David Whitmer to the Editor, June 13, 1881, "A Few Corrections," Kansas City Daily Journal, June 19, 1881.
To the Editor of the Journal.
RICHMOND, MO., June 13.—I notice several errors in the interview had with me by one of your reporters as published in the DAILY JOURNAL of June 5th, '81, and wish to correct them.
I am reported as saying that "the young men in the neighborhood saw the plates in the hill." The language used was, that "we saw the place (not the plates) in the hill from which the plates were taken, just as he described them to us before he obtained them." In regard to my going to Harmony, my statement was that "I found everything as Cowdery had written me, and that they packed up next day and went to my father's, (did not say 'packed up the plates') and that he, Smith, (not 'we') then commenced the translation of the remainder of the plates." I did not wish to be understood as saying that those referred to as being present were all of the time in the immediate presence of the translator, but were at the place and saw how the translation was conducted. I did not say that Smith used "two small stones" as stated nor did I call the stone "interpreters." I stated that "he used one stone (not two) and called it a sun stone." The "interpreters" were as I understood taken from Smith and were not used by him after losing the first 116 pages as stated. It is my understanding that the stone referred to was furnished him when he commenced translating again after losing the 116 pages.
My statement was and now is that in translating he put the stone in his hat and putting his face in his hat so as to exclude the light and that then the light and characters appeared in the hat together with the interpretation which he uttered and was written by the scribe and which was tested at the time as stated.
As to the killing of the leader of the mob at Independence, I did not say that he was a "Campbellite" preacher, but a "New light" preacher, as he was called, and his name was Lovelady, not Lovett. I stated that "we had preaching during the time the Book of Mormon was being printed," not while the same was being translated, as reported.
I stated that "in the summer of 1830 Oliver Cowdery, Parley Pratt, Peter Whitmer and S. [Ziba] Pereson went to Kirtland, OH, and established a church." In the interview, as reported, the name of Cowdery is omitted. Oliver Cowdery did not live in Clay county, Mo., from 1838 to 1848, as reported, but went to Ohio in 1838 and returned to Richmond in 1848, where he died, as stated, and also the fact that his widow (my sister) Mrs. Elizabeth Cowdery, is now residing here with her daughter, Mrs. Dr. Johnson is omitted in the published report. I made no statement as to who should succeed me in charge of the ancient manuscript referred to; and as to what was done and said by Joseph Smith after leaving Caldwell county in 1838, I did not give as of my knowledge, but from information. I have carefully read the report and think the same is substantially correct except as herein explained and corrected.
DAVID WHITMER.
[Note.—It is but justice to the reporter who interviewed Mr. Whitmer to say that the errors above referred to were purely accidental and entirely unintentional, as it was his aim and desire as well as that of the Journal to publish Mr. Whitmer's statement just as he made it.—Ed.]