Orson Ferguson Whitney (1 July 1855 – 16 May 1931), born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) from 1906 until his death.

Early life

Whitney was the son of Horace K. Whitney and Helen Mar Kimball. Whitney's father, Horace, had set type for the original publication of the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

'' and worked as a printer with the newspaper for 21 years.

Background

Whitney was a politician, journalist, poet, historian and academic. In 1878, as a young man, Whitney began a career in writing with the business office of the ''Deseret News'', later becoming a reporter and the city editor. Whitney served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for the LDS Church for a time in Pennsylvania and Ohio. During a mission in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for the LDS Church from 1881 to 1883, he acted as editor of the church publication ''

Millennial Star ''The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star'' (usually shortened to ''Millennial Star'') was the longest continuously published periodical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was printed in England from 1840 unti ...

''. In 1896 and 1897, Whitney taught English and theology at

Brigham Young College Brigham Young College was a college and high school in Logan, Utah. It was founded by Brigham Young on 6 August 1877, 23 days before his death. He deeded several acres of land to a board of trustees for the development of a college. This was j ...

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

. In 1899, Whitney accepted the position of Assistant Church Historian and served in that position until he was called as an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

. Whitney was also involved in the politics of

and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. He served on the Salt Lake City Council in 1880, acted as City Treasurer from 1884 to 1890, and served as a

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

in 1898, and again in 1901.

Personal life

Like many early

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

, Whitney practiced

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

. Whitney had two wives (simultaneously), having married the second in 1888. After the

1890 Manifesto The 1890 Manifesto (also known as the Woodruff Manifesto, the Anti-polygamy Manifesto, or simply "the Manifesto") is a statement which officially advised against any future plural marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LD ...

on polygamy, Whitney became a strong supporter of the policy ending polygamy.

Writing

Whitney produced the lyrics to several LDS Church

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s, including "The Wintry Day, Descending to Its Close" (music composed by Edward P. Kimball) and "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" (music by Harry A. Dean); these hymns appear as numbers 37 and 112, respectively, in the current edition of the LDS Church hymnal. Whitney's historical works, although detailed, well researched and presented, are written from a Latter-day Saint perspective; one 21st-century historian has commented that they are "locked in the ironclad orthodoxy" of Mormonism. In June 1888 (and published the following month in '' The Contributor''), Whitney delivered a speech entitled " Home Literature"; the speech is widely credited with proving both permission and impetus for Mormon literature and is the source of the sentence, "We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own." Whitney prepared a biography of

Lorenzo Snow Lorenzo Snow (April 3, 1814 – October 10, 1901) was an American religious leader who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS C ...

, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, for publication in 1890. However it was not published at that time. It was entitled, ''Latter Leaves in the Life of Lorenzo Snow''. In 2012, Dennis B. Horne published an edited and expanded version of this work under the same title with Cedar Fort, Inc., of

Springville, Utah Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for co ...

. This work covered the Snow's life from 1885 to 1889 and was written as a continuation of Snow's sister, Eliza R. Snow's, work ''Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow''. In publishing this work, Horne included Whitney's work as the first nine chapters of his book and then covered the following 11 years of Snow's life. Horne's published record only included about a third of Whitney's manuscript of his history of Lorenzo Snow. Publications include: *''The Life of Heber C. Kimball'' (1888) *''Poetical Writings'' (1889–90) *''History of Utah'' (4 Volumes) *'' Elias: An Epic of the Ages'' (1904) *''Love and the Light: An Idyll of the Westland'' (1918)

LDS Church service

In 1905, two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles resigned over a dispute regarding the

, which prohibited any further

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more ...

s within the church. John W. Taylor disagreed with the Manifesto entirely; Matthias F. Cowley felt that it should apply only to the United States. In February of the next year, Marriner W. Merrill died, which left three vacancies in the quorum. At a general conference of the church on April 8, 1906, Whitney was called as an apostle, along with George F. Richards and David O. McKay.

Death and legacy

Whitney died in Salt Lake City after being hospitalized for

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Whitney is the namesake of the community of Whitney, Idaho.

References

External links

The Divinity of Jesus Christ: Elder Orson F. Whitney
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Orson F. 1855 births 1931 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American poets 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom American general authorities (LDS Church) American male non-fiction writers American male poets Apostles (LDS Church) Brigham Young College faculty Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Deaths from influenza in the United States Editors of Latter Day Saint publications Infectious disease deaths in Utah Latter Day Saint poets Latter Day Saints from Utah Mormon missionaries in Europe Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Utah Territory People's Party (Utah) politicians Democratic Party Utah state senators Writers from Salt Lake City 20th-century members of the Utah Legislature