Born in Derby, Connecticut to non-sectarian parents, at about age 18, Ms. Whitney left her parents and moved with her liberated aunt Sarah Smith to Kirtland, Ohio, where at age 20 she met her groom Newell. Married on October 20, 1822, the couple quickly accumulated wealth and status in their community.
In Kirtland, Elizabeth and her husband joined the Disciples of Christ in the area, led by Sidney Rigdon. The teachings of this group, which denied it had power to give the gift of the Holy Spirit, led the couple to pray for that gift. In response to that prayer, the couple claimed to have seen a vision and a voice stating, "Prepare to receive the word of the Lord, for it is coming!"
In November 1830, Ms. Whitney and her husband met Mormon Elder Parley Parker Pratt, who had been was serving a mission in Kirtland. Because of Pratt's preaching they were baptized into the Church of Christ (Mormonism). The answer to Ms. Whitney's prayer, as she tells it, came later in February 1831, when she and her husband met Joseph Smith, Jr, who arrived in Kirtland and stayed at their house.
In 1842, Ms. Whitney became one of the original leaders of the Relief Society, with Emma Hale Smith, Sarah Cleveland, and Eliza Roxcy Snow (who had been her acquaintance in Kirtland). Whitney served as the first counselor under Emma Smith.
Whitney and her husband were among the inner circle of early Mormonism with Joseph Smith, Jr and later Brigham Young, with whom they travelled west and settled in Salt Lake City, Utah.