Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. And eyewitness testimony to the existence of angels and of god himself is scarcely of trivial. 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. The testimonies of those witnesses of the book of mormon in this book can burn in our hearts, strengthen our faith and. Title, direct external evidences testimony of the eight witnesses. Book of mormon witnesses facts, controversies, and contradictions. The testimonies of the three and eight witnesses were published in the first edition of the. Modern mormon spin doctors write all kinds of articles claiming that the witnesses may have denied the. I have never heard that any one of the three or eight witnesses ever denied the testimony that they have borne to the book as published in the first edition of the book of mormon. When i was a missionary, my understanding and impression from looking at the testimony of the three and eight witnesses in the book of mormon was that the statements were legally binding documents. Likely given that three of the eight witnesses were either excommunicated or left the church and as with the three witnesses, they never recanted their testimony as published in the book of mormon to explain. Some have tried to argue that the eight witnesses only. And they supported their statement throughout their lives. One of those claims is that the eight witnesses, whose printed testimony is included with every copy of the book of mormon, never really saw the gold plates, but.
The work of the translation was proceeding nicely in harmony, pennsylvania for quite a while. 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. All the mormon witnesses are as worthless as they are unreliable who recanted their testimony. Testimony of eight witnesses, late june 1829, page 590. Book of mormon, 1830, page 590 the joseph smith papers. There are only two of the witnesses to that book now living, to wit. 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. A common muslim testimony i bear you my testimony that i know the book of mormon is true, i know that joseph smith is a true prophet of god and i know that the church is the only true church i bear witness. As was true for the testimony of three witnesses, these names were included at the end of the book of mormon to place this seal of testimony upon the published record. All three witnesses eventually broke with smith and were excommunicated from the church. The eight witnesses of the book of mormon lds blogs. The book of mormon is a sacred, ancient record that was translated by the gift and power of god into english in 1830 through joseph smith jr. Christian whitmer one of the eight witnesses to the book of mormon was the eldest son of peter whitmer, sen.
Biographies in preston nibley witnesses of the book of mormon deseret book co. The question of the book of mormon witnesses is extremely significant. The book of mormon is an additional set of sacred prophetic writings adopted by the the church of jesus christ of latterday saints as well as it many offshoots, collectively referred to as the. Beginning with the first edition of 1830, the book of mormon has generally contained two sets of testimoniesthe testimony of three witnesses. As with the three witnesses, the testimony of these eight men appears in. The three and eight witnesses to the book of mormon. Visible angelic involvement in the recovery of the book of mormon far transcends merely antiquarian interest, as does their united testimony that gods voice had declared to them that the. Did the eleven witnesses actually see the gold plates. As an example of this, here is a letter written by john whitmer toward the end of his life, i have never heard that any one of the three, or eight witnesses ever denied the testimony that they have borne to. However, the eight knew that their testimonies were in the book of mormon. Book of mormon, 1830, page 589 the joseph smith papers. Attempts to redefine the experience of the eight witnesses byu. Like the three witnesses, the book of mormon prophecies that there will be others which will testify of.
The sharing of testimony is confirmed in our hearts as the spirit bears witness of truth. Harper invites us to examine the evidence left by oliver cowdery, david whitmer. Edward stevenson, the thirteenth witness to the plates of the book of mormon, ms 55 1893. Why are there two sets of official book of mormon witnesses. Modern mormon spin doctors write all kinds of articles claiming that the witnesses may have denied the mormon church but they never the book of mormon. The witness statements enhance the plausibility of joseph smith and the book he dictated. The eight witnesses were the second of the two groups of. Their declaration of what happened is published in the book of mormon as the testimony of three witnesses. The combined testimonies of the three and eight witnesses of the book of mormon provide powerful evidence of the restoration. The testimonies of the witnesses printed in the book of mormon offer compelling evidence in favor of its miraculous origin.
Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come. Testimony of the eight witnesses book of mormon central. 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.
Eight witnesses to gold plates and their testimony is included in the book of mormon. Testimony of the eight witnesses book of mormon central archive. Deseret news archives this monument honers the eight witnesses of the book of mormon and was. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto. Book of mormon witnesses the encyclopedia of mormonism. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of. Book of mormon 1830eight witnesses wikisource, the.
Did the book of mormon witnesses really see what they. The testimony of the eight witnesses gospel doctrine. 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. Eight witnesses monument mormon historic sites foundation. 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. A few days later, the whitmer family traveled with joseph to his familys home in. Testimonies of the book of mormon witnesses deseret book. Why didnt the book of mormon witnesses sign their testimony. Despite hardships and difficulties, the book of mormon witnesses remained true to their testimonies of this book.
Testimony of eight witnesses book of mormon central. Monument to the eight witnesses of the book of mormon, liberty, missouri, at the time it was dedicated. Book of mormon audiobook podcast of the book of mormon. Finally, several witnesses remarked upon the beauty and seeming antiquity of the engravings on the plates, which the book of mormon calls reformed egyptian mormon 9. Joseph smith only had three witnesses who claimed to see an angel. Beginning with the first edition of 1830, the book of mormon has generally contained two sets of testimoniesthe testimony. Book of mormon witnesses all later denied its truthfulness. The shakers, however, had a large number of witnesses who. 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.
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