Dr. P. Wilhelm Poulson, living in Ogden, wrote to the editors of the Deseret News concerning a visit he had with David Whitmer. This letter was dated August 13, 1878, and was published in the Deseret News on August 16, 1878. In this, Whitmer teaches that (1) the temple in Independence, Missouri (cf. D&C 84:3-5; 124:49-51) will be built in the then-future after (2) a civil war greater than the U.S. Civil War that lasted from 1861 to 1865 (cf. D&C 87):
I—When will the temple be built
at Independence?
He—Right after the great
tribulation is over.
I—What do you mean by that?
He—A civil war more bloody and
cruel than the rebellion. It will be a smashing up of this nation, about which
time the second great work has to be done, a work like Joseph did, and the
translation of the sealed plates, and peace all over.
I—Will you live to see those
things?
He—It was said to us, that the
second great work should commence when nearly all the witnesses to the first
plates had passed away, so I may live and see those things take place. (“Correspondence,”
Deseret News 11, no. 224 [August 16, 1878]: 2)