Original witnesses to the book of mormon plates

Three witnesses oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris declared an angel of god appeared to them and showed them the book of mormon plates. The combined testimonies of the three and eight witnesses of the book of mormon provide powerful evidence of the restoration. When joseph smith first obtained the gold plates, he was told to show them. Why did some of the witnesses of the book of mormon leave the. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses kindle edition. Beginning with the first edition of 1830, the book of mormon has. Current mormon doctrine on the nature of god, the priesthood, use of temples, baptism for the dead, and men becoming gods, is nowhere contained in the book of mormon. The methodology was clearly explained and is very sound. The book of mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of joseph smith who claimed to have seen the golden plates from which smith translated the book of mormon. After copying these two documents by hand, president smith read them in at least two public discourses. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses deseret book.

Pomeroy tucker, origin, rise, and progress of mormonism new york. David whitmer was one of six original members of the church of christ that joseph smith organized in 1830. Problems with the gold plates of the book of mormon. This article is being offered free as a courtesy to as it was footnoted in an expanded gospel topic on their site while much that has been said regarding the origin of the book of mormon is beyond the experience of the average searcher, only as he accepts or rejects the credibility of the earliest witnesses, the existence of the book itself provides a common ground for careful. Here it was that those 8 witnesses recorded in the book of mormon looked upon the plates and handled them of which they bear witness in the title page of the book of mormon. I understand the book of mormon has a list of witnesses. They are called the testimony of the 3 witnesses and the testimony of the 8 witnesses.

President smith was also privileged to handle a handwritten testimony of oliver cowdery, another of the three witnesses of the book of mormon. Brigham young said, some of the witnesses of the book of mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of god, were afterwards left to doubt and to disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The witnesses of the book of mormon plates the church of jesus. Accepting isaac scotts hearsay about the witnesses confessing strang and the plates were a fraud would be the equivalent of accepting a nonbook of mormon witness exmormons hearsay about one of the book of mormon witnesses admitting that its all a hoax and fraud. Book of mormon witnesses the encyclopedia of mormonism. Why didnt any of the original witnesses to the book of. Mary whitmerwitness of the book of mormon one people. Lds apologists cannot have their cake and eat it too by operating under. Also to those of you who said that they denied it, get your facts straight, not one denied right up until their deaths. According to latter day saint belief, the golden plates also called the gold plates or in some 19thcentury literature, the golden bible are the source from which joseph smith claimed to have translated the book of mormon, a sacred text of the faith. That photo is consistent with the report of the original witnesses in 1829 that at the time of joseph smith the sealed portion comprised about two thirds of the plates.

Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses religious studies center. The book of mormon text contains logical impossibilities. Oct 27, 2014 having done some reading about the witnesses of the book of mormon, here are some thoughts about how trustworthy these witnesses were. The book of mormon itself portrays the golden plates as a historical.

Dec 20, 2011 a discussion of the witnesses of the golden plates of the book of mormon and the implications of their testimony. Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds 14 to 27 kg, golden in. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons in. Nov 03, 2017 this video explores the history behind the witnesses to the book of mormon and explains why their combined testimony strongly indicates that joseph smith did in fact possess plates with the. Harper, the eleven witnesses, in the coming forth of the book of mormon. The witnesses of the book of m ormon plates the three witnesses date of birth place of birth age when shown plates. When joseph smith first obtained the gold plates, he was told to show them to no one.

Hinckley cited the words of book of mormon witness oliver cowdery, who said, i beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. When joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through divine inspiration, he dictated to scribes, who recorded the words on common paper of the time period, making this. It was the upper plates of the plates of mormon which were translated both into the book of lehi 116 pages and also the book of mormon. That we, through the grace of god the father, and our lord jesus christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of nephi, and also of the lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. What is the original language of the book of mormon. The three witnesses, unlike the eight witnesses, were shown the plates by. Jul 08, 2011 while joseph smith was dictating the book of mormon to oliver cowdery, he read off a section that declared there would be three special witnesses who would be allowed to see the plates and then bear witness to the book of mormon. Finally, the mormon church leaders became so embarrassed about the grammar that they decided to abandon the idea that god gave joseph smith the english that is found in the book. Did the book of mormon witnesses really see what they claimed. Even those who left the churchwhich in my opinion adds strength to their testimonies, why would they have any reason.

Hedges, john hilton iii, and kerry hull salt lake city and provo, ut. While the three witnesses were not related to each other, the eight witnesses were very much interrelated. Golden plates to book of mormon church of jesus christ. Thus there are some puzzling aspects to the testimonies of the witnesses. The testimonies of the witnesses printed in the book of mormon offer.

Here we have depositions by eleven men of the gold plates existence and by. Much of the book of mormon was produced in the home of his father, peter, as he hosted the smiths. According to latter day saint belief, the golden plates are the source. Every book of mormon makes these statements in the inside cover of title page. The book of mormons old testament portion bmot quotes heavily from the new testament of the bible. The book of mormon provided multiple official and unofficial witnesses who. You can read the testimonies of the witnesses at the beginning of the book of mormon. Deseret book and religious studies center, brigham young university, 2015, 1172. Beginning with the first edition of 1830, the book of mormon has generally contained two sets of testimonies the testimony of three witnesses and the testimony of eight witnesses. Anyone that has a spec of honesty in their soul has to at least consider the possibility that these witnesses really saw the plates as they claimed throughout their lives. Smith eventually obtained testimonies from 11 men who said that they had seen the plates, known as the book of mormon witnesses. Jan 04, 2007 yet not one recanted their claims as witnesses to the coming forth of the book of mormon. Sep 12, 2008 i have a copy of the book of mormon, i know there are at least 12.

The original testimony of these eight men in the book of mormon reads somewhat ambiguously, not making clear whether they handled the plates or the leaves of the translated manuscript. Occupation membership in the church death oliver cowdery. Historical evidence has led many people to question the authenticity of the book of mormon and the credibility of joseph smiths story. Harper, the witnesses to the book of mormon provide some of the most compelling evidence in favor of its miraculous revelation and translation.

How many people actually saw the original book of mormon. David whitmer, oliver cowdery and martin harris were finally chosen to be witnesses to the book of mormon plates existence. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come. Packer, in his article cumorahs cave, printed in the journal of book of mormon studies v.

As church membership mushroomed, and it became clear the book of mormon is pretty. Attacks against the book of mormon have experienced a kind of. Fulfilling a js revelation, eleven witnesses viewed the plates at about the end of june 1829 and signed statements testifying of them. Mary whitmer, 12th witness to the book of mormon deseret news. Throughout their lives, none of the witnesses of the book of mormon ever denied. The original book of mormon manuscript byu studies. Jan 05, 2020 the three witnessesoliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harrisall participated in the translation of the book of mormon. Did the eleven witnesses actually see the gold plates. The plates were written in a language called reformed egyptian. Journal of discourses, vol 7, page 164, 1859, brigham young. The book of mormon relies not only on the record of an ancient people, but also on the separate testimonies of three and eight witnesses published in the back of the books original 1830 edition and in the front of its more recent editions. Critics began by labeling the book bungling and stupid, joe smith a perfect ignoramus, and they claimed any blunderhead, with the bible at his side, might have written it. There were certain people besides joseph smith who were allowed to see them, and their testimonies are recorded in the beginning of the book of mormon, before 1 nephi.

The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. Witnesses each add their own signature to the original book of mormon manuscript. Where are the original gold plates stored that the book of. Those who would defend traditional beliefs about mormon origins often turn to the testimonies of 11 men. Hiram page, whom married catherine whitmer in 1825.

The most significant witnesses are the three witnesses and the eight witnesses, all of whom allowed their names to be used on two separate statements included with the book of mormon. Dec 09, 2006 the plates were returned to the lord shortly after the work of translating them was complete. After the witnesses returned to the house the angel again made his appearance to joseph and received the plates from his hands. However, i have heard that these witnesses may not have actually ever seen the gold plates that contained the original manuscripts for the book of mormon, but were witnesses in a different sort of way. This video explores the history behind the witnesses to the book of mormon and explains why their combined testimony strongly indicates that joseph smith did in fact possess plates with the. Why were three key witnesses chosen to testify of the book of. A discussion of the witnesses of the golden plates of the book of mormon and the implications of their testimony. The testimony of the three and eight witnesses to the book of mormon is a key part to the testimonies of many members of the church.

Jul 04, 2010 yet not one recanted their claims as witnesses to the coming forth of the book of mormon. Some even base their testimony of the truthfulness of the book of mormon on these 11 witnesses and their claims. Three witnesses oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris declared an angel of god appeared to them and showed them the book of mormon plates and they heard the voice of the lord pronounce that joseph smith s translation had been accomplished by the gift and power of god. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director witnesses.

Book of mormon witnesses all later denied its truthfulness. Jun 17, 2014 in 1989, thirteenth president gordon b. Attacks against the book of mormon have experienced a kind of mission creep since its publication in 1830. This page from the original book of mormon manuscript contains the story of nephi trying to obtain the brass plates from laban, found today in 1 nephi 4. Martin harris and david whitmer were the two witnesses of the book of mormon plates still alive when mclellin wrote. Beginning with the first edition of 1830, the book of mormon has generally contained two sets of testimoniesthe testimony of three witnesses and the testimony of eight witnesses.

The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Through their actions we are left with the sure knowledge that the plates from which the book of mormon was translated do in reality exist, and that the book translated from those plates, is indeed the word of god. Five of her sons would become witnesses for the gold plates, along with her sonsinlaw. Book of mormonwitnessessignatures on their testimonies. Apr 16, 2020 even if the majority of the witnesses to the book of mormon did not deny their testimony of the book itself, this does little to support mormonism today. The book of mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of joseph smith who claimed to have seen the golden plates from which smith translated the. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of. All three witnesses were eventually excommunicated from the mormon church. Non mormon writers have criticized the grammar of the book of mormon stating that god could not make the many grammatical mistakes that are found in the book of mormon. The research that went into this book was very thorough. Believers in the book of mormon heard the witnesses declare that the plates. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading investigating the book of mormon witnesses. Joseph testified that an angel stood before them with the plates in his hands.