Hiram Page ( 1800August 12, 1852) was an early member 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 ...
and one of the
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who made statements stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith said was his source material for the Book of Mormon. An earlier group of witnesses who said they had se ...
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 ...
.
Early life
Page was born in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. Earlier in his life, he studied medicine which he practiced during his travels throughout New York and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. On November 10, 1825, Page married Catherine Whitmer, daughter of
Peter Whitmer Sr.
Peter Whitmer Sr. (April 14, 1773 – August 12, 1854) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, and father of the movement's second founding family.
Whitmer was born in Pennsylvania and married Mary Elsa Musselman. The Whitmers had ...
and
Mary Musselman Mary Elsa Musselman Whitmer (August 27, 1778 – January 1856) was a Book of Mormon witness and the wife of Peter Whitmer Sr.
She was born Mary Elsa Musselman in Germany to Jacob and Elizabeth Musselman. She immigrated to Pennsylvania in the ...
. The two had nine children together: John, Elizabeth, Philander, Mary, Peter, Nancy, Hiram, Oliver, and Kate.
Early involvement in the Latter Day Saint movement
Page became one of the
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who made statements stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith said was his source material for the Book of Mormon. An earlier group of witnesses who said they had se ...
during June 1829.
He and Catherine were baptized into in the
Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to:
Church groups
* When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16.
* The entire body of Ch ...
(later renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
[''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) 1:302–303.][ H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters (1994). ''Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 160.] on April 11, 1830, by
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 ...
. On June 9, he was ordained a
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
in the church, one of the church's first twelve officers.
Seer stone and revelations
Page was living with his in-laws the
Whitmers in
Fayette, New York
Fayette is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Seneca County, New York, Seneca County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,617 at the 2020 census. The town is in the north-central part of the county and ...
. Smith arrived in August 1830 to discover Page using a black "
seerstone" to produce revelations for the church. The revelations were regarding the organization and location of
Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...
. Cowdery and the Whitmer family believed the revelations were authentic. In response, Smith announced in a new revelation during the church's September
conference
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
that Page's revelations were of the devil (
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...
, ). At the conference there was considerable discussion on the topic. Page agreed to discard the stone and the revelations and join in following Smith as the sole
revelator for the church. The members present confirmed this unanimously
with a vote. The fate of the stone and revelations was not recorded by contemporary sources and has been the subject of interest ever since.
Martin Harris's brother Emer stated second-hand in 1856 that the stone was ground to powder and the associated revelations were burned.
Apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin Rulon Dyer (January 1, 1903 – March 6, 1977) was an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and served as a member of the church's First Presidency from 1968 to 1970.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dyer was ...
stated that he had discovered Page's seerstone in 1955, that it had been passed down through Jacob Whitmer's family. The validity of this claim has been questioned.
Migration to Ohio and Missouri
In January 1831, Page accompanied
Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is noted for writing the memoir, '' Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Ge ...
and a company of saints from
Waterloo, New York
Waterloo is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 7,338 at the 2020 census. The town and its major community are named after Waterloo, Belgium, where Napoleon was defeated.
There is also a village called Water ...
, to
Buffalo on the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
, on their way to
Fairport and
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 ...
. In May 1831, Page moved his family to
Thompson, Ohio
Thompson is an unincorporated community in Thompson Township, Geauga County, in the U.S. state of Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a po ...
, under Lucy Mack Smith's direction. He again moved his family to
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...
, in 1832 and joined the Latter Day Saints gathering there. With the other Whitmers, they formed a cluster of ten or twelve homes called the "Whitmer Settlement". Hiram owned of land in the area.
During the growing
anti-Mormon
Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed against the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term is often used to describe people or literat ...
hostilities in Jackson County, Page was severely beaten by a group of non-Mormon vigilantes on October 31, 1833. On July 31 and August 6, 1834, he testified to the facts of the beatings. By 1834, Page and his family were expelled from the county along with the other Latter Day Saints, and lived for a time in neighboring
Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman:
* Clay County, Alabama
* Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County)
* Clay County, Fl ...
, before moving to
Far West.
Schism with Joseph Smith and later life
When the members of the Whitmer family were excommunicated from the church in 1838, Page withdrew from church fellowship. He later bought a farm in
Excelsior Springs
Excelsior Springs is a city in Clay and Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 10,553 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately northeast of central Kansas City, Missour ...
, in Ray County.
On September 6, 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 ...
baptized Page,
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, Pennsylvania ...
,
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 ...
, and
Jacob Whitmer
Jacob Whitmer (February 2, 1800 – April 21, 1856) was the second born child of Peter Whitmer, Sr., and Mary Musselman. He is primarily remembered as one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon’s golden plates.
Biography
Born in Penn ...
into his newly formed
Church of Christ (Whitmerite) The Church of Christ, informally referred to as the Church of Christ (Whitmerite), was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement based on the claims of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.
There we ...
. McLellin ordained Page a
high priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...
in the church. Page participated in the subsequent ordinations of the others.
Page died on his farm in
Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Excelsior Springs is a city in Clay County, Missouri, Clay and Ray County, Missouri, Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 10,553 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, still affirming his testimony of the Book of Mormon. His death was caused when his wagon overturned, crushing him underneath.
For almost 150 years, the final resting place of Page was unknown.
However, in 2000, it was located near Excelsior Springs, on property purchased by Charles and Molly Fulkerson in 1917.
[ Page's burial location was the last of the 11 Book of Mormon witnesses to be identified.][ A commemorative marker was placed on Page's grave on April 27, 2002.]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Hiram
1800 births
1852 deaths
19th-century American physicians
American Latter Day Saint leaders
American Latter Day Saints
Book of Mormon witnesses
Converts to Mormonism
Doctrine and Covenants people
Latter Day Saint leaders
People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
People from Excelsior Springs, Missouri
People from Fayette, New York
People from Vermont
Religious leaders from Vermont
Road incident deaths in Missouri
Seership in Mormonism
Whitmer family