View source for Question: How can we accept David Whitmer as a valid Book of Mormon witness if God told him to leave the Saints?

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==Question: How can we accept David Whitmer as a valid Book of Mormon witness if God told him to leave the Saints?==
===While God would not force Whitmer to remain in the Church, He could take steps to ensure that Whitmer was safe from harm===

It is claimed that if members accept Whitmer's witness of the Book of Mormon,<ref>See "The Testimony of Three Witnesses," in the Book of Mormon {{link|url=http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/thrwtnss}}; reprinted by Whitmer in {{AddressBelievers|start=12|end=13}}</ref> then they must also accept that God wanted David to repudiate the Church as false. Brent Metcalfe asserts the following:

<blockquote>
Contemporary Mormons are left to confront Whitmer's challenge: believe that God confirmed the Book of Mormon translation and later instructed him to repudiate Mormonism or reject his testimony ''in toto''. For Whitmer there was no distinction between the two experiences.<ref>{{Dialogue|author=Brent Lee Metcalfe|article=Apologetic and Critical Assumptions About Book of Mormon Historicity|vol=26|num=3|date=Fall 1993|start=176|end=177}}</ref>
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===Both Whitmer's experience as a witness and his prompting to leave Far West can be inspired of God===

Believing Latter-day Saints have no trouble seeing ''both'' of Whitmer's revelatory experiences as inspired of God.  While God would not force Whitmer to remain in the Church, He might well take steps to ensure that the Three Witnesses remained alive.  In fact, Whitmer's fidelity to his testimony despite great disagreements with Joseph and the Church strengthen its force.

It is disingenuous for critics to imply Whitmer did not leave the ''Church'' until God "told him to."
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{{endnotes sources}}
[[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
[[Category:MormonThink]]

[[es:Pregunta: ¿Cómo podemos aceptar David Whitmer como un libro válido del testimonio mormona si Dios le dijo que se fuera a los santos?]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Como podemos aceitar David Whitmer como uma testemunha válida de O Livro de Mórmon se Deus lhe disse para deixar os santos?]]
[[Category:Questions]]