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Old Testament Revision, John Whitmer First Copy

Source Note

Old Testament Revision, between Dec. 1830 and early Jan. 1831; handwriting of
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

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; sixteen pages; CHL.
This copy of the Old Testament Revision remained in the Whitmer family until 1903, when it was acquired by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ).
1

Jackson and Faulring, “Old Testament Manuscript 3,” 116.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jackson, Kent P., and Scott H. Faulring. “Old Testament Manuscript 3: An Early Transcript of the Book of Moses.” Mormon Historical Studies 5, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 113–144.

In 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acquired the manuscript from the Community of Christ, and it is now held at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jackson and Faulring, “Old Testament Manuscript 3,” 116.

    Jackson, Kent P., and Scott H. Faulring. “Old Testament Manuscript 3: An Early Transcript of the Book of Moses.” Mormon Historical Studies 5, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 113–144.

Historical Introduction

Shortly before
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

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moved from
New York

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

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to
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, in early January 1831, he made a copy of Old Testament Revision 1. This copy includes the first 19 pages and the first five lines of page 20 of the revision (Moses 1; Genesis 1–5). It is possible Whitmer only copied part of the revision manuscript, or that he copied as much as had been dictated by January 1831. The specific circumstances for making this copy are unknown. It was kept in the Whitmer family until 1903, when the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints acquired it.
1

Jackson and Faulring, “Old Testament Manuscript 3,” 116.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jackson, Kent P., and Scott H. Faulring. “Old Testament Manuscript 3: An Early Transcript of the Book of Moses.” Mormon Historical Studies 5, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 113–144.

For more information on JS’s Bible revision project, see Historical Introduction to Old Testament Revision 1.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jackson and Faulring, “Old Testament Manuscript 3,” 116.

    Jackson, Kent P., and Scott H. Faulring. “Old Testament Manuscript 3: An Early Transcript of the Book of Moses.” Mormon Historical Studies 5, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 113–144.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Visions of Moses, June 1830 [Moses 1]

Page [4]

Air & over the cattle & over all the Earth & over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth so I God created man in mine own image in the image of mine only begotten created I him male & female created I them & I God blessed them & I God said unto them be fruitful & multiply & replenish the Earth & subdue it & have dominion over the fish of the sea & over the fowl of the air & over evry living thing that moveth upon the Earth & I God said unto man behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the Earth & every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed to you it shall be for meat & to every beast of the Earth & to evry fowl of the air & to evry thing that creepeth upon the Earth wherein I grant life there shall be gi[v]en
4

TEXT: There are several tears on the left and right sides of this page; text supplied from Old Testament Revision 1.


every clean herb for meat & it was so even as I spake & I God sa[w] every thing that I had made & behold all things which I had made were very good & the evening & the morning were the sixth day.
Thus the Heaven & the Earth were finished & all the host of them & on the seventh day I God ended my work & all things which I had made & I rested on the seventh day from all my work & all things which I had made were finished & I saw that they were good & I God blessed the seventh day & sanctified it because that in it I had rested from all my work which I God had created & made & now behold I say unto you that these are the generations of the Heavens & of the Earth & every plant of the field before it was in the Earth & every herb of of the field before it grew for I the Lord God created for I the Lord God created all things of which I have spoken spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the Earth for I the Lord God had not yet caused it to rain upon the <​face of face of​> Earth & I the Lo[rd] God had created all the children of men & not yet a man to till the ground for in Heaven created I them & there was not yet flesh upon th[e] Earth neither in the water neither in the air but I the Lord God spake & there went up a mist from the Earth & watered the whole face of the ground & I the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground & breathed into his nostrils the breath of life & man became a living Soul the first flesh upon the Earth the first man also nevertheless all things were before created but spiritually were they created & made according to my word & I the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden & there I put the man whom I had formed & out of the ground made I the Lord God grow every tree naturally that is pleasant to the sight of man & man could behold it & they became also a living soul for it was spiritual in the day that I created it for it remaineth in the sphere which I created it yea even all things which I prepared for the use of man & man saw that it was good for food & I the Lord God placed the tree in the midst of the garden & also the tree of knowledge of good & evil & a River went out of Eden to water the ground & from thence it was parted & became into four heads & I the Lord God called the name of the first Pison & it compaseth the whole Land of Havillah where there were created much gold & the gold of that la[nd] was good & there was beladum bdellum & the onyx stone & the name of the second River was called Gihon the same was it that compaseth the whole land of Ethiopia & the name of the third River was Hiddekyl that was it which goeth towards the East of Assyria & the fourth River was Euphratas & I the Lord God took the man & put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it & to keep it & I the Lord God commanded the the man saying of evry tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat but of the tree of th[e] kn[owl]edge of good & evil thou shalt not [p. [4]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Old Testament Revision, John Whitmer First Copy
ID #
9243
Total Pages
30
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Whitmer

Footnotes

  1. [4]

    TEXT: There are several tears on the left and right sides of this page; text supplied from Old Testament Revision 1.

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