D&C 69: Why John Whitmer Was Called to Travel with Oliver Cowdery
I was cleaning out my shop notebook the other day, a spiral-bound thing I have been keeping for about six years. It is full of measurements and sketches and notes to myself about joinery. Most of it is useless to anyone but me. But every so often I flip back through it and find something I forgot I knew — a note about how a certain piece of walnut moved after I cut it, a sketch of a joint I never got around to trying, a list of things I would do differently next time.
I was thinking about that notebook while reading Doctrine and Covenants 69. It is a short section, only eight verses, and it does not contain any grand visions or doctrinal fireworks. It is about something quieter. It is about getting the records to where they need to go.
Why Was John Whitmer Appointed to Travel with Oliver Cowdery
The setting is Hiram, Ohio, November 1831. Oliver Cowdery has been given two things to transport to Missouri. The first is the manuscript of the revelations and commandments that had been compiled so far, intended for publication. The second is money that the members had contributed for building up Zion.
That is a heavy load for one man to carry across the frontier. Not just the physical weight of the papers and the coins, but the weight of the trust. The Lord says it plainly: it is not wisdom for Oliver to go alone.
Behold, I say unto you, that it is not expedient in me that ye should translate any more until ye shall go to the bishops and obtain a certificate, and behold, it is not wisdom in me that you should go alone.
So John Whitmer is called to go with him, and the reason is straightforward. Oliver was not untrustworthy, but the work was too important to leave to one set of hands. A second pair of eyes, a second back to carry the load, a second witness to what happened. That is the pattern. The Lord does not send people out alone when the thing they are carrying matters.
I think about that when I am working on a piece that is too big to handle by myself. I have learned the hard way that trying to wrestle a six-foot slab of oak onto the bench alone is a good way to end up with a cracked board and a sore back. You call someone over and share the weight, and that is not a failure of skill. That is wisdom.
Importance of Church History in Doctrine and Covenants 69
The Lord gives John Whitmer a broader assignment than just traveling companion. He is told to continue writing and making a history of all the important things concerning the Church. He is to preach and expound along the way, and to copy and select and obtain records.
The language is specific. Writing down what you remember is only the start. You also collect, select, copy, and obtain records. The work of a historian is active — you go looking for the record instead of waiting for it to come to you.
I have been doing some family history work lately, and I recognize the feeling. You find a name in a census record and then you spend an hour trying to confirm it against something else. You write down what you know and you leave a note about what you are not sure of. It is slow work, not glamorous, but you are building something that will outlast you.
The Lord says the record is for the rising generations. Not for the people standing there in Hiram, Ohio, in 1831. For the people who would come after. For the people who would need to know what happened and why.
Lessons on Stewardship and Accountability in D&C 69
There is a practical wisdom in this section that I keep coming back to. The Lord does not just tell Oliver to be careful. He gives him a companion. He does not just tell John to write a history. He tells him to collect and copy and select. The instructions are concrete.
I think about stewardship in my own life and the things I have been trusted with — my family, my time, the skills I have spent years developing. It is easy to treat those things casually, to assume I can handle them on my own. But the pattern in D&C 69 suggests otherwise. The things that matter most should not be carried alone.
I have a friend I call when I am stuck on a build. I am not calling because I cannot figure it out. I call because a second set of eyes sees things I miss. He will walk into the shop, look at the piece for thirty seconds, and say move that clamp over an inch. And he is right. That is what John Whitmer was for Oliver Cowdery. Not a supervisor. A companion.
How to Keep a Spiritual History for Future Generations
The idea of keeping a record can feel intimidating. You think it has to be polished and complete, like a published book. But the Lord tells John Whitmer to write the important things. Not everything. The important things.
I keep a journal, though not every day. I am not that disciplined. But I write down the things that stick — a moment in scripture study that shifted something, a conversation with one of my kids that I want to remember, a time when I felt the Lord was paying attention to me.
Those are the important things. They do not have to be long or well written. They just have to be true.
The rising generations the Lord talks about are my kids and their kids. They will not have my memory, so they will have what I wrote down instead. That is the record and the history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Lord want John Whitmer to accompany Oliver Cowdery?
The Lord said it was not wise for Oliver to travel alone with the revelations and the Church funds. Having a companion provided accountability and security. It also meant the work could continue even if something happened to one of them.
What was John Whitmer's specific calling in relation to history?
He was told to continue writing and making a history of all the important things concerning the Church. This included preaching, expounding, copying, selecting, and obtaining records along the way to Missouri.
How does D&C 69 apply to personal record-keeping today?
It shows that keeping a record of spiritual experiences is part of the Lord's work. The record does not have to be polished or complete. It just needs to capture the important things for the people who will come after us.
What does it mean that the record is for the rising generations?
The history John Whitmer was writing was not just for the people living at that time. It was meant to provide stability, identity, and spiritual strength for future generations who would build Zion. Our records serve the same purpose for our families.
I closed the shop notebook and put it back on the shelf. It is not much to look at. The cover is stained and the spiral binding is starting to come loose. But it is the record of six years of work. Mistakes and breakthroughs and things I want to remember.
That is what D&C 69 makes me think about. Not just the big moments of the Restoration, but the quiet work of getting the records where they need to go. The work of writing down what matters so that someone else can find it later.
-- D.