In January 2012, Peterson published an oddly similar column on John Whitmer, this one titled "
Defending the Faith: John Whitmer left church, but kept testimony of Book of Mormon." There are some parallels between passages in the column and passages in Richard Lloyd Anderson's book,
Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses. Did Peterson use Anderson as a source? They quote a number of the same sources, and there is one instance in which it appears that Peterson directly quotes Anderson (without any citation). Here is a comparison of some passages in the two works:
1. Anderson:
Some of the severest Missouri persecutions came to witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Late in 1833 John Corrill reported of Christian Whitmer: "They also took him and pointed their guns at him, threatening to kill him if he did not tell them where the brethren were." Another correspondent wrote in the midst of this terror: "[T]he enemy . . . had thrown down 10 or 12 houses, and nearly whipped some to death, among whom was H. Page." Earlier that year, John Whitmer had joined other Mormon leaders in offering themselves as hostages to stop the abuse of their people
Peterson:
Plainly, he was a committed believer. In fact, he was willing to die for his faith: With several others in 1833, he had offered himself as a hostage to the Missouri mobs on behalf of his fellow Latter-day Saints.
2. Anderson:
John Whitmer was excommunicated March 10, 1838, followed by his brother David one month later. ... From this peak of conviction, the same man descended to the depths of doubt within three years. Skeptical of Joseph Smith personally because of the failure of the Kirtland Bank, and rejected by his companions in gospel service, John Whitmer made common cause with other non-Mormons in ridiculing the faith of Theodore Turley, the business agent of the Church who remained to wind up financial affairs at Far West after the Mormons were driven out. But Turley openly accused Whitmer of inconsistency. Answering in the presence of his anti-Mormon friends, the Book of Mormon witness made two revealing statements. First, he admitted, "I now say, I handled those plates; there were fine engravings on both sides. I handled them." When Turley next asked bluntly why Whitmer now doubted the work, the witness indicated his inability to translate the characters on the plates: "I cannot read it, and I do not know whether it is true or not." ….
One may surely rely on his ability to report whether or not he lifted and handled a metal object of substantial weight.
Peterson:
John was excommunicated on March 10, 1838, a month before his brother David, one of the Three Witnesses. Sorrowful and dejected, bitter over monetary issues, angry at the church in general and Joseph Smith in particular, his faith faltered.
During an 1839 exchange with Theodore Turley, the Latter-day Saint business agent who had bravely stayed behind in Missouri to settle financial affairs there after the Mormon expulsion, John confessed to doubts about the Book of Mormon. Speaking of the original text on the plates, he said, "I cannot read it, and I do not know whether it is true or not."
Nonetheless, he insisted, "I handled those plates; there were fine engravings on both sides. I handled them."
This is remarkable. Unlike the Three Witnesses, who heard a divine voice testify to the truth of the translation of the plates, the Eight Witnesses simply saw and held the plates under quite matter-of-fact conditions. Yet, even in the depths of alienation and bitterness, even when most inclined to doubt, even living, as he did, in the area of the worst anti-Mormon persecutions, John Whitmer could not deny what he personally and directly knew, that he had "lifted and handled a metal object of substantial weight."
Note the quoted language in Peterson's final sentence immediately above. Peterson is evidently quoting Anderson (see above), but Peterson does not provide a citation. (In a 2002 article titled "
Not Joseph's, and Not Modern," Peterson cites Anderson's book several times, including for the same quoted language.)
3. Anderson:
After 1856 John Whitmer was the sole survivor of the Eight Witnesses. Outliving all the rest from two to four decades, he was contacted by more people than the others and thus left more specific statements about his experience. . . . In 1861, Jacob Gates talked with him over four hours and wrote in his journal, "He still testified that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Lord. He also said that he believed that . . . Brigham Young was carrying out the doctrine and system which Joseph Smith taught but he (Whitmer) did not believe in a man's having more than one wife."
Peterson:
John's bitterness, or at least his skepticism, was short-lived. And, after 1856, he was the last survivor of the Eight Witnesses. In 1861, Jacob Gates spoke with him for more than four hours, recording in his journal: "He still testified that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Lord."
4. Anderson:
The bitterness of the days after his excommunication were gone, and what remained in John Whitmer's mature years was the vivid memory of participation in the translation of a record of scripture:
"[O]ld Father John Whitmer told me last winter, with tears in his eyes, that he knew as well as he knew he had an existence that Joseph translated the ancient writing which was upon the plates, which he 'saw and handled,' and which, as one of the scribes, he helped to copy, as the words fell from Joseph's lips, by supernatural or almighty power." 32
.....
32 Letter of Myron Bond to Saints' Herald, Aug. 2, 1878, Cadillac, Mich., cit. Saints' Herald 25 (1878):253.
Peterson:
Myron Bond reported in 1878 that "old Father John Whitmer told me last winter, with tears in his eyes, that he knew as well as he knew he had an existence that Joseph translated the ancient writing which was upon the plates, which he 'saw and handled,' and which, as one of the scribes, he helped to copy, as the words fell from Joseph's lips."
5. Anderson:
Six months before his death, he delivered his convictions publicly at a rural Sunday morning service, reported in the local newspaper as follows:
"Mr. Whitmer is considered a truthful, honest and law abiding citizen by this community, and consequently, his appointment drew out a large audience. Mr. Whitmer stated that he had often handled the identical golden plates which Mr. Smith received from the hand of the angel. He said it was of pure gold; part of the book was sealed up solid, the other part was open, and it was this part which was translated. . . . Before closing he asked the audience if they would take the Book of Mormon and the Bible and compare them, and to take Paul's rule, 'To prove all things and hold fast to that which is good.'"
Peterson:
Finally, six months before his death, John spoke at a public Sunday service. His remarks were reported in the "Kingston Sentinel" as follows: "Mr. Whitmer is considered a truthful, honest and law abiding citizen by this community, and consequently, his appointment drew out a large audience. Mr. Whitmer stated that he had often handled the identical golden plates which Mr. Smith received from the hand of the angel. He said it was of pure gold; part of the book was sealed up solid, the other part was open, and it was this part which was translated."
6. Anderson:
The evaluation of his community on his forty years of residence in Caldwell County is shown by the local obituary that alluded to the Mormon expulsion: "Mr. Whitmer remained at Far West and has since been a highly respected and law abiding citizen."
Peterson:
When he died, the "Kingston Sentinel" eulogized him as "a highly respected and law abiding citizen."
“A scholar said he could not read the Book of Mormon, so we shouldn’t be shocked that scholars say the papyri don’t translate and/or relate to the Book of Abraham. Doesn’t change anything. It’s ancient and historical.” ~ Hanna Seariac