Mormon Media Network The Three Witnesses of t he Book of Mormon QUICK FACTS In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be The Three Witnesses : established. Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery 2 Corinthians 13:1 and David Whitmer They Witnessed More than WHY WAS THERE A NEED FOR WITNESSES ? Just the Golden Plates: It is very likely that Joseph Smith got the idea for witness es from the The Angel Moroni presented Bible. Several passages in the Bible talk about the importance of not only the Golden Plates, witnesses to an event or experience. but the Liahon, the Brass Plates, the Urim and Thummin Martin Harris desired some sort of witness that Joseph Smith did in and the Sword of Laban. fact have ancient plates from which he was translating what would come t o be known as the Book of Mormon. In section 5 of [Date] the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord addresses this very desire of Martin’s. Not only does he agree that Martin should have such a witness, but he takes it a step further and requires three witnesses. Martin Harris’ Grave in Clarkston, Utah WHY W ERE THOSE THREE MEN CALLED AS WITNESSES? Martin Harris had been a friend of the Smith family as early as 1827. It was Martin who stepped in and gave Joseph Smith $50 ($400 - $500 in today’s money) so he and Emma could leave the hostile environment in Palmy ra and translate in peace and quiet in Harmony, Pennsylvania. Martin proved his dedication to Joseph and the translation project through many difficult times. In 1828, while teaching school in the Palmyra/Manchester area, Oliver Cowdery met David Whitmer . Because they had a mutual Page 1 of 3 interest in the story of Joseph Smith and the Golden Plates, they struck up a friendship. Neither had met Joseph at this time, but they communicated through letters sharing what they knew, and any new bits of information they each learned. Through his job as a teacher, Oliver became acquainted with the Smith family, and in 1829, he traveled with Samuel Smith to Harmony to meet Joseph. On the way, they stopped at David Whitmer’s home. Through Oliver’s letters from Harmony, David became convinced that what Joseph was doing was a divine work. In June of that year, Joseph and Oliver traveled to the Whitmer home in Fayette Township, NY, and there completed the translation. BECOMING WITNESSES With the translation complete, Joseph, David, Oliver, and Martin entered the woods near the Whitmer home. They prayed and fully expected a manifestation. When no manifestation was forth-coming, Martin excused himself, believing his state of mind was the reason the heavens remained closed. With Martin out of the picture, Moroni appears and shows the other three not only the Golden Plates, but also other artifacts such as the Sword of Laban. After this event, Joseph brought Martin back and, without the other two present, he and Martin had a similar experience. AFTER THE WITNESS The three men did not simply put their names to paper as witnesses of the divinity of the Book of Mormon; they continued to bear witness throughout their lives. All three had important roles in the organization and building up of the Church. Martin Harris was a very effective missionary. Oliver Cowdery was Assistant President of the Church. In 1835, Joseph Smith assigned the three men to select men to fill the roles of Apostles in the first Quorum of Twelve Apostles. They selected those 12 men and ordained them as Apostles. It is clear from this assignment that the Lord had great faith and confidence in these three witnesses. (see Doctrine and Covenants, section 18) FALLING AWAY All three of these men became disaffected with the Church later in their lives. In some ways, this made them even more credible witnesses. Being cut off from the Church gave them the perfect reason to deny their testimonies had what they bore witness to been a fallacy. Neither of these men ever denied what they saw. In 1838, Thomas B. Marsh, who had been President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was disaffected, and left the Church. He met Oliver and David in Missouri. All three men had been excommunicated from the Church. Thomas asked David about his testimony of the Book of Mormon. Thomas records this: “He replied as sure as there is a God in heaven, he saw the angel according to his testimony in that book. I asked him, if so, why he did not stand by Joseph? He answered, in the days when Joseph received the Book of Mormon, and brought it forth, he was a good man and filled with the Holy Ghost, but he considered he had now fallen. I interrogated Oliver Cowdery in the same Page 2 of 3 manner, who answered similarly." (Thomas B. Marsh, "History of Thomas Baldwin Marsh," Millenial Star , 26 (1864):406) WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM LOOKING AT THE LIVES OF THESE THREE MEN? All of the records indicate that these men were intelligent, thinking men. They were not prone to delusions or fabrications. They were honest men of good intent. They were faithful to their testimonies and never avoided sharing that witness to the end of their lives. For more information: The Testimony of the Three Witnesses (Source: LDS.org) https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/three Discussions about the life of Oliver Cowdery (Source: MormonChannel.org http://www.mormonchannel.org/past-impressions/9 http://www.mormonchannel.org/past-impressions/10 For children, the story of Martin Harris and the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon (Source: MormonChannel.org) http://www.mormonchannel.org/scripture-stories-doctrine-and-covenants/5 Information about the life of Martin Harris (Source: MormonChannel.org) http://www.mormonchannel.org/scripture-stories-doctrine-and-covenants/5 Were the plates made of gold? (Source: LDS.org) https://www.lds.org/new-era/2007/07/what-did-the-golden-plates-look-like/the-golden-plates- couldnt-be-made-of-pure-gold?lang=eng&query=golden+plates Image Credits: The Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon (Front piece of the 1883 Contributor magazine) – Wikimedia commons, Edward L. Hart Martin Harris Grave – Wikimedia commons, Leon7 Page 3 of 3 .