The Church of Christ, informally referred to as the Church of Christ (Whitmerite), was a denomination of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

based on the claims of

David Whitmer David Whitmer (January 7, 1805 – January 25, 1888) was an American Mormon leader who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Early life Whitmer was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvani ...

, one of the

Three Witnesses The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon; they also stated tha ...

to the Book of Mormon's

Golden Plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...

. There were actually two separate organizations of this church. In 1847,

William E. McLellin William Earl McLellin (January 18, 1806 – April 24, 1883) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. One of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, McLellin later broke with church founder Joseph Smith. Biograph ...

, who led a congregation of

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

s in

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first t ...

, remembered that

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, the movement's deceased founder, had designated David Whitmer as his successor. McLellin encouraged Whitmer to come forward and lead his church. Whitmer agreed and gathered others to his cause, including fellow Book of Mormon witnesses

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

, Martin Harris,

Hiram Page Hiram Page ( 1800August 12, 1852) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Early life Page was born in Vermont. Earlier in his life, he studied medicine which h ...

and

John Whitmer John Whitmer (August 27, 1802 – July 11, 1878) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Whitmer was also the first official Church Historian and a member of t ...

. Taking the original name of the church, the Church of Christ published a periodical from Kirtland called, ''The Ensign of Liberty.'' Whitmer, however, never joined the main body of his followers in Kirtland and the church dissolved. However, by the 1870s Whitmer was active again and had reorganized his Church of Christ. In 1887 he published his "

An Address to All Believers in Christ David Whitmer (January 7, 1805 – January 25, 1888) was an American Mormon leader who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Early life Whitmer was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ...

" which promoted his church and affirmed his testimony of the Book of Mormon. Whitmer died in 1888, but the Whitmerite church continued on. The church published a periodical called ''The Return'' beginning in 1889, which became known as ''The Messenger of Truth'' in 1900. The church published its own edition of the Book of Mormon under the name, The Nephite Record and published a new edition of the

Book of Commandments The Book of Commandments is the earliest published book to contain the revelations of Joseph Smith Jr. Text published in the Book of Commandments is now considered scripture by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as part o ...

. By 1925, most remaining members of the Whitmerite church had united with the

Church of Christ (Temple Lot) The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members of ...

. The last of the Whitmerites was John C. Whitmer's daughter Mayme Janetta Whitmer Koontz, who died in 1961.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Defunct Latter Day Saint denominations Religious organizations established in 1847 Latter Day Saint movement in Ohio Kirtland, Ohio Prairie Saints denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement 1847 establishments in Ohio