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. The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement which began in the early 19th century and is generally considered to be founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... David Whitmer (1805–1888) is remembered in the Latter Day Saint movement as the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormons Golden Plates. ... A monument to the Three Witnesses at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. ... The Book of Mormon (originally, The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi) is one of the sacred texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, named after the prophet/historian Mormon, who according to the text compiled most... An 1893 engraving of Joseph Smith receiving the Golden Plates and the Urim and Thummim from Moroni. ...

There were actually two separate organizations of this church. In 1847, William E. McLellin who led a congregation of Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio remembered that Joseph Smith, Jr., 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, Martin Harris, Hiram Page and John Whitmer. William E. McLellin (1806–1883) (also spelled MLellin) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. ... The term Latter Day Saint most commonly refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which, its members believe, was founded under the direction of Jesus Christ by the prophet Joseph Smith in 1830. ... Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. ... Joseph Smith, Jr. ... Photograph of Oliver Cowdery, taken c. ... Martin Harris (1783–1875) was the first financier of The Book of Mormon. ... Hiram Page (1800–1852), was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormons Golden Plates. ... John Whitmer (1802–1878) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. ...

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 1870s David Whitmer was active again and had reorganized his Church of Christ. In 1887 he published his Address to All Believers in Christ 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. By 1925, most remaining members of the Whitmerite church had united with the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). The Book of Commandments is among the most rare and valuable books in American history because the original printing was almost entirely destroyed by a mob. ... The headquarters building of the Church of Christ as seen from the original temple site designated by Joseph Smith, Jr. ...

References

• Steven L. Shields, Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter Day Saint Movement, Restoration Research, Los Angeles: 1990, pp. 50�"51, 102�"103.
• David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, MO: 1887. See text of the address.