David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness

by Lyndon W. Cook (Editor)

Hardcover in dustjacket. Full "David Whitmer Interviews. A Restoration Witness."

Genres: Religion, History

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Alex Berrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why I did not give the book 1 or 2 stars.
These interviews did a lot to help support the Book of Mormon. My favorite parts were the parts where they exposed the anti-LDS for lying. The interviews contained stories of news reporters wanting to see David Whitmer, him telling them no, and then they went off to publish newspaper articles that claim he died saying that the Book of Mormon is a fraud, or something similar.

There are also false claims by the anti-LDS that he, and the other 3 witnesses only saw the angel Moroni in a spiritual sense but not literally. In some of the interviews David Whitmer clears this up by saying that they saw the angel in both the spiritual sense, and the literal/physical sense.

Why I did not give the book 4 or 5 stars.
I do not approve of him claiming that Joseph Smith is a false prophet, or someone who has strayed from the gospel but I admire that he stayed true to the Book of Mormon despite this being the case. His complaints against polygamy come from overinflating a passage in the book of Jacob, and ignoring biblical history. He also disses the Doctrine and Covenants but didn’t bother to explain why he thinks it’s incongruent with Jesus Christ’s original church.

[Alan Casper · Rating 5 out of 5]

My testimony of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon was strengthened by this faithful witness

[Jeff Crosby]

Well researched.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic reference of every known interview, providing valuable insight into David Whitmer's views as a "first generation / original Mormon." From the jacket: "For Latter-day Saints to know Whitmer only in the washed and bowdlerized versions of his thought is at best a distortion of the truth and at worst a perversion of history and an injustice to both the witness and the congregation of believers. Admittedly, these interviews could be disturbing in their implications for the faithful. But after they are sorted out, anatomized, and pondered for awhile they will begin to render up sense."

This book is for those who like their Mormon history like James Bond likes his vodka martinis. :-P

[Brant · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Whitmer was the most interviewed witness to the Book of Mormon. This book compiles all of the known interviews into one location. It is very clear that Whitmer was interviewed a lot, even more than the records indicate. He not only did not vary his testimony, he appears to have created a fairly standard way of relating it. It was a story with which he was very familiar and which he seems to have presented in a very similar way to most who came to see him.

[Ernie Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose I wonder about the motivation of author's who publish books. From a historical point of view this is an interesting read but has little of spiritual value per se. David Whitmer although president of the church in Missouri at one time was subsequently escommunicated. He lived in Richmond and was a venerable man.

[Jeff Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every interview ever given by David Whitmer after he became one of the 3 witnesses...although he left the church, he never lost his testimony of the book of mormon or his experience as a witness. Great Book!

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of repetition but it had some good information in it.