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Peter Whitmer HomeCraig Dimond, 1988The official organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occurred here on April 6, 1830.Seneca Lake Near FayetteJohn Telford, 2004Many early converts were baptized in nearby Seneca Lake and in several creeks and rivers in the area. After his father's baptism, Joseph Smith exclaimed with tears of joy, "Praise to my God! that I lived to see my own father baptized into the true Church of Jesus Christ!" (History of Joseph Smith, ed. Preston Nibley, [1945], 168).Interior of Peter Whitmer HomeVirtual Historian, 2004
Up to 60 friends and
family members gathered in this and an adjoining room at the
Whitmer home to witness the organization of the Church.
Finger Lakes Area, New York StateChurch History in the Fulness of Times, page 29.
In 1816 when the Smiths
moved to Palmyra, it was a village of about six hundred
people. In 1818 or 1819 they began to clear a
one-hundred-acre farm nearby in Farmington township (later
Manchester township).
Field Outside of Peter Whitmer FarmSteve Mortensen, 2003
Joseph Smith and the
Three Witnesses went to "a piece of woods convenient to Mr.
Whitmer's house" and received a visit from the angel Moroni,
who showed them the plates from which the Book of Mormon was
translated. During that visit the Savior's voice was heard
declaring the truth of the translation (History of the
Church, 1:54).
Peter Whitmer HomeJohn Telford, 2004
While living here
at the Whitmer home, Joseph Smith finished the
translation of the Book of Mormon, received 20 revelations
now found in the Doctrine and Covenants, and organized
the Church. Also, the first baptisms were performed
nearby after the Church's organization.
Book of Mormon Translation RoomVirtual Historian, 2004
Due to persecution in
Pennsylvania, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery went with
David Whitmer "to his father's house [in Fayette, New York],
and there resided until the translation was finished and the
copyright secured" (History of the Church, 1:49).
This room is where some of the work of translation took place.
Peter Whitmer FarmGeorge Edward Anderson, 1907 Due to heavy persecution in Harmony, Pennsylvania, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery traveled with David Whitmer here to the Peter Whitmer farm. Joseph's wife, Emma, came shortly thereafter.
