DOCSLIB.ORG

Richard Lloyd Anderson and Worldwide Church Growth

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Richard Lloyd Anderson and Worldwide Church Growth Richard Lloyd Anderson and Worldwide Church Growth Richard O. Cowan My rst contact with the work of Richard Lloyd Anderson came when I had the privilege of serving a summer stake mission in Los Angeles as a high school youth. I was told about a remarkable new teaching outline that had been developed in the Northwestern States Mission and was encouraged to write for a copy. Presently I received in the mail a large envelope containing material in a black folder entitled “A Plan for Effective Missionary Work.” I was impressed with its persuasive use of scriptural passages to teach gospel concepts. Only in later years when I began studying recent Latter-day Saint history did I more fully appreciate the widespread impact of Anderson’s work. Earlier Antecedents During the church’s earlier decades, door-to-door “tracting” had been the primary method by which missionaries contacted people. The object was to leave a religious tract at every home, hoping for a possible discussion later if individuals had any questions from their reading. Often weeks would go by without any apparent results from the missionaries’ efforts. Not surprisingly, several twentieth-century mission presidents compiled materials to help missionaries be more effective in their work. Still, no organized missionary lesson plans were available. Many missionaries lled this vacuum by building their discussions around existing series of tracts. One popular series, “Rays of Living Light” by Charles W. Penrose, “presented the rst principles of the gospel [but] with little mention of Joseph Smith and the restoration.” Another series, Elder Brigham H. Roberts’s “Why Mormonism?” gave more emphasis to “the message of the restoration.”1 Another publication in 1937 was destined to have a long-lasting impact on Latter-day Saint missionary work. LeGrand Richards, a future presiding bishop and member of the Council of the Twelve, concluded his presidency of the Southern States Mission by leaving a copy of The Message of Mormonism with each missionary. This outline was prepared to assist the missionaries in their study and presentations of the gospel in a systematic and logical manner. In twenty-four weekly topics, a missionary could cover the restoration and basic doctrines of the gospel. Under each topic President Richards outlined key scriptures, listed tracts or other available reading matter, and suggested questions that should be answered in the discussion. The “major emphasis” was on teaching the gospel; “little mention was made of the need for the investigator to accept baptism at the hands of the elders.”2 During the next several years many other missions adopted this plan. Repeated requests for copies eventually led Elder Richards to enlarge his material and to publish it in book form under the title A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. This became one of the most popular Latter-day Saint doctrinal works of the twentieth century. The “Anderson Plan” Following the close of World War II, the church’s full-time missionary force soared from 477 in 1945 to 2,244 a year later. This meant that there were many new missionaries in the eld who lacked experience and who could prot from some assistance and direction. To help meet this need, various mission presidents compiled guidelines and suggestions that were distributed among their own missionaries and often in adjoining missions. Without question, the most widely circulated postwar proselyting outline was that prepared by Richard L. Anderson. Elder Anderson built on foundations others had laid. As a youth he was impressed by accounts of his father’s missionary experiences in Missouri at the time of World War I. The father and his missionary companion had challenged each other to memorize one hundred scriptures. After accomplishing this signicant goal, Elder Lloyd Anderson had an opportunity to employ his newly acquired arsenal while preaching on a street corner. After the discourse a bystander remarked: “I never have heard a person quote so many scriptures—and less said.” Still, hearing this comment would kindle in young Richard a love for the scriptures. Richard L. Anderson enlisted in the Navy during World War II. While stationed at Jacksonville, Florida, he enjoyed going out with the local missionaries. It was at this time that he met and was profoundly impressed by Reid E. Bankhead, an ensign who was also at the Jacksonville naval base. Bankhead gave a series of reside lectures on topics commonly discussed by the missionaries. Anderson was impressed with Bankhead’s ability to select key conversion topics and to present the scriptures effectively. This experience reinforced young Anderson’s determination to hone his own skills in using the scriptures to teach the gospel. While in the service, Anderson visited with many other missionaries to see what they were doing successfully. As he gathered this added perspective, the major features of his own future method took shape.3 In the fall of 1946, one year after the war ended, young Elder Anderson arrived in the Northwestern States Mission. He was now determined to build on the teaching concepts he had worked out while in the military service. Under this program, rather than merely handing out tracts at the door, the missionaries’ objective was to get inside the homes in order to present their message. “We would better understand our purpose in tracting if we termed it personal contacting,” Elder Anderson explained. “The Lord tells us to preach the gospel. Passing out literature is not effective tracting—the object is to get inside.”4 Another key feature gleaned from others’ experiences was emphasis on the Book of Mormon as a powerful teaching tool and key to conversion. Placing copies was a specic goal of the initial contact. “If the Book of Mormon is explained in a clear and distinct way,” Anderson afrmed, “any honest person should want to read it.”5 Fourteen doctrinal discussions, beginning with two on the Book of Mormon, were arranged in a logical sequence to bring conversion. The plan emphasized the need to secure commitments as teaching progressed. The rst major feature in each lesson was “Agreement to be reached.”6 “One topic should not be left until agreement is reached; it is pointless to ever hand out information without denite commitment on the part of the investigator.”7 The main body of each lesson was entitled “Material to discuss.”8 Emphasis was on a logical analysis of relevant scriptures. Open and direct questions allowed the investigator “to decide what each scripture meant, and then . to express his frank opinion after sufcient proof was presented.” Questions were designed to foster commitment and belief.9 “Arouse the prospect to active thinking and denite reaction on each point.”10 No dialogue was provided, but missionaries were to get the logical sequence of topics in mind and then present the material in their own words. They were urged to memorize scriptures. “Don’t let a day go by that you don’t memorize at least one passage.”11 A selection from the rst discussion, on the Book of Mormon, illustrates the plan’s structure and avor: Gen. 49:1, 8—10. Jacob prophesies what will befall each tribe. Judah receives the blessing of kingship—he will be the political leader. The point of reading this passage is to make clear the difference in the blessings given these two most important tribes, Judah and Joseph. (I Ch. 5:2 will often help here.) Gen. 49:22, 23 v. 26. What does the word “progenitors” mean? Who are Joseph’s progenitors? They inherited the denite area known as Palestine. If Joseph’s blessing prevails above their blessing, will he inherit a land of greater scope and extent?12 Still, a key step was missing. During his rst missionary assignment, at Bend, Oregon, Elder Anderson observed that though the people appeared to believe what was being taught, something more was needed “to get them out of their front rooms into church meetings.” Anderson wrote to his old friend, Reid Bankhead, who shared a baptismal challenge worked out by a missionary companion, Glen Pearson. Inserting this discussion brought dramatic results.13 Elder Anderson’s mission president, Joel Richards, had a background in the insurance business. He felt that his call to preside over the mission was divinely inspired, and he sensed an urgency to apply what he had learned in the business world. As he rode the train from Utah to mission headquarters in Portland, he pondered how missionary work could be structured to become more effective. Upon his arrival, he was excited to learn about what Elder Anderson and his companion were doing in Bend. “Sister Richards and I feel that [this] Missionary Plan has come in direct answer to prayer,” the new president later wrote, “and that Elder Richard L. Anderson was inspired in its preparation. Since receiving our call to preside over the Northwestern States Mission, we were very much concerned as to how we could best help the missionaries in their study and preparation, and in presenting the Gospel in a logical and convincing manner so as to actually get results. We talked about it and prayed about it and just couldn’t get it off our minds. When we arrived in the mission eld,” President Richards continued, “we saw Elder Anderson in action and achieving outstanding success, having baptized over thirty converts within a year. As we studied his method we were convinced that it was the answer to our prayer.” President Richards assigned Elder Anderson to teach his methods to missionaries in Corvallis, one of the larger districts, to see if the results would be the same. After three months “the results were so startling and the missionaries so enthusiastic,” the “Anderson Plan,” as it was coming to be called, was introduced throughout the mission in mid-1948.14 As these improved methods were adopted throughout the mission, the results were apparent.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Moroni: Angel Or Treasure Guardian? 39
    Mark Ashurst-McGee: Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian? 39 Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian? Mark Ashurst-McGee Over the last two decades, historians have reconsidered the origins of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the context of the early American tradition of treasure hunting. Well into the nineteenth century there were European Americans hunting for buried wealth. Some believed in treasures that were protected by magic spells or guarded by preternatural beings. Joseph Smith, founding prophet of the Church, had participated in several treasure-hunting expeditions in his youth. The church that he later founded rested to a great degree on his claim that an angel named Moroni had appeared to him in 1823 and showed him the location of an ancient scriptural record akin to the Bible, which was inscribed on metal tablets that looked like gold. After four years, Moroni allowed Smith to recover these “golden plates” and translate their characters into English. It was from Smith’s published translation—the Book of Mormon—that members of the fledgling church became known as “Mormons.” For historians of Mormonism who have treated the golden plates as treasure, Moroni has become a treasure guardian. In this essay, I argue for the historical validity of the traditional understanding of Moroni as an angel. In May of 1985, a letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune posed this question: “In keeping with the true spirit (no pun intended) of historical facts, should not the angel Moroni atop the Mormon Temple be replaced with a white salamander?”1 Of course, the pun was intended.
    [Show full text]
  • Age of Homespun, the (Ulrich), Leonard Arrington, 9–10 542–43 Graduate Studies at Berkeley, 5 Airplane Crash, Robert J
    Index c accountability, 101 Alexander, Thomas G. (cont ) Adair, Phillip, 515 on George Ellsworth and Age of Homespun, The (Ulrich), Leonard Arrington, 9–10 542–43 graduate studies at Berkeley, 5 airplane crash, Robert J. Matthews interest in environmental his- avoids, 385–86 tory, 24–25 Alexander, Marilyn, 4, 17 on Manchester Mormons, 20–21 Alexander, Thomas G. on Mormonism in Transition, association with Mormon 17–20 History Association, 13–17 on Mormons and Gentiles: A History association with Redd Center, of Salt Lake City, 20 25–28 publications and productivity background of, 1 of, 7–8 on BYU, 11–13 in Redd Center administra- on challenges for Mormon his- tion, 6–7 torians, 31–32 on Utah, the Right Place, 23–24 on collaboration with on Wilford Woodruff biogra- non-Mormon historians, phy, 21–23 10–11 Allen, James B. contributions of, 30–31 on access to historical docu- current projects of, 28–30 ments, 61–64 early years and education of, background of, 35 2–5 career following Historical early years at BYU, 5–6 Department, 67–68 early years of, 36–38 [ 561 ] Conversations with Mormon Historians Allen, James B. (cont ) Anderson, Richard Lloyd (cont ) education and interest in Church education of, 74–75, 80–86 history, 38–42 family and early years of, 72–74 friendship with Thomas G. favorite projects of, 89–91 Alexander, 6 future plans of, 100–102 on future of Church history, as influence on research of Larry 65–66 C. Porter, 509, 510 on Historical Department, 56–58 on Joseph Smith Papers Project, Manchester Mormons, 20–21 92–93 Mormons
    [Show full text]
  • Letter from David Whitmer to Nathan West Concerning Caldwell County, Missouri, Property Once Owned by King Follett
    Scott H. Faulring: David Whitmer Letter 127 Letter from David Whitmer to Nathan West Concerning Caldwell County, Missouri, Property Once Owned by King Follett Scott H. Faulring Filed away in the David Whitmer Collection at the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) Archives is an inconspicuous, handwritten copy of a November 1849 letter from David Whitmer to Nathan A. West.1 In this carefully worded letter, Whitmer responded to West’s inquiry about a legal title to land once owned by the late Mormon elder King Follett.2 One senses from reading the letter that although David was trying to be helpful to his friend, he wanted to distance himself legally from liability in a decade-old property question. This letter is historically significant and interesting for a variety of rea- sons. First, there are few surviving letters from David Whitmer written dur- ing the first ten to fifteen years after he separated himself from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.3 Second, this retained copy, and most probably the dispatched original, was handwritten by Oliver Cowdery—just a little more than three months before he died. As such, it is the last-known handwriting of Mormonism’s Second Elder.4 Third, the letter’s cautious, legalistic wording is not from the mind of David Whitmer but was composed by Oliver Cowdery, the lawyer. As such, it is the only example of his legal writing from his fourteen-month stay in Richmond.5 Fourth, the items dis- cussed in the letter evidence the confused state of affairs existing in Far West, Missouri, at the time the Latter-day Saints were forced to flee the state in 1839.6 SCOTT H.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Mormon History Vol. 20, No. 1, 1994
    Journal of Mormon History Volume 20 Issue 1 Article 1 1994 Journal of Mormon History Vol. 20, No. 1, 1994 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation (1994) "Journal of Mormon History Vol. 20, No. 1, 1994," Journal of Mormon History: Vol. 20 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory/vol20/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Mormon History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Journal of Mormon History Vol. 20, No. 1, 1994 Table of Contents LETTERS vi ARTICLES PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS • --Positivism or Subjectivism? Some Reflections on a Mormon Historical Dilemma Marvin S. Hill, 1 TANNER LECTURE • --Mormon and Methodist: Popular Religion in the Crucible of the Free Market Nathan O. Hatch, 24 • --The Windows of Heaven Revisited: The 1899 Tithing Reformation E. Jay Bell, 45 • --Plurality, Patriarchy, and the Priestess: Zina D. H. Young's Nauvoo Marriages Martha Sonntag Bradley and Mary Brown Firmage Woodward, 84 • --Lords of Creation: Polygamy, the Abrahamic Household, and Mormon Patriarchy B. Cannon Hardy, 119 REVIEWS 153 --The Story of the Latter-day Saints by James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard Richard E. Bennett --Hero or Traitor: A Biographical Story of Charles Wesley Wandell by Marjorie Newton Richard L. Saunders --Mormon Redress Petition: Documents of the 1833-1838 Missouri Conflict edited by Clark V. Johnson Stephen C.
    [Show full text]
  • Circumstantial Confirmation of the First Vision Through Reminiscences
    BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 9 Issue 3 Article 11 7-1-1969 Circumstantial Confirmation Of the First Vision Through Reminiscences Richard Lloyd Anderson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Anderson, Richard Lloyd (1969) "Circumstantial Confirmation Of the First Vision Through Reminiscences," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 9 : Iss. 3 , Article 11. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol9/iss3/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Anderson: Circumstantial Confirmation Of the First Vision Through Reminisce circumstantial confirmation of the first vision through reminiscences richard lloyd anderson historical sources like the people who make them are rarely either completely perfect or totally unreliable the bread and butter work of the historian is less the divining of bias than a careful reading of his documents to determine just what is said whether his source is in a position to know the information related and to what extent each one tells a partial or complete story because it is claimed that joseph smith s account of the events surrounding his first vision are not factual the foregoing procedures must be applied to his own statements and to all other accounts that claim to relate firsthandfirst hand information
    [Show full text]
  • Praising the Prophet
    Praising the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration in History and Verse Sharon Price Anderson PraisingtheProphet_wpicts 1 4/6/05 22:37:54 The author’s cover drawing is based on a C. R. Savage print of Joseph Smith. The print and photographs of the other Church Presidents (also part of the C. R. Savage collection) belonged to the author’s great-grandfather, Brigham Young Hampton, and are used courtesy of�the Church Archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The poem Fourteen Is Young first appeared in the February 2005 Ensign. ©2005 by Time Lines Etc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Time Lines Etc., 1615 S. Carterville Rd., Orem, UT 84097 ISBN 0-9765754-9-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2005924786 Typesetting by Marco A. SantaMaría V. Printed in the United States of America PraisingtheProphet_wpicts 2 4/6/05 22:37:55 Preface The prophet Joseph Smith was an extraordinary man who performed a singular role in the Restoration of the gospel. This volume is not intended to be a comprehensive review of his life nor of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which he founded. Instead, it gives glimps- es into many well-known and some not-so-familiar events that took place before and during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. It includes a brief look into the lives of Joseph’s grandfather Asael; his parents, Joseph Senior and Lucy Mack; and his wife, Emma.
    [Show full text]
  • Joseph Smith and the Creation of the Book of Mormon A
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Performing Revelation: Joseph Smith and the Creation of The Book of Mormon A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Theater and Performance Studies by William Davis 2016 © Copyright by William Davis 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Performing Revelation: Joseph Smith’s Oral Performance of The Book of Mormon by William Davis Doctor of Philosophy in Theater and Performance Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Michael Colacurcio, Co-Chair Professor Michael Hackett, Co-Chair In 1830, Joseph Smith Jr. published The Book of Mormon and subsequently founded a new American religion. According to Smith, The Book of Mormon represented the English translation of an authentic record, written in “Reformed Egyptian,” concerning ancient Israelites who migrated to the Americas in approximately 600 B.C.E. Smith’s purported translation of this sacred history, however, did not occur by traditional means. Rather than directly consulting the record and providing an English rendition, Smith employed a method of divination by placing a “seer stone” into the bottom of his hat, holding the hat to his face to shut out all light, and then he proceeded to dictate the entire text of The Book of Mormon in an extended oral performance, without the aid of notes or manuscripts. By his side, Smith’s scribes wrote down the entire text verbatim in the moment Smith uttered them. As a result, at over 500 printed pages, The Book of Mormon stands as one of the longest recorded oral performances in the history of the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Sidney B. Sperry: Steadfast Scholar
    Journal of Book of Mormon Studies Volume 4 Number 1 Article 5 1-31-1995 Sidney B. Sperry: Steadfast Scholar Richard Lloyd Anderson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Anderson, Richard Lloyd (1995) "Sidney B. Sperry: Steadfast Scholar," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 4 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol4/iss1/5 This Biographical Sketch is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Title Sidney B. Sperry: Steadfast Scholar Author(s) Richard Lloyd Anderson Reference Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/1 (1995): xxi–xxiii. ISSN 1065-9366 (print), 2168-3158 (online) Abstract Personal reminiscences about Sidney B. Sperry. Sidney B. Sperry: Steadfast Scholar Richard Lloyd Anderson In the Sperry years, a young apostle named Spencer Kimball addressed a Brigham Young University devotional on "A Style of Our Own," of course speaking of the need to harmonize gospel modesty with fashion in dress. By that time Brother Sperry had taken religious studies far down a similar road by creating a "Scholarship of Our Own." This quest did not aim at simplistic answers that bypassed hard issues. His own academic career started in science and moved to biblical languages, two fields that first mastered tools and then correlated hard data. For him there was no compromise on the truth of the Book of Mormon and the revelations of.
    [Show full text]
  • How Important Was Oliver Cowdery in Bringing Forth the Book of Mormon?
    KnoWhy # 270 February 3, 2017 Worth More Than Its Weight in Gold via lds.org How Important was Oliver Cowdery in Bringing Forth the Book of Mormon? “But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall deliver the words of the book, which are the words of those who have slumbered in the dust, and he shall deliver these words unto another” 2 Nephi 27:9 end of June, 1829, Oliver served as the primary scribe The Know while Joseph translated at an astonishing pace.5 Avail- While most Latter-day Saints know certain things about able manuscript evidence confirms that Oliver served Oliver Cowdery, few may fully realize just how import- as scribe for most of the translation process.6 His hand- ant he was to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. writing is clear, accurate, and professional, as one would In September 1828, Oliver Cowdery arrived in the Pal- expect from a school teacher. myra, New York area to teach school, where he stayed with the Joseph Smith Sr. family. While there, he heard When the translation was nearly complete, on “a clear, rumors about the “gold Bible” and Joseph Smith’s vi- open beautiful day” in late June, Oliver joined David sions. Before he ever met Joseph Smith, Oliver became Whitmer and Martin Harris as one of the Three Wit- convinced the story was true and received revelation nesses to the Book of Mormon.7 Only a few months lat- that he needed to assist Joseph (Doctrine and Cove- 1 er, in November 1829, Oliver described the vision to a nants 6:14–24).
    [Show full text]
  • Why Were Three Key Witnesses Chosen to Testify of the Book Of
    KnoWhy # 267 The Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon Compilation retouching and colorization by Bryce M Haymond January 27, 2017 Why Were Three Key Witnesses Chosen to Testify of the Book of Mormon? “In the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established.” Ether 5:4 The Know The prophet Nephi foresaw that the gold plates of the A careful analysis of this experience and the lives of Book of Mormon would be “hid from the eyes of the these Three Witnesses can strengthen faith that Christ’s world” and that “the eyes of none shall behold it save it church has been restored to the earth through the be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of prophet Joseph Smith.7 God” and “none other … shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God” (2 Nephi 27:12–13). Mo- The solemn testimony of these three additional witness- roni further declared that “in the mouth of three wit- es “has appeared in every edition of the Book of Mor- nesses shall these things be established” (Ether 5:4). mon from the beginning.”8 Each of these specific men sacrificed much to help with the translation and pub- In response to these and other revelations,1 Oliver lication of the Book of Mormon, and it’s likely this is a Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer, accom- significant part of why they were chosen (see Ether 5:2).9 panied by Joseph Smith, went into the woods to pray for Importantly, throughout their lives and even during pe- a special witness of the Book of Mormon.2 In the result- riods of estrangement from the church, none
    [Show full text]
  • The Confusing Case of Zacharias
    Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel Volume 14 Number 2 Article 8 6-2013 The Confusing Case of Zacharias Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re BYU ScholarsArchive Citation "The Confusing Case of Zacharias." Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 14, no. 2 (2013): 106-123. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re/vol14/iss2/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Confusing Case of Zacharias lynne hilton wilson Lynne Hilton Wilson ([email protected]), PhD and mother of seven, directs and teaches in the Menlo Park California Stake institute program. he most frequently occurring personal name in the Bible is Zechariah (also Tspelled Zachariah or in the New Testament as Zacharias). At least thirty kings, princes, priests, prophets, servants, sons, trumpet players, and gatekeep- ers claim this name, which means “Jehovah remembers.”1 We should not be surprised to find some confusion about the biblical Zechariahs given that the name spans over a thousand years and fifty-five separate verses. It appears that the Gospel of Matthew may have confused two Zechariahs. Chapter 23 men- tions the ninth-century high-priestly martyr Zechariah but incorrectly assigns him a different father—Barachias, the father of thesixth-century prophet. Where Matthew mixed up the two Zechariahs, the parallel account found in Luke 11:51 did not.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Were Permitted to See the Plates?
    KnoWhy # 54 March 15, 2016 Eight Witnesses View the Book of Mormon Plates by Dale Kilbourn Who Are the “Few” Who Were Permitted to See the Plates? “The book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God … And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God.” 2 Nephi 27:12–13 The Know As part of his prophecy about the Restoration and com- also used the word few, it is possible that Joseph Smith ing forth of the Book of Mormon, Nephi saw that “at understood that word to call for eight further witnesses. that day when the book shall be delivered … [it] shall be hid from the eyes of the world.” Nephi did, however, It was probably later that same week in June 1829, that specify that “three witnesses shall behold it, by the pow- the eight Book of Mormon Witnesses were shown the er of God … and they shall testify to the truth of the plates, and unlike the Three, they were allowed to han- book and the things therein” (2 Nephi 27:12). dle them.5 These were Joseph Smith Sr., Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, Hiram Page, Christian Whitmer, It is likely that the translation of this passage prompted Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., and John Whitmer. Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris to Like the Three Witnesses, none of the Eight ever de- seek an opportunity to see the plates as the Three Wit- nied their testimony, despite some leaving the Church.6 nesses Nephi mentioned.1 Oliver remembered, “It was a clear, open beautiful day” when they saw the angel These witnesses were expected to “testify to the truth of and the plates,2 probably in late-June 1829.3 Though the book and the things therein” and “to bear testimony they each left the Church for a time, all three frequent- of [God’s] word unto the children of men” (2 Nephi ly, and unashamedly, bore witness to seeing the plates 27:12–13).
    [Show full text]