Whitmer's Excommunication
Problems at church headquarters in Kirtland relating to the Kirtland Safety Society bank, caused Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon to relocate to Far West in early 1838. A brief leadership struggle ensued, which led to the excommunication of John Whitmer and the entire Whitmer family as well as Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps and others. These men continued to live in Far West for a time and became known as the "dissenters". Sidney Rigdon, in his Salt Sermon, warned the dissenters to leave the county and his words were soon followed up by perceived threats from the newly formed Mormon confraternity known as the Danites.
The Whitmer family moved to Richmond in neighboring Ray County, Missouri. Their complaints and those of the other dissenters are sometimes cited as one of the causes of the 1838 Mormon War. This conflict between Latter Day Saints and their neighbors in northwestern Missouri ended with the expulsion of the former, who eventually relocated to a new headquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois.
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