When Joseph and Emma Smith first arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, in February 1831, they met Newel K. Whitney in his store. That night and for the next two to three weeks, Joseph and Emma stayed in the Whitney home across the street. This was a blessing for the Smiths, especially Emma, who was six months pregnant with twins. Things were tight; the home is small, and the Whitney family was a large one.
Sections 41-44 of the Doctrine and Covenants were revealed during that period, so those revelations could have been received in the Whitney home.
Newel and Elizabeth Whitney were new converts and always faithful. Newel Whitney was called as the second bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elizabeth Whitney served as counselor to Emma Smith in the first Relief Society presidency of the church in 1842.
The Whitney home is still extant. It was first photographed by George Edward Anderson in 1907. The Whitney home was acquired by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1980s and was subsequently restored to its original condition. The restored home was dedicated along with the rest of the Historic Kirtland Village on May 18, 2003, by the late President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Visitors are welcome to enter the home as part of a free tour with trained missionaries offering interpretation.