Noriginal witnesses to the book of mormon

After copying these two documents by hand, president smith read them in at least two public discoursesonce in march 1939 and again in the october. Its a common misconception by people outside the church that joseph smith was the only person who ever saw the golden plates. Because of the book of mormon, many people inadvertently call us the mormons. This is the first half of an old byu film depicting the story of the three witnesses of. The witnesses to the book of mormon are blatantly not credible. In the introductory pages of the book of mormon, there is a page that contains the testimony of three witnesses and the testimony of eight witnesses. In my personal experience, and as a member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints sometimes mistakenly called the mormon church, i have heard it described as everything from interesting, false, uplifting, or contrary to the bible. 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.

The valueless testimony of the book of mormon witnesses. Marsh, an excommunicated apostle, approached whitmer and cowdery to learn the real truth about the book of mormon since they, like him, were now excommunicated and hostile to it marsh reported. Answers to questions about the witnesses to the book of mormon. The eight witnesses of the book of mormon lds blogs. Start studying book of mormon brad wilcox midterm 1byu. It should be noted that in the 1830 book of mormon, the witness statements were included at the end of the book, rather than at the front as they are today. Joseph fielding smith 20, 12738 chapter 9, teachings. The second video is now available oct 2014 that focuses on the eight witnesses. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses richard l.

Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons in. The witnesses of the book of mormon by preston nibley. Each of the four gospels concludes with an account of jesus resurrection. The witnesses of the book of mormon scott woodward. By richard packham at the front of every copy of the book of mormon you will find the testimony of three witnesses, as signed by oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris. The three and eight witnesses to the book of mormon. Did the book of mormon witnesses really see what they claimed. Throughout their lives, none of the witnesses of the book of mormon. The three men chosen as witnesses of the book of mormon were oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris. Much has been said about the book of mormon since its first publication in the 1800s. Some mormons will agree that all three witnesses denied the book of mormon but came back to deny their denial. In the course of the work of translation of the book of mormon, we joseph smith and oliver cowdrey ascertained that three special witnesses were to be provided by the lord, to whom he would grant that they should see the plates from which this work the book of mormon should be translated. Some people seem to deal with them by simply waving them aside. Those who have attempted to tackle the issue generally have relied.

In this video, i discuss how relying on the published testimony of eight witnesses has led many to incorrectly assume the experience of the eight men was completely natural and physical. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of honest mormons have discovered that this claim simply is not true. Questions about the witnesses to the reality of the. The witnesses of the book of mormon the millennial star. The first edition of the book of mormon featured two testimonials. Chart 1018 lists eighteen recorded appearances of the resurrected christ. The book of mormon tells the story of a group of people who lived in jerusalem near the time of the old testament prophet jeremiah.

Many people that wholeheartedly believe the book of mormon witnesses do so because they have a hard time thinking that these people would either lie or could have been deceived. David whitmer never returned to the church, but left an extensive record validating his testimony. One of the eight witnesses to the book of mormon, was the second son of peter whitmer, sen. Motives the testimony of the book of mormon witnesses has been a thorn in the side of the critics for more than a century and a half. The case against the 3 witnesses of the book of mormon. Joseph smith only had three witnesses who claimed to see an angel. Some of the most important evidence for the reality and divine nature of the book of mormon comes from detailed scholarship about the witnesses to the book of mormon. Aug 18, 2009 this segment depicts the coming forth of the book of mormon and the testimony to its veracity by the three witnesses. He removed with his parents to new york state when a boy, and married elizabeth schott, september 29, 1825.

This is the first half of an old byu film depicting the story of the three witnesses of the book of mormon. Although the book of mormon witnesses were attracted to strang for a short time, they soon became interested in a movement william e. It is claimed that the revelation was published in the book of commandments in its original form, then subsequently modified in the doctrine and covenants in. Today, the building in which the book of mormon was first published and sold is known as the book of mormon historic publication site. The shakers, however, had a large number of witnesses who claimed they saw angels and the roll and book. One of these documents was a handwritten testimony. Four women were witnesses to book of mormon translation process. Book of mormon witnesses facts, controversies, and contradictions.

Book of mormon the testimony of three witnesses youtube. Howlers in the book of mormon matthew roper book of mormon conference 2017. Review of the book of mormon s witness to its first readers, by dale luffman. Book of mormonwitnessessignatures on their testimonies. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon central. 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. In this position, he was instrumental in procuring original documents of historical significance to the church. 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 smiths translation had been accomplished. Richard andersons work on the three witnesses and the eight witnesses demonstrates conclusively.

The book of mormon contains two sets of joint statements written by joseph smith for those who claimed to have seen the gold plates. Three witnesses the three witnesses are david whitmer, oliver cowdery, and martin harris, who mortgaged his farm to finance the first printing of the book of mormon. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses deseret book. The book of mormon provided multiple official and unofficial witnesses who corroborated aspects of josephs account. Did the three witnesses each add their own signature to the original book of mormon manuscript. All three witnesses eventually broke with smith and were excommunicated from the church. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This segment depicts the coming forth of the book of mormon and the testimony to its veracity by the three witnesses. Sep 10, 2010 the witnesses of the book of mormon nibley, preston on. Witnesses of the book of mormon, teachings of presidents of the church. Sep, 2012 the book of mormon is a book of scripture similar to the bible. The original book of mormon manuscript byu studies. Witnesses of the book of mormon it seems to me that any member of this church would never be satisfied until he or she had read the book of mormon time and time again and thoroughly considered.

It is very interesting how the lord decided to have those special witnesses of his work of the last days. Apr 26, 2010 the bible prescribe at least two or three witnesses for everything. Their written testimony of three witnesses has been included in all of the almost 100 million copies of the book of mormon the church has published since 1830. Richard lloyd anderson, personal writings of the book of mormon witnesses, in book of mormon authorship revisited. Four women were witnesses to book of mormon translation.

Taken together with the additional witnesses, mentioned especially by paul and in the book of mormon, numerous people bear testimony of the reality of the resurrection of the lord jesus christ. Mar 22, 2017 by june 1829 martin harris, oliver cowdery, and david whitmer had verbalized a desire to be the special three witnesses alluded to in the book of mormon. A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing. 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 three witnesses were oliver cowdery, martin harris, and david whitmer, whose joint testimony, in conjunction with a separate statement by eight witnesses, has been printed with every edition of the book of mormon since its first publication in 1830. Some often joke derisively, oh if only joseph had thought to actually show someone else those plates instead of keeping them to himself, maybe we mig. Within the first few pages of the book of mormon, readers come across the names of 11 witnesses, each of whom has signed his name as someone who has either seen or felt the ancient plates that joseph smith used to translate the book of mormon. Many critics have tried to ignore their testimonies, while others have simply glossed over their significance. President smith was also privileged to handle a handwritten testimony of oliver cowdery, another of the three witnesses of the book of mormon. The testimony of the eight witnesses was first published at the end of the 1830 edition of the book of mormon and has been printed in nearly every edition since, although most subsequent editions moved the statement to the front of the book and included minor grammatical corrections. Testimonies of the book of mormon witnesses deseret book. Mar, 2008 in studying the history of joseph smith and the the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, referred to as the mormons, we emphasize joseph smiths own testimony of the book of mormon, that book of additional scripture that is another testament of jesus christ. Strangs translation of the metal plates was transcribed by samuel graham, and published as the 336 page book of the law of the lord, said to be the original law. 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.

Five of the book of mormon witnesses definitely supported mclellins movement and another gave some encouragement to it. Published in every edition of the book of mormon are the testimonies of eight witnesses who saw the metal plates from which the prophet joseph smith translated the ancient scriptural account and of three witnesses who not only saw the plates but who were shown them by an angel. Witnesses of the golden plates and the book of mormon. The three witnesses of the book of mormon, part 1 youtube. I felt that i got to know the witnesses myself, through the reports of others. I will never read the testimony of the book of mormon witnesses while i read the book of mormon with the same eyes again. Book of mormon witnesses the encyclopedia of mormonism. The witnesses to the book of mormon the witnesses to the book of mormon have always been extremely impressive to me. We also talk about the testimony of the three witnesses. The world was not left with joseph smiths testimony alone.

Book of mormon witnesses richard lloyd anderson the witness. 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. As a result of this, we do not have the portion of the original book of mormon manuscript containing the witness statements. From changing their stories to denying their faith to getting excommunicated. Book of mormon witnesses all later denied its truthfulness. I was transported back to the times of the early church history.