Newel and Elizabeth Whitney Home

Newel K. Whitney and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Whitney, were early settlers in Kirtland, Ohio, and were searching for greater religious truth. Around 1828, the Whitneys became associated with Sidney Rigdon and his teachings. However, they had received a witness from God that greater truth was to be revealed, so they waited patiently. In late 1830, Latter-day Saint missionaries Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Ziba Peterson, and Peter Whitmer Jr. arrived in northeast Ohio. During a series of meetings in the Kirtland area, Cowdery and Pratt preached to members of Sidney Rigdon’s Reformed Baptist congregation. After Rigdon was baptized, several members of his congregation, including Newel and Elizabeth Ann Whitney, were also baptized.

When Joseph Smith and his wife Emma arrived in Kirtland on February 4, 1831, Newel Whitney brought them “directly to [his] house” (Whitney, Woman’s Exponent, Sept. 1, 1878, 51). The Whitneys were honored to have the Prophet and his wife in their home.

Joseph and Emma Smith spent their first month in Ohio living in the Whitney home. During the time the Smiths lived with the Whitneys, the Whitney home became a place of meeting and revelation for the Saints. In this home, many converts first heard the restored gospel, new positions and organizations were revealed, and the Church was more fully established. On the day that Joseph and Emma arrived in Kirtland, Joseph received a revelation—now known as Doctrine and Covenants 41—which designated Edward Partridge as the first bishop of the Church, a position to which Newel K. Whitney would also be called in another revelation received (perhaps also in the Whitney home) in December 1831 (see Doctrine and Covenants 72:1–8). During this time, Joseph received four revelations, which are now published in the Doctrine and Covenants (sections 41–44).

While serving as bishop in Kirtland, Newel K. Whitney hosted a three-day feast for the poor, in keeping with the Savior’s example and the law of consecration (see Doctrine and Covenants 42:30–39). Emma Smith and Elizabeth Ann Whitney worked side by side to serve the guests.

The restored Newel and Elizabeth Whitney Home is now a part of Historic Kirtland.

Read more about the Newel and Elizabeth Whitney Home in chapter 11 of Saints, volume 1.

360° Walkthrough

What to Expect

The Newel and Elizabeth Whitney Home is part of a guided tour offered by missionaries at Historic Kirtland.