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"I have never denied my testamony as to the Book Mormon."

John Whitmer.

Signed letter affirming the Book of Mormon, by one of the Eight Witnesses.

Far West, MO, 6 May 1877
Autograph Letter Signed, 7 x 4½ inches; folds, two early marks in blue pencil, laid down on a scrapbook leaf headed in early Pitman shorthand, numbered as page 39 in an album kept by Joseph R. Lambert. Album: [4], 111 pages. 4to, 8½ x 6½ inches, original ½ calf, minor wear; hinges split, minimal wear to contents. With typed transcript of the shorthand notes.

In 1830, the first edition of the Book of Mormon bore two witness statements to lend authority to the text. The testimony of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses have been cornerstones of the faith ever since. The Eight Witnesses asserted: 

"That Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shewn unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shewn unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken."

Some of these witnesses later reaffirmed their testimony in print, but we are aware of only two signed manuscript testimonies still in existence. One, by witness John Whitmer dated 5 March 1876, is held by the Community of Christ archives. The other is offered here. In full:

"Elder J.R. Lambert: Your letter dated April 24/77 came to hand a few days since, enquiring concerning my testimony as recorded in the Book Mormon. It is the same as it was from the beginning, and it is true. Truth never changs. It is a principle coexistant with God, for he is a God of truth. I have never denied my testamony as to the Book Mormon, under any circumstances whatsoever. My desire is that you may be satisfied concerning that testimony and be the means of doing good in the spread of the gospel as is recorded in the Book of Mormon. Yours in the name & everlasting covenant, John Whitmer." 

John Whitmer (1802-1878) was a key member of the church in its earliest days, was appointed as the first church historian in 1831, and launched the Mormon settlement of Far West, Missouri in 1836. He was excommunicated in 1838, but never renounced his faith. By 1877, he was with his brother David one of only two surviving witnesses, and was just a year from death. He wrote this letter to Joseph Richard Lambert (1845-1932), an apostle in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or RLDS (now Community of Christ). 

After Whitmer's death, Lambert quoted from this letter in his own letter to E.L. Kelley, 29 January 1884, now held in the Community of Christ archives, and cited in Richard Lloyd Anderson, "Attempts to Redefine the Experience of the Eight Witnesses" in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14:1 (2005). From there, this Whitmer letter has often been cited as one of the central surviving pieces of testimony from the original witnesses.

Lambert was also the compiler of the scrapbook album, although it is not signed. Mounted into the remainder of the album are extensive clippings from Mormon texts, 4 pages of manuscript extracts from Catlin's "North American Indians," and 11 pages of early Pitman shorthand, plus extensive shorthand notes written directly on the leaves, and 27 blank pages plus 29 more blanks at the end. Lambert's shorthand notes have been transcribed in full by Dorothy Roberts (1927-2018), a leading expert in transcribing the now-obsolete earliest version of Pitman's shorthand. Among her publications was a transcription of a Civil War diary published in January 1997.

The clippings are mostly from late 19th-century editions of the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, and publications of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ) circa 1866-1886. Most relevant to the Whitmer letter are two clippings on page 36 and 50 from the True L.D. Saints Herald of 1 February 1876. They discuss and quote from an August 1875 Chicago Times interview with David Whitmer. The last clipping in the volume is from the 24 April 1886 issue of the RLDS "Saints' Herald." 

Provenance: acquired by the consignor at an antiques fair in Mount Dora, FL in 2001, along with other related printed and manuscript material (see next lot). 

This is a unique opportunity to obtain testimony in support of the Book of Mormon, in the hand of one of its original witnesses.

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