Elizabeth Ann Whitney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elizabeth Ann Whitney (January 26, 1800 - 1882), born Elizabeth Ann Smith, was an early Latter Day Saint leader, and the wife of Newel K. Whitney, another early Latter Day Saint leader.

Born in Derby, Connecticut to non-sectarian parents, at about age 18, Ms. Whitney left her parents and moved with her liberated aunt Sarah Smith to Kirtland, Ohio, where at age 20 she met her groom Newel. Married on October 20, 1822, the couple quickly accumulated wealth and status in their community.

In Kirtland, Elizabeth and her husband joined the Disciples of Christ in the area, led by Sidney Rigdon. The teachings of this group, which denied it had power to give the gift of the Holy Spirit, led the couple to pray for that gift. In response to that prayer, the couple claimed to have seen a vision and a voice stating, "Prepare to receive the word of the Lord, for it is coming!"

In November 1830, Ms. Whitney and her husband met Mormon Elder Parley P. Pratt, who had been serving a mission in Kirtland. Because of Pratt's preaching they were baptized into the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). The answer to Ms. Whitney's prayer, as she tells it, came later in February 1831, when she and her husband met Joseph Smith, Jr., who arrived in Kirtland and stayed at their house.

In 1842, Ms. Whitney became one of the original leaders of the Relief Society, with Emma Hale Smith, Sarah Cleveland, and Eliza Roxcy Snow (who had been her acquaintance in Kirtland). Whitney served as the second counselor under Emma Smith.

Whitney and her husband were among the inner circle of early Mormonism with Joseph Smith, Jr. and later Brigham Young, with whom they traveled west and settled in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Elizabeth Ann Whitney's grave marker
Elizabeth Ann Whitney's grave marker

  • Edward W. Tullidge, The Women of Mormondom 32-35, 41-42 (New York, 1877).
  • 7 Woman's Exponent (Nov. 1, 1878) (containing biographical information).
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.