From Historian to Dissident: The Book of John Whitmer
The editor provides valuable historical and biographical information in his footnotes. His introduction details the provenance of the manuscript (this is its fourth time in print) and of the life and the role of John Whitmer in the early Mormon movement. One of eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon, a charter member of the new church, he was called by "revelation" (1831) to keep a history of "The Church of Christ," an assignment he took very seriously. His early writings reflect a true believer's intimate perspective of the movement, including events in New York prior to the move to Ohio, and the text of several of Joseph Smith's revelations. Especially useful are his accounts of the Missouri troubles with copies of correspondence and petitions between Mormon leaders and state and federal officials. Whitmer became disillusioned with Smith and was excommunicated in March 1838. Thereafter, he wrote briefly from hearsay and secondhand sources of the rise and fall of Nauvoo and the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Whitmer blamed the church's problems on polygamy, the "Danite" band, Joseph's "lust," and the "vile behavior" of Saints toward non-Mormons. He died in 1878, faithful to his Book of Mormon witness but unaffiliated with the "Restoration Movement." --Utah Historical QuarterlySkillfully edited by freelance research historian Bruce Westergren, From Hisotiran to Dissident: The Book of John Whitmer presents the earliest commisioned history of Mormonism, spanning the years 1831 to 1844 and penned by John Whitmer, a man who placed his faith in the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints yet came to distrust its leadership and was excommunicated in 1838. His record of the church itself, and the people who practiced and spread the faith, is quite highly detailed; at some points the language and wording of 150 years past becomes difficult to follow, and for this, an adept editing and sidenotes by Westergren are of great aid for contemporary readers. This firsthand perspective is very highly recommended for anyone with a keen interest in the early history of the Mormon church. --Bookwatch (Petaluma, California)