Orson Ferguson Whitney (1 July 1855 – 16 May 1931), born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

, was a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) from 1906 until his death.

Early life

Whitney was the son of Horace K. Whitney and Helen Mar Kimball. Whitney's father, Horace, had set type for the original publication of the '' Deseret News'' and worked as a printer with the newspaper for 21 years.

Background

Whitney was a politician, journalist, poet, historian and academic. In 1878, as a young man, Whitney began a career in writing with the business office of the ''Deseret News'', later becoming a reporter and the city editor. Whitney served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the LDS Church for a time in Pennsylvania and Ohio. During a mission in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

for the LDS Church from 1881 to 1883, he acted as editor of the church publication '' Millennial Star''. In 1896 and 1897, Whitney taught English and theology at

Brigham Young College Brigham Young College was a college and high school in Logan, Utah. It was founded by Brigham Young on 6 August 1877, 23 days before his death. He deeded several acres of land to a board of trustees for the development of a college. This was ...

in Logan, Utah. In 1899, Whitney accepted the position of

Assistant Church Historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

and served in that position until he was called as an

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 ...

. Whitney was also involved in the politics of

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He served on the Salt Lake City Council in 1880, acted as City Treasurer from 1884 to 1890, and served as a State Senator in 1898, and again in 1901.

Personal life

Like many early Mormons, Whitney practiced

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

. Whitney had two wives (simultaneously), having married the second in 1888. After the 1890 Manifesto on polygamy, Whitney became a strong supporter of the policy ending polygamy.

Writing

Whitney produced the lyrics to several LDS Church

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s, including "The Wintry Day, Descending to Its Close" (music composed by Edward P. Kimball) and "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" (music by Harry A. Dean); these hymns appear as numbers 37 and 112, respectively, in the current edition of the LDS Church hymnal. Whitney's historical works, although detailed, well researched and presented, are written from a Latter-day Saint perspective; one 21st-century historian has commented that they are "locked in the ironclad orthodoxy" of Mormonism. In June 1888 (and published the following month in '' The Contributor''), Whitney delivered a speech entitled " Home Literature"; the speech is widely credited with proving both permission and impetus for Mormon literature and is the source of the sentence, "We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own." Whitney prepared a biography of

Lorenzo Snow Lorenzo Snow (April 3, 1814 – October 10, 1901) was an American religious leader who served as the fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1898 until his death. Snow was the last president of the ...

, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, for publication in 1890. However it was not published at that time. It was entitled, ''Latter Leaves in the Life of Lorenzo Snow''. In 2012, Dennis B. Horne published an edited and expanded version of this work under the same title with Cedar Fort, Inc., of

Springville, Utah Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for commuters who work in the Provo-Ore ...

. This work covered the Snow's life from 1885 to 1889 and was written as a continuation of Snow's sister, Eliza R. Snow's, work ''Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow''. In publishing this work, Horne included Whitney's work as the first nine chapters of his book and then covered the following 11 years of Snow's life. Horne's published record only included about a third of Whitney's manuscript of his history of Lorenzo Snow. Publications include: *''The Life of Heber C. Kimball'' (1888) *''Poetical Writings'' (1889–90) *''History of Utah'' (4 Volumes) *''Elias: An Epic of the Ages'' (1904) *''Love and the Light: An Idyll of the Westland'' (1918)

LDS Church service

In 1905, two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles resigned over a dispute regarding the 1890 Manifesto, which prohibited any further plural marriages within the church. John W. Taylor disagreed with the Manifesto entirely; Matthias F. Cowley felt that it should apply only to the United States. In February of the next year, Marriner W. Merrill died, which left three vacancies in the quorum. At a general conference of the church on April 8, 1906, Whitney was called as an apostle, along with George F. Richards and David O. McKay.

Death and legacy

Whitney died in Salt Lake City after being hospitalized for influenza. He was buried at

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...

. Whitney is the namesake of the community of

Whitney, Idaho Whitney is a small unincorporated community in the Cache Valley of Franklin County, Idaho, United States. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. Close to the border with Utah, Whitney lies on U.S. 91 between Pres ...

References

External links

The Divinity of Jesus Christ: Elder Orson F. Whitney
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Orson F. 1855 births 1931 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American poets 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom American general authorities (LDS Church) American male non-fiction writers American male poets Apostles (LDS Church) Brigham Young College faculty Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Deaths from influenza Editors of Latter Day Saint publications Infectious disease deaths in Utah Latter Day Saint poets Latter Day Saints from Utah Mormon missionaries in Europe Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People of Utah Territory People's Party (Utah) politicians Democratic Party Utah state senators Writers from Salt Lake City