that the church shouldn’t rely on the scriptures for their teachings, instead the church could rely on other things like the words of the leaders. He also mentioned D&C 19 which was changed to allow Joseph to publish the revelations even though the original revelation told Joseph not to.
The last change that Whitmer mentioned was D&C 20 which was the founding document for the church and referred to as the Articles and Covenants of the Church. This document has been extensively changed from the original revelation which was received on April 10th, 1830. Whitmer objected to this revelation being changed to include numerous additional priesthood offices which we see today. Originally the revelation pertained only to the simple offices described in the Book of Mormon, however today it includes significantly more than that.
In his mind this never should have happened as God would have known about these offices at the start so why weren’t they specified originally. For instance, using his reasoning then if more priesthood offices were introduced into the church, then would we go back and retrofit them into all the revelations? No. This would be incredibly strange, so he didn’t know why Joseph did it.
Not To Publish
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that the revelations were never to be published in the first place. There was absolutely no need to publish them, and they were even told, in a revelation, not to publish them. It was publishing these revelations which gave additional fuel to the already inflamed anti-Mormon sentiment of the time. David Whitmer mentioned:
They should have been kept with the sacred papers and records of the church, and never published in a book to become public property for the eyes of the world. It was not necessary for the whole church to ever see them. … The main reason why the printing press was destroyed, was because they published the Book of Commandments.
David Whitmer
As we know the revelations were published and just a few months later in July 1833 a mob was organized which, destroyed the press, and drove the members out. Events like this are always multi-faceted, however printing the revelations was certainly part of the problem and was easily avoidable.
Whitmer, further supported his idea that the revelations should never have been published by using the language of the revelations themselves. He discussed two early revelations that Joseph received using the seer stone and how both of these revelations were violated. In an April 1829 revelation, known today as D&C 6, Joseph was specifically told to not make his gift known to the world. Publishing the revelations would certainly have made his gift known to the world.
However, in another revelation given June 1829 and known today as D&C 19, Joseph is directly told not to publish the revelations at all since the world can’t handle the information. He was told to not show the revelations to world or even to speak about them to a larger audience. Joseph however altered this revelation, in a later publishing, to give himself permission to publish them. According to Whitmer, it was this publishing of the revelations, when they weren’t supposed to, that was the cause of many of their early problems. He mentioned this was just one of the many mistakes that the early church made when they intentionally disobeyed God’s directions.
Choice Seer
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that the “Choice Seer” described in 2 Nephi 3 was not Joseph Smith as many claimed it was. Even today there are numerous conference talks or articles written describing how Joseph is that “Choice Seer”. However, when you actually look at what Nephi wrote then you can see this is simply not the case. David Whitmer mentioned:
Does this agree with the description of the Choice Seer? Nay verily. This alone should satisfy any one, and will satisfy any one who is not trusting in an arm of flesh, that Brother Joseph was not the Choice Seer.
David Whitmer
In looking into this, David Whitmer goes through the Book of Mormon and lists 4 distinct reasons as to why Joseph wasn’t this choice seer. The first one is that this “Choice Seer” was to be a Lamanite. We can see this described in 2 Nephi 3:7 and 2 Nephi 3:22-24, which both say that this “Choice Seer” will be from among the Lamanites. We know Joseph Smith’s lineage and he most certainly wasn’t a Lamanite.
The 2nd reason is that the role of this “Choice Seer” was to convince the Lamanites of the truthfulness of God’s word. This is described in 2 Nephi 3:11 which mentions that the choice seer will convince the Lamanites of the word that already had gone forth among them. Joseph and the early church never convinced the Lamanites of anything. Actually, they were not even able to obtain a license to teach the Lamanites, or establish commerce with them. It is quite difficult to see how this could apply to Joseph at all. However, it does make sense that Joseph helped spread the word among the Lamanites and then a later individual will convince them of it.
The 3rd reason is that, according to 2 Nephi 3:17, the “Choice Seer” will be like Moses and be mighty in writing, but not speaking. This “Choice Seer” would need a spokesman like Moses who had Aaron. This also doesn’t apply to Joseph since Joseph was in fact mighty in speaking. He would commonly deliver long speeches with very little preparation. His last major sermon, the King Follett discourse, was over two hours long. He didn’t need anyone to speak for him as he was more than capable of that himself.
The last reason is that, according to 2 Nephi 3:14, those who oppose this “Choice Seer” will be confounded. Historically we know that those that opposed Joseph were not confounded but were allowed to destroy him which the verse specifically mentions shouldn’t have happened. Joseph was killed and the church continued without him. This is directly opposite of what the text says should happen to the “Choice Seer”.
Gathering
The next major point David Whitmer made in his book, was that the leaders of the church thought they were the ones to build New Jerusalem, however this was a mistake in their understanding. They had an apocalyptical idea that influenced everything that they did. This resulted in an unnecessary need to gather in haste as they thought the end was quite near. In their minds, they needed to gather to build New Jerusalem so God could destroy the world. David Whitmer mentioned:
They did not stop to consider that God had his own time in which his great and marvelous works should be done among the inhabitants of the earth. They thought that the time for building the city New Jerusalem must be now at hand — in their time — man’s time — and that they were the ones who were to build it.
David Whitmer
David Whitmer supported this idea that the church weren’t the ones to build New Jerusalem by using the Book of Mormon itself. New Jerusalem is described in 3 Nephi 21 and doesn’t mention being built by the gentiles at all, but by the Lamanites. In fact, if we look at 3 Nephi 21:23-24, then we can see that the text mentions that the gentiles will support the Lamanites in building the city. The idea that the Lamanites, or remnant of Joseph, will build this city is also supported by Ether 13.
From historical records it is evident that Joseph originally planned to include the Lamanites this way. However, when he was unable to get a license to preach to the Lamanites, he changed the revelations and his plans. He no longer saw the Lamanites as essential to build New Jerusalem and was going to proceed with the work of the gospel without them.
At various times Joseph did try and include the Lamanites, however it was largely unsuccessful, and the church went in a different direction. Even going so far as moving Zion outside of their territory. According to 2 Nephi 3, at a future time a “Choice Seer” will however be successful among the Lamanites. At that time the Lamanites will return to God and establish the New Jerusalem with assistance from the gentiles. The gentiles like to flip this and put themselves at the center of the action however the text itself doesn’t support this at all.
Name Change
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that changing the name of the church was a mistake. Originally, the name of the church was “The Church of Christ” like the Book of Mormon said it should be. This was however changed to remove Christ from the name and introduce “Latter Day Saints” instead. In making the change, David Whitmer contended that the church wasn’t following the clear and simple directions of Christ by calling the church after him. David Whitmer mentioned:
What right has any man or men to change the name which Christ decided the church should wear? God have mercy upon the man who says that the name should be changed to any other than that which Christ gave us.
David Whitmer
David Whitmer supported this claim by referencing the event described in 3 Nephi 27. In this chapter the newly formed church was meeting to discuss what they should call themselves. Christ appeared and told them that they were simply to call themselves after him. It was his church so it should be called after him. Any other name would be the church after another person. We can also see this very simple name in the church that Alma formed after he separated from King Noah. According to Mosiah 18:17, he simply called the church, the church of Christ exactly as Christ later mentioned it should be.
In the event that some were not aware of the name change, then David Whitmer supported this assertion by pointing out that the title page of the 1833 Book of Commandments mentioned the scripturally correct name. While the title page of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants had the incorrect name. According to David Whitmer, this would make the church not Christ’s church anymore. This would seem to be exactly what Christ said to the church he established in the New World. They would be Christ’s church if they bore his name and taught correct principles. Changing one of those things would make the church no longer qualify as Christ’s church.
Even today the church doesn’t bear the simple name of Christ, like the scriptures say, but the name of Christ and the saints. This is quite confusing. How can a church be the church of Christ and saints? It is either Christ’s church or not. We have no power or authority to add anything to Christ’s simple gospel. Therefore, any more or less than his gospel is some other gospel.
High Priest
The next major point that David Whitmer made was that the entire office of high priest was an error. There never should have been the office of high priest introduced into the church since the scriptures don’t mention this office at all after Christ. The church had no need for any more high priests because Christ fulfilled that obligation for us. David Whitmer mentioned:
High Priests were only in the church before Christ; and to have this office in the “Church of Christ” is not according to the teachings of Christ in either of the sacred books: Christ himself is our great and last High Priest.
David Whitmer
David Whitmer supported this claim by referencing the fact that the office of high priest was never mentioned in the New Testament as part of Christ’s church. In addition, Moroni, in the Book of Mormon, mentioned elders, teachers, and priests, however never mentioned high priests. It certainly would make sense that if high priest was a necessary office for the church, then Moroni would have given some kind of direction. Why would he miss such a critical aspect if he was trying to give us direction?
Whitmer also mentioned that Hebrews 4 through Hebrews 9 discussed Christ as the great and last high priest. There was no need for any more priests after the order of Melchizedek because that belonged to Christ alone. In Judaism, the High Priest was the mediator between the people and God. However, Christ came to change that and be the mediator between us and God. This would make him the great and last high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. There was no need for anyone else.
Another reason that David Whitmer offered for not needing this office in the church, was because for almost 2 years the office didn’t even exist, and the church was able to flourish anyways. At the time the office was introduced, the church had almost 2000 members and was rapidly growing because of its simplicity. It seemed to David Whitmer to be a completely unnecessary addition that gave the church nothing that they needed and only served to complicate things.
The last reason David Whitmer used for high priest being an unnecessary addition to the church, was that when it was introduced, Satan was given power to possess individuals and raged among the group for a short time. During the Morley Farm conference, when Joseph said the high priesthood was introduced, Satan possessed some individuals, and others gave prophecies which turned out to be false.
At the time this was seen as a positive event, however in hindsight it was a sign that God was no longer guiding the people. For instance, if God was giving the church a higher priesthood, then what was Satan doing there? If God was manifesting his power and authority, then why would prophecy turn out to be false? Often times, we mistake the work of the devil for the work of God.
One last reason that David Whitmer offered is when reading the Book of Mormon, we quite often forget that there is an Old Testament portion as well as a New Testament one. We often look at it as one continuous record, however the appearance of Christ was a turning point in the Book of Mormon as well as the New Testament. Nothing was the same after that point. For instance, we can see the phrase “high priest”, or “high priesthood” used 25 times in the Book of Mormon before the appearance of Christ and exactly 0 times after his appearance. If this office was so important then why would this be the case?
Doctrine of Christ
The last major point that David Whitmer made in his book was that the entire Doctrine of Christ was contained in the Bible and Book of Mormon, therefore what use was the Doctrine and Covenants. The church didn’t need this book as canonized scriptures and the original revelations even told the church not to publish it or rely on it as a source of scripture. David Whitmer mentioned:
Some of the Latter Day Saints have claimed that as the Book of Mormon is an abridgement of the Nephite records, it does not contain all the doctrine of Christ, hence the need of the revelations of Joseph Smith. All who make this claim are in error, as Christ himself says, (3 Nephi 21:6), that his doctrine is contained in the Book of Mormon.
David Whitmer
David Whitmer does support this claim by discussing a few revelations that were changed. These revelations originally mentioned that the church was to rely on the scriptures for their teachings and doctrine, however after the changes then the revelations allowed the church to go far beyond the scriptures. For instance, both D&C 18 and D&C 42, in the 1833 Book of Commandments specified that the church was to rely on the scriptures. However, these were both altered for the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants to allow the church to teach vague concepts like the “principles of my gospel”.
Another supporting reason, for not needing the Doctrine and Covenants was that the Book of Mormon and the Bible described everything that the church needed. For instance, the Book of Mormon describes how to baptize, how to perform the sacrament, how to ordain individuals, how to discipline church members, and how to administer to the sick. In view of this, Whitmer concluded that there was very little that the Bible and Book of Mormon didn’t address. According to him, there was no need for the Doctrine and Covenants as a book of scripture.
In light of this, David Whitmer stated that it was a mistake to rely on the Doctrine and Covenants to establish the need for additional doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood offices. If these things were essential to the church, then they would have been present in the Book of Mormon or revealed to Joseph when he was getting revelations through the seer stone. According to David Whitmer, Joseph later receiving these revelations and then retroactively altering the previously received revelations to support these new concepts was incredibly suspicious.
Conclusion
David Whitmer’s book covers a lot of ground pertaining to the errors of the church, however it is very eye-opening to see that he addressed all these concerns almost 150 years ago. There are many reasons to believe that the church got off track at some point. That point could even have been when the church was officially organized. Many of the things that we assume to be correct in Mormonism are built upon other assumptions. However, when we look at the Bible and the Book of Mormon then we are left wondering why are the scriptures so different from what the church teaches today? Are we wrong, or are the scriptures wrong?
This is the struggle that David Whitmer had and is the struggle that each one of us must face. Christ mentioned that his doctrine was simple, yet the doctrine of the church is contradictory to this. The church taught that it couldn’t go astray, yet the scriptures teach that it can. The church taught that polygamy is a law of heaven, yet the scriptures repeatedly teach against this. The church originally taught that the members should rely on the scriptures, yet the revelations were changed to ignore this. The scriptures described the church as having simple offices, yet numerous other offices and roles were introduced. This complicated the simple Doctrine of Christ.
Many things in the church are completely contradictory to the scriptures, yet we are told to trust in the leaders as they won’t lead us astray. This is contradictory to everything that Christ taught during his ministry, yet we are told to ignore this and simply obey anyways. David Whitmer, a personal witness to all the early events in the church, recognized these errors and warned us many years ago. We each have a choice to believe this is not possible, or to simply admit that we were wrong and seek the truth instead.
David Whitmer concluded his simple testimony with these words:
Choose for yourselves whom you will hear. I am not asking you to hear me; I refer you to the words of eternal truth, as they are contained in the two sacred books. I will always pray for you, that you may some day see that you are in error in believing and teaching the doctrines which men have added to the doctrine of Christ.
David Whitmer
We each individually have to make a difficult choice to decide what we believe in. For many, it is simply easier to believe our leaders won’t lead us astray and to trust in them. For others, we have to embark on the difficult task of determining for ourselves what is true and what is not. This is the most difficult task of our lives, however it makes us the type of people that Christ wants us to be.
