And it shall come to pass that you may stand as a witness of the things which you shall both hear and see,

and behold, thou art David Whitmer, and thou art called to assist, which thing, if ye do, and are faithful,

ye shall be blessed both spiritually and temporally, and great shall be your reward.

Doctrine and Covenant section 14 verse 8 and verse 11.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses the

question, why did David Whitmer never return to the church?

David Whitmer and his family played a crucial role in assisting the coming forth of the Book of Mormon

and the restoring of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. They continued to take on important

roles and responsibilities and to make personal sacrifices as the church grew and expanded in the

1830s. As a wave of apostasy and descent hit the church in 1837 through 1838, however,

David and each of the three witnesses were excommunicated or cut off from the church,

and the rest of the Whitmer family likewise withdrew from fellowship at that same time.

Over the next several decades, most of the Whitmer clan stayed in northwestern Missouri.

They established themselves as important citizens and were respected in their communities.

David Whitmer settled down in Richmond, Missouri, where he became a successful businessman,

who was well regarded for his honesty. During most of this period, the Whitmer's kept their religious views to themselves,

and they generally did not affiliate with the offshoot churches that emerged after Joseph Smith's death.

However, there were two brief exceptions. First, in 1846, James Strang, alleged the Whitmer clan

supported his claims of being Joseph Smith's successor.

Evidence from Whitmer documents does show that they briefly accepted Strang's claims,

but ultimately they remained detached and never took any meaningful action to support him or his

movement.

...