[1] She immigrated to Pennsylvania in the late-18th century, where she met and married Peter Whitmer, a farmer, also of German descent.

During this time, the male boarders and members of her household were speaking of being shown the golden plates.

One evening, when she went to milk the cows, she said that a stranger with a knapsack spoke to her, explained what was going on in her house, comforted her, then produced a bundle of plates from his knapsack, turned the leaves for her, showed her the engravings, exhorted her to faith in bearing her burden a little longer, then suddenly vanished with the plates.

[4] Whitmer was baptized a member of the Church of Christ by Oliver Cowdery in Seneca Lake, April 18, 1830.

[5] She was excommunicated from the church with the entire Whitmer family in 1838, largely due to their dismay at the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society, as well as personal criticism from Joseph Smith.