Getting boatloads of B. of M. translation historical info., all showing faking was impossible.

[kirtland r.m.]

I hope you will check back on this thread because I intend to put a lot of information up here. I have been posting on this subject for years. Anti Mormons including the 750 or so "Ministries" set up to derail any honest investigation of the Church will continue. A spiritual witness, as we have been told, is vital to stand firm in the often creepy times we live in, but more and more physical evidence is also coming, and it seems will continue to come forth over time.
"Since the coming forth of the Book of Mormon there has never been more profound evidence of its authenticity than today. Arguably among the two greatest linguistic discoveries relating to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon are two ancient stones bearing Hebrew inscriptions that can now finally take their rightful place in the history of the world! Many, if not hundreds of stones inscribed with ancient characters and symbols have been summarily dismissed as fakes and forgeries because it was against the official policy of the scientific community under the Smithsonian Institution, and because linguistic evidence cannot be supported by one or two random artifacts. Recent scientific verification of several sites and artifacts – numbering eight as of this writing – now establish that people with a knowledge of ancient Hebrew written language and culture were in America during Book of Mormon time frames! Read on for the entire history making story...the case for Book of Mormon written language in America’s Heartland!"http://firmlds.org/hebrew-languagecultu ... a-8-sites/
Across the board on language, artifacts, witnesses, history ect. the battle continues. It seems these detractors have been focusing as much as possible on the folk magic angle. So did fraudster Mark Hoffman. Speaking of fraudsters, nothing makes me more angry than seeing these(mostly haters) folks at the entrances of Church properties including pageants hocking their voodoo vibes propaganda together with doctrines of men and women mingled with scripture, to the young and less informed on these subjects.
One particular minister who would be paid to come down from Wyoming to Temple Square would show up every summer passing out his anti tracts. I stopped and looked through his matériel one day and answered some info. for him. Then knowing he was passing out wrong information(I am sure many other saints before me had pointed that out to him as well) as soon as I walked away he continued passing his same material out to who ever would take them. Obviously he was a real seeker of truth.
Alright, I will get down off of the soap box now. As I said earlier I have lot's more B. of Mormon translation information. Good stuff and it will be ignored by the folks I have been writing about above. They will ignore 1,001 scriptures and quotes, trying to get to something they think they can get some traction on. Apostates, atheists, and certain other Christian groups all like this same playbook. I will start on those quotes soon.

[kirtland r.m.]

Some of this information you may have seen on the forum(what I will post after William Smith testimony) as I intend to make this a very large thread anyone can refer to for really good historical info., hope others will add as well.

William Smith
The official testimonies of the Three and Eight Witnesses1 are strengthened by a third tier of witnesses, family members who had contact with the plates as Joseph brought them into his New York farm home, as well as scribes who worked around the plates in the translation process. William Smith was 16 when his older brother outran pursuers and breathlessly carried the covered metal record into the house. William recounted lifting the plates that night, saying several times that they weighed about 60 pounds.2 In a pulpit speech William told of feeling their outlines through cloth wrappings: “They were not quite as large as this Bible. Could tell whether they were round or square. Could raise the leaves this way (raising a few leaves of the Bible before him).”3 And he added detail in an interview: “I could tell they were plates of some kind and that they were fastened together by rings running through the back.”4https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/vie ... ntext=jbms

Among other things we inquired minutely about the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate. We asked him what was meant by the expression "two rims of a bow," which held the former. He said [the Urim and Thummim were set in] a double silver bow which was twisted into the shape of the figure eight, and the two stones were placed literally between the two rims of the bow. At one end was attached a rod which was connected with the outer edge of the right shoulder of the breast-plate. By pressing the head a little forward, the rod held the Urim and Thummim before the eyes much like a pair of spectacles. A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in the pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate, and his brother said that Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating, as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.

In answer to our query, William informed us that he had, himself, by Joseph's direction, put the Urim and Thummim before his eyes, but could see nothing, as he did not have the gift of Seer. He also informed us that the instruments were too wide for his eyes, as also for Joseph's, and must have been used by much larger men. The instrument caused a strain on Joseph's eyes, and he sometimes resorted to the plan of covering his eyes with a hat to exclude the light in part." July 1891 William Smith was interviewed by J. W. Peterson and W. S. Pender

[simpleton]

The Smithsonian Institute along with others in the Federal Government have covered up findings for the last couple century's.

[kirtland r.m.]

The Smithsonian Institute along with others in the Federal Government have covered up findings for the last couple century's.

These groups have agendas and closely held reasons to ignore and erase that which doesn't suit them, or they don't understand.- k.r.m.(LOL but true)


A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims, but accomplices.

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.

The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.

In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.” ― George Orwell

[simpleton]

Kirtland, you keep saying "boatloads", on other threads also. Lets get our boats together, are you talking those little RC boats, or an aircraft carrier. Because if the above is "boatload" then the RC boat is to big.

[kirtland r.m.]

...Conversing with Hyrum Smith for four hours, which McLellin described as follows: “I inquired into the particulars of the coming forth of the record, of the rise of the church and of its progress and upon the testimonies given to him &c.”72 McLellin was baptized and ordained an elder before returning east as Hyrum’s missionary companion. At Jacksonville, Illinois, both spoke on the validity of the Book of Mormon, with William first giving a picture of the buried book as he learned about it from two of the Three Witnesses, and especially from questioning Hyrum: “a set of thin plates resembling gold, with Arabic characters inscribed on them. The plates were minutely described as being connected with rings in the shape of the letter D, which facilitated the opening and shutting of the book.”73 The description of “D rings” is unusual and confirms the same point in John Whitmer’s interview with Wilhelm Poulson, who wrote down specifics of a direct examination of an uncovered metallic volume.https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/vie ... ntext=jbms

More on the three and the additional eight witness to come, first let's concentrate on others. I also have some things to say on the Urim and Thummim, and how they compared with other interpreters prophets used in Bible scripture(they had a similar purpose, but were different in quite interesting ways according to descriptions). Emma Smith explained that Joseph did at times use one seer stone to translate, I have more information on this so draw your own conclusions but I think most readers will be surprised at differing Urim and Thummim examples in Biblical text and so let's get going with modern information.

There is absolutely no doubt Joseph at time used the Urim and Thummim given by Moroni for translating and other purposes to gain revelation including staying safe and keeping the Book of Mormon protected.
Joseph sat across from her “with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us.” Addressing criticisms that Joseph read from a prepared script or the Bible, Joseph III carefully inquired about her experience. Emma declared, “he had neither manuscript nor book to read from.” In Emma’s understanding, Joseph could not have read from anything that was not inside the hat, which was too small to encompass a large manuscript or a sizable Bible. “If he had had anything of the kind [books or manuscripts],” Emma declared, “he could not have concealed it from me.” The seer stone in the hat was central to the translation; it was small enough to fit easily inside the hat, and according to Emma, the words appeared on the stones.

Additionally, she explained that the plates “often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen table cloth., I once felt of the plates, as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book." Emma Smith - Last Testimony of Emma Smith 1879 Q&A between Emma and Joseph Smith III, The Saints' Herald 26 (Oct 1879)

Remember William Smith's description earlier? "He also informed us that the instruments were too wide for his eyes, as also for Joseph's, and must have been used by much larger men. The instrument caused a strain on Joseph's eyes, and he sometimes resorted to the plan of covering his eyes with a hat to exclude the light in part."

Here is more. In 1922 “on the Rose farm, one half mile from Mormon Hill” a number of large skeletons, stone implements, copper ornaments, a copper axe of unusual type, and other articles were found. At this historic spot were found “many of unusual physique, tall, longlimbed, finely formed skulls, teeth finely shaped” (Fred Haughton, Seneca Nation, p. 48).

Even more. ....Soon after this, he came in from work one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his greatcoat and left the house. I was engaged at the time in an upper room in preparing some oilcloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come downstairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history.

It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty.

It was concave on one side and convex on the other, and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening.

After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim. (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced)

I have myself seen and handled the golden plates they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate, and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold, and is made to fit the breast very exactly. (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26),

These were the days never to be forgotten -- to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after I continued, uniterruptedly, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said "Interpreters,"', the history, or record, called the "Book of Mormon." Oliver Cowdery, Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate 1:14 (1834)

More to come this week.

[kirtland r.m.]

The stone box from the Hill Cumorah was also apparently left exposed for the display of residents and visitors to Palmyra for decades. In 1893, Elder Edward Stevenson wrote that during a trip to Palmyra “early on a summer’s morning in the year 1870,” he had been shown where the stone box once was by a local resident who lived near the Hill Cumorah. Stevenson said, “Questioning him closely he [the local] stated that he had seen some good sized flat stones that had rolled down and lay near the bottom of the hill. This had occurred after the contents of the box had been removed and these stones were doubtless the ones that formerly composed the box. I felt a strong desire to see these ancient relics and told him I would be much pleased to have him inform me where they were to be found. He stated that they had long since been taken away.” Edward Stevenson, Reminiscences of Joseph, the Prophet, and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: 1893), 10, 13. and https://rsc.byu.edu/coming-forth-book-m ... on-objects

... Said I, ‘how do you know that Joe Smith has the plates?’ They replied: ‘we saw the plates [place] in the hill that he took them out of just as he described it to us before he obtained them.’ These parties were so positive in their statements that I began to believe there must be some foundation for the stories then in circulation all over that part of the country.Kansas City Daily Journal, June 5, 1881; reprinted in the Deseret Evening News, June 11, 1881; emphasis added.


In another interview Whitmer told a reporter that “the community in which he [Whitmer] lived . . . was alive with excitement in regard to Smith’s finding a great treasure, and they informed him that they knew that Smith had the plates, as they had seen the place that he had taken them from, on the hill Cumorah.” “The Last Man,” Chicago Times, October 17, 1881, as cited in George Reynolds, The Myth of the “Manuscript Found” (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1883), 82; emphasis added.

Whitmer and Cowdery were greatly impressed by the recital of this strange story, and were conducted to the hill, where they personally viewed the receptacle in which Moroni, at the beginning of the fifth century, had concealed the history of his fathers.https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Chicago_ ... on-objects

Before becoming one of the three witnesses. Martin Harris carefully interrogated each member of the Smith family individually, and he hefted the plates while locked in a wooden box.7 Martin determined that the plates were either “lead or gold,” and knew that Joseph “had not enough credit to buy so much lead.”
7.
See MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 26–30. Martin’s wife and daughter also hefted the plates while in the box, which may have spurred his own interest to investigate further.
8.
Joel Tiffany, “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5, August 1859, 169–170.

A few days later, Martin’s wife, Lucy, came to the Smiths’ home and questioned Joseph about the record, requesting to see the plates for which, if Joseph consented, she would lend him financial support. Joseph declined, telling Mrs. Harris that he couldn’t show them to her, to which she responded, “Now, Joseph, are you not telling me a lie? Can you look full in my eye, and say before God, that you have in reality found a Record, as you pretend?”[38] Instead, Joseph later provided for Lucy Harris and her daughter a similar physical witness of the plates he offered to others: he let them lift the wooden box that contained the plates. Martin Harris recalled that his “daughter said, they were about as much as she could lift. . . . My wife said they were very heavy.”[39]https://rsc.byu.edu/coming-forth-book-m ... on-objects

Not long after bringing the plates home, Joseph was alerted through the Urim and Thummim of a company of men who were coming to find the plates. Joseph and others pulled up the hearth stones from the family fireplace and dug a hole of sufficient size to bury the plates in, replacing the hearth stones to conceal what they had done just before the group of men arrived. Lucy Smith, Biographical Sketches, 108

[kirtland r.m.]

“when acting as scribe, [Joseph] would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him. This was a usual thing for him to do.” “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” The Saint’s Herald 26, no. 19 (October 1, 1879): 290

Oliver Granger, 1794-1841, served as the sheriff of Ontario County, New York, and as a colonel in the New York militia. He was a licensed exhorter in the local Methodist congregation before reading the Book of Mormon in 1830.

Oliver recounted to his daughter, Sarah Granger Kimball, a heavenly visitation.
Sarah Granger Kimball stated:

“ I am the daughter of Oliver Granger and Lydia Dibble Granger, was born December 29th, 1818, in the town of Phelps, Ontario Co., New York. Of my parents, eight children, only myself and two younger brothers, Lafayette and Farley, remain.
My father, Oliver Granger, 'had an interesting experience in connection with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He obtained the book [of Mormon] a few months after its publication, and while in the city of New York… he had a ' heavenly vision. My father was told… [by] a personage who said his name was Moroni, that the Book of Mormon, about which his mind was exercised, was a true record of great worth, and Moroni instructed him (my father) to testify of its truth and that he should hereafter be ordained to preach the everlasting Gospel to the children of men. Moroni instructed my father to kneel and pray ; Moroni and another personage knelt with him by the bedside. Moroni repeated words and instructed my father to repeat them after him. Moroni told my father that he might ask for what he most desired and it would be granted. He asked for an evidence by which he might know when he was approved of God. The evidence or sign was given, and remained with him until his dying hour, being more particularly manifest when engaged in prayer and meditation.

I love the memory of my father. He died in Kirtland, Ohio, August 1843, aged forty-seven.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sourse of Information:
(Augusta Joyce Crocheron, Representative Women of Deseret, SARAH M, KIMBALL, SECRETARY OF THE L. D. S. WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS. (Salt Lake City: J. C. Graham and Co., 1884), p. 24

By mid-April 1828, Martin Harris began recording the translation. He was much more outspoken about the translation of the Book of Mormon. Like Emma, Harris sat at the table near Joseph and wrote down the words as Joseph dictated. He likewise mentioned the plates lying on the table, wrapped in or covered with a small tablecloth. He left at least twenty-five statements about his involvement, declaring that “he was favored to write direct from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Knowing that Joseph could not translate the ancient characters on the plates, he marveled at the complexity of the text and at how fluidly Joseph dictated the Book of Mormon to him. Edward Stevenson, “One of the Three Witnesses: Incidents in the Life of Martin Harris,” Millennial Star 44, nos. 5–6 (January 30 and February 6, 1882): 78–79, 86–87. See Welch, Opening the Heavens, 132–41.

During a private interview with her son Joseph Smith III in 1879, Emma responded to questions about the translation after a lifetime of thought and contemplation. Just months before her death, Emma told her son that she “frequently wrote day after day” at a small table in their house in Harmony. Joseph could not have concealed anything from Emma, as she sat “at the table close by him”—close enough to see exactly how the translation occurred.
She said, Joseph Smith could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon. And, though I was an active participant in the scenes that transpired, and was present during the translation of the plates, and had cognizance of things as they transpired, it is marvelous to me, “a marvel and a wonder,” as much so as to anyone else…. Edmund C. Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” Journal of History (October 1916, 454): Skousen, “Translating the Book of Mormon,” 75–84.

Spectacles, or interpreters

Joseph explained that Moroni, “the same heavenly messenger” that delivered the plates, also gave him a device that held two stones, which Joseph referred to as “spectacles,” and a breastplate to hold the spectacles.[16] (For more about this story, see chapter 2 herein.) Joseph’s description of the stones as “spectacles” led to a misunderstanding of the way the stones actually functioned, according to witnesses.[17] The spectacles were simply two seer stones bound together like glasses without the earpieces, though they were not intended to sit on the bridge of a person’s nose or wrap around the user’s ears. The spectacles were larger than typical glasses.[18] Though most glasses are about six inches from one side to the other, Harris explained that the spectacles were about “eight inches” long.[19]

These "spectacles", part of the U. and T. were large and described earlier in this thread in the same way by witnesses.
In the fall of 1830, Cowdery described the interpreters as “two transparent stones in the form of spectacles thro which the translator looked on the engraving & afterwards put his face into a hat & the interpretation then flowed into his mind.”[20] In 1831 Cowdery testified under oath that Joseph Smith “found with the plates, from which he translated the book, two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows” and “that by looking at these, he was able to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraven on the plates.”[21]

In the fall of 1830, Cowdery described the interpreters as “two transparent stones in the form of spectacles thro which the translator looked on the engraving & afterwards put his face into a hat & the interpretation then flowed into his mind.”[20] In 1831 Cowdery testified under oath that Joseph Smith “found with the plates, from which he translated the book, two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows” and “that by looking at these, he was able to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraven on the plates.”[21] One of Cowdery’s earliest converts in Ohio wrote, “In the last part of October, 1830, four men appeared here . . . with a book, which they said contained what was engraven on gold plates . . . about three years ago by a man named Joseph Smith Jr. who had translated it by looking into a stone or two stones, when put into a dark place, which stones he said were found in the box with the plates.”[22] He explained that Cowdery had said, “While [Joseph] looked through the stone spectacles another sat by and wrote what he told them.”[23] These statements can be compared with a newspaper article, not associated with Oliver Cowdery but published just a few weeks after the translation work was finished in June 1829. In this article, Jonathan Hadley, one of the printers Joseph Smith approached in Palmyra to print the Book of Mormon, claimed that the “very illiterate” Joseph told him the plates were found with a “huge pair of Spectacles,” and that “By placing the Spectacles in a hat, and looking into it, Smith could (he said so, at least,) interpret these characters.”[24]

Whether this report refers to Joseph’s use of the Urim and Thummim in 1829 or to what was done in 1828 before Oliver’s time is not certain, but it could refer to both. Drawing similarities between these stones and two stones that constituted the biblical Urim and Thummim, Joseph and others eventually called the Book of Mormon stones Urim and Thummim.[25] Though Oliver Cowdery later used the Book of Mormon term “interpreters,” it is not found in many other accounts, and the term “spectacles” was later used interchangeably with Urim and Thummim.[26] William W. Phelps’s article in the January 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star exemplifies the use and confusion of these interchangeable terms. It claimed that the Book of Mormon “was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles—(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim).”[27]https://rsc.byu.edu/coming-forth-book-m ... on-process

Martin Harris saw Joseph Smith use the Urim and Thummim, but he also saw Joseph use a single stone. Harris explained that Joseph Smith “possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then used the seer stone,”[28] which is understandable because the spectacles may have been somewhat awkward to use, making the long hours of translation more difficult.[29]

Harris claimed that he knew how Joseph was translating. He explained that by the “aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by [Martin], and when finished he would say, ‘Written,’ and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected.” Harris was apparently an active participant in the translation, and his audible exchanges with Joseph made it apparent to him that words were appearing on the seer stone or stones in the hat. Harris believed that this process eliminated the possibility of any volition on the part of Joseph Smith. Joseph did not determine what was included in the text of the Book of Mormon; the translation apparently came directly from that which appeared on the seer stones.[30] https://rsc.byu.edu/coming-forth-book-m ... on-process

[kirtland r.m.]

Kirtland, you keep saying "boatloads", on other threads also. Lets get our boats together, are you talking those little RC boats, or an aircraft carrier. Because if the above is "boatload" then the RC boat is to big.

Hi simpleton, I am not even half done on this thread. Am I starting to approach a half boatload yet? Hope everyone is finding this amazing eye witness information interesting.

[simpleton]

Kirtland, you keep saying "boatloads", on other threads also. Lets get our boats together, are you talking those little RC boats, or an aircraft carrier. Because if the above is "boatload" then the RC boat is to big.

Hi simpleton, I am not even half done on this thread. Am I starting to approach a half boatload yet? Hope everyone is finding this amazing eye witness information interesting.

A boatload would be like 100 pages or more... I'm thinking like a 1000 container ship superliner.

[kirtland r.m.]

Joseph Knight Sr., who was at the Smith home in Palmyra when Joseph returned from the Hill Cumorah, remembered conversing with Joseph about the sacred relics the morning after he gained possession of them. “It is ten times Better than I expected,” he remembered Joseph saying. He recalled further the Prophet’s particular fascination with the spectacles. “He seamed to think more of the glasses or the urim and thummem then [than] he Did of the Plates,” wrote Knight, “for, says he, ‘I can see any thing; they are Marvelus.’”6 Indeed they were, for as the Prophet’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, recalled, by means of the instrument “the angel showed him those things which he saw in vision.”7

These tools were not used for trivial or spectacular sensations. One major purpose of the spectacles (and perhaps also the seer stone) was to help protect the plates and Joseph’s life. Lucy said her son “always kept the Urim and Thummim about his person” so “he could also ascertain, at any time, the approach of danger, either to himself or the Record.”8 Lucy Mack Smith and Martin Harris mention three incidents where the plates were kept safe because of information received by means of the Urim and Thummim.9https://www.ldsliving.com/How-Joseph-Sm ... m/s/87263/

"Joseph and Emma went to the hill Cumorah and Joseph retrieved the plates on the night of September 21, 1827, which coincided with the Feast of Trumpets on that day, that year. it celebrates the final season for the latter day gathering of Israel). According to Joseph Knight, who was in the Smith home on that evening, he saw Joseph preparing to get the plates." It was no coincidence. I have posted once on this topic before. Here is more.https://www.deilataylor.com/trumpets-an ... r-mormons/


Vilate Kimball Recounts Night Sky Vision, September 27, 1827 Vision of a Great Battle – September 22, 1827

Both Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball saw in vision, the same night, a few miles apart, a great battle taking place. This was on the night of September 27, 1827 – the same night Moroni directed Joseph Smith to uncover the golden plates. It is said of that night the later day war of good versus evil had begun. Below is that account written by Vilate Kimball, wife of Heber C. Kimball:viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52745

September 21, 1827 was the date Joseph was given the plates, it would be two years after before the three and the eight witness would be shown those things they would testify of all of their lives, even under intense persecution. These witnesses where shown the plates right at the end of the translation process in the summer of 1827. Their information from that time is coming up soon on this thread.

[kirtland r.m.]

Harrison Burgess
A Witness of the Book of Mormon

Harrison Burgess was born September 3, 1814, in Putnam, New York. He was the eldest son of William and Violaty Burgess. He was not raised in a religious home, although he said his father did raise them in a "moral and virtuous" environment. Harrison left home at 14. Being the oldest he was put to work early. He had little formal education during his childhood; however he would complete his education during his teenage and adult years.

His interest in religion was first sparked in 1832. During his 17th year he heard the restored gospel being preached by Elder Simeon Carter. He said he became convinced the Bible and Book of Mormon were true scripture. He was baptized by Elder Carter and was confirmed a member by Orson Pratt. He would serve a brief mission in 1833 before becoming a member of Zion’s Camp in 1834. During the long march to Missouri he, along with other members of Zion's Camp, contracted cholera. He was healed by a priesthood blessing given to him by Zerah Cole. In February 1835, he was ordained as one of the first members of the Quorum of the Seventy. That same year he married Sophia Foster. He would fill several other church callings, including a mission to England. In 1862 he arrived in Utah and settled his family in Southern Utah. He died February 10, 1883.

His experience with the gold plates came shortly after his conversion. He was bearing his testimony of the Book of Mormon to a congregation when thoughts of doubt entered his mind. Here is his account of what occurred.

"On the third Sabbath in May while speaking to a congregation I declared that I knew the Book of Mormon was true, the work of God. The next day while I was laboring something seemed to whisper to me "Do you know the Book of Mormon is true?" My mind became perplexed and darkened, and I was so tormented in spirit that I left my work and retired into the woods in misery and distress and therein cannot be described.

"The voice all the while seemed to ask how I know the Book of Mormon is true?" I remained in this situation about two hours before it came into my mind the faith that the Brother of Jared had in obtaining knowledge of God. Finally, I resolved to know whether I had proclaimed the truth or not, and commenced praying to the God of Heaven, for a testimony of these things, when all at once the vision of my mind was opened, and a glorious personage clothed in white stood before me and exhibited to my view the plates, from which the Book of Mormon was taken."

Harrison Burgess received a special witness and consequently served and sacrificed much. Harrison became stalwart in his faith, becoming a special witness of Christ and His restored gospel. To whom much is given much is required. Much was given and required of Elder Harrison and he remained faithful until the end.


References:
LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 4, p.687
Harrison Burgess autobiography, in K. Hales, Windows (1985), p.100 - p.101
Harrison Burgess, 1814-1883 Autobiography (1814-1848)
Harrison Burgess, "Sketch of a Life Well Spent,"

[kirtland r.m.]

The following first few paragraphs I have posted once before on the forum, but it belongs here on this thread as well. Then I have lot's of other information which I have not posted before, after that.

Joseph Smith the Seer.

“A seer is a revelator and a prophet also” (Mosiah 8:15–16), and when necessary he can use the Urim and Thummim or holy interpreters (Mosiah 8:13; 28:16). There have been many seers in the history of God’s people on this earth but not so many as there have been prophets. “A seer is greater than a prophet … and a gift which is greater can no man have …” (Mosiah 8:15–18)

Extracts from the History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet (AND SEER).
The Seerstone
The other instrument, which Joseph Smith discovered in the ground years before he retrieved the gold plates, was a small oval stone... apparently for convenience, Joseph at times translated with the single seer stone rather than the two stones bound together to form the interpreters.(Book of Mormon Translation L.D.S..Org).
David Whitmer reported how he and Oliver first tested Joseph's ability to see things with the seer stone: I have frequently placed it [the seer stone] to my eyes but could see nothing through it. I have seen Joseph, however, place it to his eyes and instantly read signs 160 miles distant and tell exactly what was transpiring there. When I went to Harmony after him he told me the names of every hotel at which I had stopped on the road, read the signs, and described various scenes without having ever received any information from me.[1]
Another account says: "He [Whitmer] said that 1st of June [1829] he received a letter from [Oliver Cowdery, asking him to come to Harmony, Pennsylvania]. The prophet looks into the seer stone [and is] told [the] names of each stopping place [David visited along the way]. O[liver] Cowdery, who made notes for every one [found them to be] just as the Prophet related. David said this strengthened his faith in the prophet and he was baptized the middle of June 1829....[2]
Clearly, these two witnesses did not simply accept Joseph's word, they believed they had compelling evidence that Joseph knew things that no one else knew, save God.

A second test Martin Harris, Joseph's first scribe during the translation process, wanted to test the veracity of Joseph's seer stone and related the following incident: During a break from translating, the two men would sometimes go to the river and throw stones. Once, Martin found a rock that closely resembled Joseph's seer stone and, when the prophet wasn't looking, switched the stone with the one in the hat. When the translation resumed, Joseph paused for a long time and then complained that he was unable to see the translation. Martin confessed to switching the stones because he wanted to "stop the mouths of fools" who said that Joseph merely memorized material and repeated it back to Martin. By Michael R. Ash, For the Deseret News Monday, Nov. 23 2009
Martin Harris recounted an incident when he literally lost a needle in hay (shavings and straw) and asked Joseph to find it with his seer stone... Joseph put his seer stone into the bottom of a hat and then put his face into the hat — obscuring all ambient light — and somehow was able to see something in the stone. Martin watched Joseph closely to see that he did not peek from out of the hat. According to Martin, Joseph "reached out his hand beyond me on the right, and moved a little stick and there I saw the pin, which he picked up and gave to me. I know he did not look out of the hat until after he had picked up the pin" (Tiffany's Monthly [June 1859], 164).
!. David Whitmer, interview with Chicago Times (August 1875); cited in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 5:21-22.
@. David Whitmer, Interview with Edward Stevenson, Journal, 28:123-130, entry of 2 January 1887, LDS Church Archives (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation modernized); original cited in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 5:187.

When the Book of Mormon translation was complete, Joseph returned the Urim and Thummim, along with the golden plates, to Moroni, you can see photos of the seer stone at Lds.org..https://www.lds.org/church/news/book-of ... k?lang=eng
But what exactly is a seer? Joseph’s detractors focused on his early use of seer stones in an effort to destroy his reputation, but Joseph continued to teach that such objects, when prepared by God, are important and sacred gifts the Bible mentions seers who received spiritual manifestations by means of physical objects such as precious stones, rods, and even a staff with a brass serpent on it, now recognized as a symbol of the medical profession.
See what these scriptures say about seers: 1 Samuel 9:9, 11, 18–19; 2 Nephi 3:6–7, 11, 14; and Mosiah 8:13, 15–17.
Joseph Smith’s Role as a Seer. Highlights from an article by Richard E. Turley Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee.
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video ... h&lang=eng

As I said earlier, some on this forum already know some Biblical info. on seers and various things they at times, used as Urim and Thummim.

Everything above on this thread is I believe interesting, but this is not yet about the three and the eight witnesses official testimony. This was directly foretold in scripture. I would also like to post on Cumorah, the surrounding area, and then many evidences discovered and found since the translation of the Book of Mormon. Just one last time may I say that I know that spiritual confirmation as Moroni promised, about the scriptures or other important information is first and foremost. Anything else is secondary.

Interesting material here. Using a Urim and Thummim is the special prerogative of a seer, and it would seem reasonable that such instruments were used from the time of Adam. However, the earliest mention is in connection with the brother of Jared (Ether 3:21–28). Abraham used a Urim and Thummim (Abr. 3:1–4), as did Aaron and the priests of Israel, and also the prophets among the Nephites (Omni 1:20–21; Mosiah 8:13–19; 21:26–28; 28:11–20; Ether 4:1–7). There is more than one Urim and Thummim, but we are informed that Joseph Smith had the one used by the brother of Jared (Ether 3:22–28; D&C 10:1; 17:1). (See Seer.) A partial description is given in JS—H 1:35. Joseph Smith used it in translating the Book of Mormon and in obtaining other revelations.https://www.worksofjoseph.com/urim-thum ... eer%20.%29

: “And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write” (Ether 3:23-24).

William Smith was not one of the three or the eight Book of Mormon witnesses. However, like others, he had some interaction with the Book of Mormon plates. Another quote from William Smith, “We handled them(the plates) and could tell what they were" speaking of the plates. The reference was the same I used earlier in this thread when William said "They were not quite as large as this Bible. Could tell whether they were round or square. Could raise the leaves this way (raising a few leaves of the Bible before him)."

“A large portion of the leaves were so securely bound together that it was impossible to separate them.” —David Whitmer David Whitmer interview, Chicago Tribune, 24 January 1888, in David Whitmer Interviews, ed. Cook, 221.

The sealed portion of the Book of Mormon are described here. “Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man. And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read” (Ether 3:21–22).

In a CES Symposium, Elder Bruce R. McConkie listed off many things that are contained in the sealed portion. “When, during the Millennium, the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon is translated, it will give an account of life in the premortal existence; of the creation of all things; of the Fall and the Atonement and the Second Coming; of temple ordinances, in their fullness; of the ministry and mission of translated beings; of life in the spirit world, in both paradise and hell; of the kingdoms of glory to be inhabited by resurrected beings; and many such like things. As of now, the world is not ready to receive these truths. For one thing, these added doctrines will completely destroy the whole theory of organic evolution as it is now almost universally taught in the halls of academia. For another, they will set forth an entirely different concept and time frame of the creation, both of this earth and all forms of life and of the sidereal heavens themselves, than is postulated in all the theories of men. And sadly, there are those who, if forced to make a choice at this time, would select Darwin over Deity” (Bruce R. McConkie, of the Quorum of the Twelve, CES Symposium on the New Testament, 17 August 1984, BYU).

In verse 21 of 2 Nephi 27, the Lord prophetically forbids Joseph to touch “the things which are sealed” – just as Moroni would later forbid him to do. [2 Ne. 27:21] (See George Q. Cannon, Life Of Joseph Smith the Prophet, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1986, p. 45.) Before ending his earthly ministry, Moroni himself wrote to the future translator of his record: “I have told you the things which I have sealed up; therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate; for that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in God.” (Ether 5:1)

You recollect that when the Book of Mormon was translated from the plates, about two-thirds were sealed up, and Joseph was commanded not to break the seal; that part of the record was hid up. The plates which were sealed contained an account of those great things show unto the brother of Jared; and we are told that all those things are preserved to come forth in the due time of the Lord. — Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, p. 347

We have not received, by any means, all of the word of the Lord. I think we have received most of the word of the Lord that is required until the Second Coming. The Lord has given all that people in the world have the spiritual capacity to receive at this time. There is going to be another great dispensation, that is, another great period of enlightenment, when he comes; and at that time he will reveal all things, such as the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. But he will not reveal the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon now, and let us publish it to the world, because what it contains is so far beyond the spiritual capacity of men that it would drive people away from the truth rather than lead them to the truth. Actually, it is an act of mercy for the Lord to limit, to a particular people, the amount of revelation they receive. — Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “This General Shall Have My Word Through You,” BYU Symposium, June 27, 1979

[kirtland r.m.]

Even those binding rings have some importance.

Although it may be surprising to some, ongoing research has only increased the plausibility of the numerous accounts of the plates. The reported weight, dimensions, and composition of the plates are believable. The story of their discovery is supported by a large number of similar archeological finds. And several of the record’s unusual features—such as being bound by D-shaped rings, having a sealed portion, and being written in re-formed Egyptian—have a surprising amount of corroboration from the ancient world. Each reported detail, no matter how unusual or unlikely from a 19th century perspective, has checked out in light of 20th and 21st century research.

...he said that she observed that the plates were "fastened with rings thus" followed by a drawing of a D-shaped ring. (David Whitmer interview by Edward Stevenson, Dec. 22-23, 1877, Family and Church History Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) Since David had seen and handled the plates, if his mother's description had been wrong, he presumably would have corrected it(Mary Whitmer also described the plates shown to her in this same way).

Joseph Smith displayed plates that were securely bound by three rings (not two or four) constructed in what we now know is the most efficient shape. He could not have known either of these facts in 1829 from the materials in his environment of from people who may have had greater familiarity with libraries or materials storage. Nor could he have been informed by the finds of other ancient records, as none were then known to be bound by rings. Perhaps it is not coincidence that the only other ancient record bound by rings so far known also has D-shaped rings and dates to about 600 B.C.https://mormanity.blogspot.com/2006/08/ ... ok_29.html

What is clear is that the Book of Mormon and its discussion of metal plates fit in remarkably well with other findings from the ancient world, including many metal documents from the Mediterranean and Near East. Even the book’s unusual length is not all that startling when compared to other rare, lengthy documents from antiquity.https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/ ... -documents

Several individuals independently reported that the plates were bound together by three D-shaped rings.11 This design was apparently not used for binding written materials during Joseph Smith’s day and was likely unfamiliar to Joseph or anyone in his environment. Yet it is both surprisingly practical and anciently attested. The D shape provided stability, perhaps a way to carry the heavy record,12 and the optimum storage capacity for the plates.13 It is notable that an Etruscan book, dating from the time when Lehi left Jerusalem, was also made from gold plates bound by D-shaped rings.14 https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org ... hy_403.pdf

In fact, it was at least four individuals. The following is from a great article on this very subject.
LDS sources at least four people a century and a half earlier claimed that the gold plates were kept together by three D shaped metallic rings. Understandably, the focus of everyone was on the plates themselves with their mysterious engravings, as the number and shape of the rings seems to have been overlooked by everyone since, including myself. Indeed, most artwork over the years depicting the gold plates of the Book of Mormon has showed oval or circular rings.In LDS sources at least four people a century and a half earlier claimed that the gold plates were kept together by three D shaped metallic rings. Understandably, the focus of everyone was on the plates themselves with their mysterious engravings, as the number and shape of the rings seems to have been overlooked by everyone since, including myself. Indeed, most artwork over the years depicting the gold plates of the Book of Mormon has showed oval or circular rings.

[kirtland r.m.]

URL for above quote and article doesn't want to post under it(could this be a Satan intervention?). I will post it here.https://latterdaysaintmag.com/article-1-6732/ Yes, it worked, great article as are the others linked above including Jeff Lindsay's mormanity!

[kirtland r.m.]

Just a little more before we take a look at the three and the eight witnesses.
Bible Dictionary Urim and Thummim

Hebrew term that means “Lights and Perfections.” An instrument prepared of God to assist man in obtaining revelation from the Lord and in translating languages. See Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6; Ezra 2:63;Neh. 7:65; JS—H 1:35.

The “silver cup” which Joseph in Egypt commanded the steward to put in Benjamin’s sack, in order to try his brethren, was, most probably, sanctified as a Urim and Thummim to Joseph. Hence, Joseph commanded the steward to pursue his brethren, and say to them, “Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?” And when Joseph’s brethren were brought back, he said unto them, “What deed is this that ye have done? Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?” (See Gen. xliv.) It would be no more difficult for the Lord to sanctify a “Silver Cup,” and cause it to be endowed with all the properties of the Urim, than to sanctify a stone or any other material for such a holy purpose. It was the gift of seeing in these holy divine instruments which, without doubt, constituted the difference between a seer and a prophet. The former being a prophet with the additional gift of the Urim; the latter being a prophet without the aid of that divine instrument.” (Masterful Discourses of Orson Pratt, pp. 552-557, by N. B. Lundwall.)

This earth in its celestial condition will be a Urim and Thummim, and many within that kingdom will have an additional Urim and Thummim (D&C 130:6–11).

I trembled so with fear, lest all might be lost in consequence of some failure in keeping the commandments of God, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room in order to conceal my feelings. Joseph saw this, and said, “Do not be uneasy, mother, all is right–see here, I have got a key.”
I knew not what he meant, but took the article of which he spoke into my hands, and upon examination, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows, which were connected with each other in much the same way as old-fashioned spectacles. He took them again and left me, but said nothing respecting the record. Joseph Smith, The Prophet And His Progenitors For Many Generations Chapter 23 by Lucy Smith (Mother Of The Prophet)

The Prophet Joseph alone knew the full process, and he was deliberately reluctant to describe details. We take passing notice of the words of David Whitmer, Joseph Knight, and Martin Harris, who were observers, not translators. David Whitmer indicated that as the Prophet used the divine instrumentalities provided to help him, “the hieroglyphics would appear, and also the translation in the English language … in bright luminous letters.” Then Joseph would read the words to Oliver (quoted in James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News, 25 Mar. 1884, 2). Martin Harris related of the seer stone: “Sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin” (quoted in Edward Stevenson, “One of the Three Witnesses: Incidents in the Life of Martin Harris,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, 6 Feb. 1882, 86–87). Joseph Knight made similar observations (see Dean Jessee, “Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies 17 [Autumn 1976]: 35).

If by means of these divine instrumentalities the Prophet was seeing ancient words rendered in English and then dictating, he was not necessarily and constantly scrutinizing the characters on the plates—the usual translation process of going back and forth between pondering an ancient text and providing a modern rendering.

Whatever the details of the process, it required Joseph’s intense, personal efforts along with the aid of the revelatory instruments. The process may have varied as Joseph’s capabilities grew, involving the Urim and Thummim but perhaps with less reliance upon such instrumentalities in the Prophet’s later work of translation. Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said Joseph Smith told him that he used the Urim and Thummim when he was inexperienced at translation but that later he did not need it, which was the case in Joseph’s translation of many verses of the Bible (see Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, 11 Aug. 1874, 498–99).

...Fourth, we marvel that the Prophet Joseph Smith worked completely without referring to any other sources. None of the 12 people who either participated or merely observed mentioned Joseph’s having any reference materials present. (The 12 people were Emma Smith, Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, Elizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery, David Whitmer, William Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, Michael Morse, Sarah Hellor Conrad, Isaac Hale, Reuben Hale, and Joseph Knight Sr.) Since the Prophet dictated openly, these individuals would have been aware of any suspicious behavior or procedures. Emma was emphatic on this very point: “He had neither manuscript nor book to read from, [and] if he had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me” (“Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” 289, 290) “By the Gift and Power of God” By Elder Neal A. Maxwell Ensign, Jan 1997, 36

He translated them by means of the Urim and Thummim, (which he obtained with the plates), and the power of God. The manner in which this was done was by looking into the Urim and Thummim, which was placed in a hat to exclude the light, (the plates lying near by covered up), and reading off the translation, which appeared in the stone by the power of God.

“William Smith, On Mormonism, 1883,” in Early Mormon Documents, 1:497.

“Joseph Knight Sr., Reminiscence, Circa 1835–1847,” in Early Mormon Documents, 4, 17–18. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized for readability. Original spelling is as follows: “Now the way he translated was he put the urim and thummim into his hat and Darkned his Eyes than he would take a sentance and it would apper in Brite Roman Letters then he would tell the writer and he would write it[.] Then <that would go away> the next sentance would Come and so on But if it was not Spelt rite it would not go away till it was rite[,] so we see it was marvelous[.] thus was the hol [whole] translated. ” One item of interest here is Joseph Knight’s use of the term Urim and Thummim to describe the “glasses.” The question is whether Knight’s account was recorded in 1827, or whether it was recorded after 1833, when the term Urim and Thummim was in common usage. According to Dean Jessee, Knight’s account is “undated and unsigned,” with the words “22 Sept. 1827″ being “inserted by Thomas Bullock, a church clerk from 1843 to 1847.” Knight’s account, therefore, cannot be used to establish with any certainty that the term Urim and Thummim was applied to the Nephite interpreters (the glasses) in 1827. See Dean Jessee, “Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies 17/1 (1976), 2.

The book of Mormon, as a revelation from God, possesses some advantage over the old scripture: it has not been tinctured by the wisdom of man, with here and there an Italic word to supply deficiencies.-It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles-(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim). W. Phelps, The Evening and The Morning Star, 1/8 (January 1833), 57

;;;After breakfast Joseph called me in to the other room and he set his foot on the bed and leaned his head on his hand and says, “Well, I am disappointed.” “Well,” say I, “I am sorry.” “Well,” says he, “I am greatly disappointed. It is ten times better than I expected.” Then he went on to tell the length and width and thickness of the plates, and, said he, they appear to be gold. But he seemed to think more of the glasses or the Urim and Thummim than he did of the plates for, says he, “I can [Page 145]see anything. They are marvelous. Now they are written in characters and I want them translated.” “Joseph Knight Sr., Reminiscence, Circa 1835-1847,” in Early Mormon Documents, 4:15.

Are you noticing the constant references to the "glasses" and little to other seer stones.

However Joseph also sometimes applied the term to other stones he possessed, called “seer stones” because they aided him in receiving revelations as a seer. The Prophet received some early revelations through the use of these seer stones.”
Gerrit Dirkmaat, “Great and Marvelous Are the Revelations of God,”Ensign, January 2013, 45–46

Joseph Knight

After breakfast [on the day he received the plates and the urim and thummim] Joseph [Smith] called me into the other room and he set his foot on the bed and leaned his head on his hand and says,… “It is ten times better then I expected.” Then he went on to tell the length and width and thickness of the plates, and said he, “they appear to be gold.” But he seemed to think more of the glasses or the urim and thummim than he did of the plates, for, says he, “I can see anything; they are marvelous.” (“Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1; spelling modernized.

Martin Harris

The two stones set in a bow of silver were about two inches in diameter, perfectly round, and about five-eighths of an inch thick at the centre; but not so thick at the edges where they came into the bow. They were joined by a round bar of silver, about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and about four inches long, which, with the two stones, would make eight inches. The stones were white, like polished marble, with a few gray streaks(matches William Smith's description). Martin Harris’ 1859 Interview with Joel Tiffany on Early Events in Mormonism

Noah, after having preached the Gospel and published glad tidings among the nations, was commanded to build an ark. He had a Urim and Thummim by which he was enabled to discern all things pertaining to the ark and its pattern. (J.D. 16:50)

[sbee60]

Great research

[kirtland r.m.]

"I conversed with one old lady 88 years old who lived with David Whitmer when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon in upper room of the house, and she, only a girl, saw them come down from the translating room several times, when they looked so exceedingly white and strange that she inquired of Mrs. Whitmer the cause of their unusual appearance, but Mr. Whitmer was unwilling to tell the hired girl, the true cause as it was a sacred holy event connected with a holly sacred work which was opposed and persecuted by nearly every one who heard of it. The girl felt so strange and unusual [about] the appearance, she finally told Mrs. Whitmer that she would not stay with her until she knew the cause of the strange looks of these men. Sister Whitmer then told her what the men were doing in the room above and that the power of God was so great in the room that they could hardly endure it; at times angels were in the room in their glory which nearly consumed them. This satisfied the girl and opened the way to embrace the gospel" (The Translation of the Book of Mormon: Basic Historical Information, by John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, FARMS)

Sarah Conrad Bunnell told the same story to her granddaughter, Pearl Bunnell Newell, who at 86 vividly remembers her grandmother's description:
"And she said they would go up into the attic, and they would stay all day. When they came down, they looked more like heavenly beings than they did just ordinary men."
(The Era, April 1970) page 21

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

...And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him." Exodus 34:29-35

I run into this all of the time studying church history, notice the quote following. "saw them come down from the translating room several times, when they looked so exceedingly white and strange". Here is another, . With the tumbler still in his hand he prophesied that the Saint would yet go to the Rocky Mountains; and, said he, 'this water tastes much like that of the crystal streams that are running from the snow capped mountains' we will 1st Mr. Call describe (sic) this prophetic scene: I had before seen him in a vision and now saw while he was talking his countenance changed to white: not the deadly white of a bloodless face, but a living brilliant white.https://user.xmission.com/~plporter/lds/ansoncall.htm

[kirtland r.m.]

Whitmer and Cowdery were greatly impressed by the recital of this strange story, and were conducted to the hill, where they personally viewed the receptacle in which Moroni, at the beginning of the fifth century, had concealed the history of his fathers. Smith also said that he had been commanded to at once begin the translation of the work in the presence of three witnesses. In accordance with this command, Smith, Cowdery, and Whitmer proceeded to the latter's home, accompanied by Smith's wife, and bearing with them the precious plates and spectacles. The house of Senior Whitmer was a primitive and poorly designed structure, but it was deemed the most secure for the carrying out the sacred trust on account of the threats that had been made against Smith by his mercenary neighbors. In order to give privacy to the proceeding a blanket, which served as a portiere was stretched across the family living room to shelter the translators from the eyes of any who might call at the house while the work was in progress. This, Mr. Whitmer says, was the only use made of the blanket, and it was not for the purpose of concealing the plates or the translator from the eyes of the amanuensis. In fact, Smith was at no time concealed from his collaborators, and the translation was performed in the presence of not only the persons mentioned, but of the entire Whitmer household and several of Smith's relatives besides.

The work of translating the tablets consumed about eight months, Smith, acting as the seer and Oliver Cowdery, Smith's wife, and Christian Whitmer, brother of David, performing the duties of amanuensis in whose hand- [col. 2] writing the original manuscript now is. Each time before resuming the work all present would kneel down in prayer and invoke the Divine blessing on the proceeding. After the prayer, Smith, would sit on one side of a table and the amanuensis, in turn as they became tired, on the other. Those present and not actively engaged in the work seated themselves around the room and then the work began. David Whitmer Chicago Daily Tribune article, December 17, 1885

[kirtland r.m.]

Now, the three witnesses, and the Lord's law of witnesses.

Deuteronomy 17:6 K.J.V.
Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

2 Corinthians 13:1 K.J.V.
This will be the third time I am coming to you. "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."

Matthew 18:16 K.J.V.
But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."

2 Nephi 27:12 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, 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, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.

13 And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.

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; and that these witnesses should bear record of the same ... Almost immediately after we had made this discovery, it occurred to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and the aforementioned Martin Harris (who had come to inquire after our progress in the work) that they would have me inquire of the Lord to know if they might not obtain of him the privilege to be these three special witnesses; and finally they became so very solicitous, and urged me so much to inquire that at length I complied; and through the Urim and Thummim, I obtained of the Lord for them the following [see D&C 17]. (History of the Church, Vol.1, p.51)

[kirtland r.m.]

The following is from Lucy Mack Smith

...attending to the usual services, namely, reading, singing and praying, Joseph arose from his knees, and approaching Martin Harris with a solemnity that thrills through my veins to this day, when it occurs to my recollection, said, "Martin Harris, you have got to humble yourself before God this day, that you may obtain a forgiveness of your sins. If you do, it is the will of God that you should look upon the plates, in company with Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer."

In a few minutes after this, Joseph, Martin, Oliver and David, repaired to a grove, a short distance from the house, where they commenced calling upon the Lord, and continued in earnest supplication, until he permitted an angel to come down from his presence, and declare to them, that all which Joseph had testified of concerning the plates was true.

When they returned to the house it was between three and four o'clock p.m. Mrs. Whitmer, Mr. Smith and myself, were sitting in a bedroom at the time. On coming in, Joseph threw himself down beside me, and exclaimed, "Father, mother, you do not know how happy I am: the Lord has now caused the plates to be shown to three more besides myself. They have seen an angel, who has testified to them, and they will have to bear witness to the truth of what I have said, for now they know for themselves, that I do not go about to deceive the people, and I feel as if I was relieved of a burden which was almost too heavy for me to bear, and it rejoices my soul, that I am not any longer to be entirely alone in the world." Upon this, Martin Harris came in: he seemed almost overcome with joy, and testified boldly to what he had both seen and heard. And so did David and Oliver, adding that no tongue could express the joy of their hearts, and the greatness of the things which they had both seen and heard. (History of Joseph Smith, p.153)

... Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfilment of the promises given in the above revelation--that they should have a view of the plates. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt down, we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of these promises.

According to previous arrangement, I commenced prayer to our Heavenly Father, and was followed by each of the others in succession. We did not at the first trial, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of divine favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with the same result as before.

Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for. He accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness; and behold, an angel stood before us. In his hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to have a view of. He turned over the leaves one by one, so that we could see them, and discern the engravings thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, "David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps His commandments;" when, immediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying,

"These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear."

I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for before we had yet finished, the same vision was opened to our view, at least it was again opened to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same things; whilst at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in an ecstasy of joy, " 'Tis enough; 'tis enough; mine eyes have beheld; mine eyes have beheld;" and jumping up, he shouted,"Hosanna," blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly." (History of the Church, 1:54-55)

The Three Witnesses fulfilled an important law established by the Lord. Elder Bruce R. McConkie pointed out that “whenever the Lord has established a dispensation by revealing his gospel and by conferring priesthood and keys upon men, he has acted in accordance with the law of witnesses which he himself ordained. This law is: ‘In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.’ (2 Cor. 13:1; Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:15–16; John 8:12–29.)

“Never does one man stand alone in establishing a new dispensation of revealed truth, or in carrying the burden of such a message and warning to the world. In every dispensation, from Adam to the present, two or more witnesses have always joined their testimonies, thus leaving their hearers without excuse in the day of judgment should the testimony be rejected.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 436.)

[kirtland r.m.]

The Three Witnesses.

Let's start with David Witmer, the only member of the three witnesses to die outside of the Church. Each of these three witnesses had major ups and downs, twists and turns in their lives. David Witmer was the most interviewed of the three.

David heard about the gold plates while visiting Oliver Cowdery, who was acting as scribe as Joseph Smith translated. Oliver later wrote to David, asking if he and Joseph could stay with him and finish the translation.

David traveled 100 miles (160 km) to Pennsylvania to bring Joseph and Oliver to his parents’ home in New York. David’s interest grew as he watched Joseph translate the Book of Mormon.

David had received word from Oliver Cowdery that Joseph had an ancient record, that he had begun translating it, and that harassment from locals in Harmony was deterring their progress.2 After remaining long enough to observe the young Prophet in action, which included receiving a personal revelation at Joseph’s hands (Doctrine and Covenants 14), David was satisfied “of the divine inspiration of Joseph Smith.”3https://nothingwavering.org/2018/01/02/ ... lling.html

Before David made this trip described above something interesting happened. "...The next morning, David took a wooden measure under his arm and went out to sow the plaster, which he had left, two days previous, in heaps near his sister’s house, but, on coming to the place, he discovered that it was gone! He then ran to his sister, and inquired of her if she knew what had become of it. Being surprised she said, “Why do you ask me? Was it not all sown yesterday?”

“Not to my knowledge,” answered David.

“I am astonished at that,” replied his sister, “for the children came to me in the forenoon, and begged of me to go out and see the men sow plaster in the field, saying, that they never saw anybody sow plaster so fast in their lives. I accordingly went, and saw three men at work in the field, as the children said, but, supposing that you had hired some help, on account of your hurry, I went immediately into the house, and gave the subject no further attention.”

David made considerable inquiry in regard to the matter, both among his relatives and neighbors, but was not able to learn who had done it. However, the family were convinced that there was an exertion of supernatural power connected with this strange occurrence.” Lucy Mack Smith, The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother

In the last letter, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery requested that Whitmer come to Harmony and help the two men move to the Whitmer home. “I had some 20 acres to plow,” Whitmer wrote, “so I concluded I would finish plowing and then go.” However, when he got up the next morning, he found that between five and seven acres of his land had been plowed during the night. When asked who plowed the fields, Whitmer answered, “I do not know, I cannot tell you, all I know is it was plowed. … It was a testimony to me that I did not have any business to put off going after Joseph. I hitched up my team and … started for Pennsylvania.”https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... s?lang=eng

Farmers in that area added plaster of paris to the soil to make it less acidic. The next day David went to the place he had left the plaster, near his sister’s house, but the plaster was gone. His sister told him that the day before, she and her children had seen three strangers spreading the plaster with great speed and skill. She had assumed they were men David had hired, but David knew they were helpers provided by the Lord.https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/man ... witnesses.

[kirtland r.m.]

June 28, 1829 -What did they see. After going into a wooded area near the Peter Whitmer, Sr. Farm(it was Peter's wife Mary, who was also shown the plates).

Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris went into the woods near the Whitmer home to prepare to see the gold plates. They knelt in prayer and each took a turn praying, but they received no answer. They each prayed again, but still there was no answer. Martin Harris felt that they were not receiving an answer because of some things he had done, so he left the group. The others again knelt in prayer, and soon a light appeared above them and the angel Moroni stood before them. Moroni held the gold plates in his hands and turned the plates one by one so the men could see the engravings on them. Then the voice of the Lord said to them, “These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear” (History of the Church, 1:55).

Joseph Smith then went to find Martin Harris. He found Martin praying earnestly and joined him in prayer. The vision that Joseph, Oliver, and David had seen was repeated for Martin Harris. The Three Witnesses testified in writing about their experience (see “The Testimony of Three Witnesses” below).

The Testimony of Three Witnesses

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: 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. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.

Oliver Cowdery

David Whitmer

Martin Harris


More on the testimony of David Witmer

“Taking Isaac Morley, David Whitmer, and others, [the mob] told them to bid their families farewell, for they would never see them again. Then driving them at the point of the bayonet to the public square, they stripped and tarred and feathered them… The commanding officer…then order[ed] them to cock their guns and present them at the prisoners’ breasts…he addresses the prisoners, threatening them with instant death unless they denied the Book of Mormon and confessed it to be a fraud… David Whitmer, hereupon, lifted up his hands and bore witness that the Book of Mormon was the Word of God. The mob then let them go.”
John P. Greene, Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons, p. 17. Second-hand account.

“[T]he testimony I gave to that mob made them fear and tremble, and I escaped from them. One gentleman, a doctor, an unbeliever, told me afterwards that the bold and fearless testimony borne on that occasion and the fear that seemed to take hold of the mob had made him a believer in the Book of Mormon.”
-Letter of James H. Hart to Deseret News, Aug. 23, 1883, Seneca, Mo. Second-hand account.

“Bro. David please relate your feelings in regard to the testimony of yours in the Book of Mormon, and the origin of the gospel through Joseph Smith.”

“Well as I know that the sun shines, so do I know that I was plowing one forenoon and I heard a voice and saw a personage who said, ‘Blessed is the Lord and he that keepeth his commandments,’ and the very next round Bro Joseph [Smith] and Oliver [Cowdery] came along and said, ‘Come David and be one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon’. We walked through a clearing and all sat on a log. It was about 11 a.m., when a light appeared and it grew brighter until an angel stood before us and on the appearance of a table was laid the plates, urim and thummim, ball or director, sword of lab, etc., and a voice declared and bore record of the truth of the translation turning the leaves over, and thus the vision ended.”

-David Whitmer, in Edward Stevenson, Journal, 14:10-18, entry of 22-23 December 1877, LDS Church Archives; Second-hand account.

Moroni's Statement to David Whitmer
About Enduring to the End

Brigham H. Roberts (First Council of the Seventy)

In my interview with David Whitmer, in 1884, as he went over this ground, led by my questions, when we came to this part of it he said to me that in the progress of turning the leaves, or having them turned by Moroni, and looking upon the engravings, Moroni looked directly at him and said: "David, blessed is he that endureth to the end." When David Whitmer made that remark it seemed to me rather a peculiar thing that he should thus be singled out for such a remark, and I remember reporting it as such to President John Morgan, then president of the Southern States mission. I stated to him the peculiar feelings I had when I learned that from the lips of David Whitmer; but the subsequent history of these three witnesses led me to conclude that there was indeed a hidden warning in the words of the angel to David, "Blessed is he that endureth to the end." And it is rather a sad reflection that of these three witnesses he was the only one who died outside of membership in the Church. I wonder if Moroni was not tryig to sound a warning to this stubborn man, that perhaps whatever his experiences and trials might be, that at the last he, too, might have been brought into the fold, and might have died within the pale of the Church. (Conference Report, October 1926, p.126)

David Whitmer interview with P. Wilhelm Poulson:

“I–Martin Harris…gave a testimony in Salt Lake City Tabernacle that he saw the plates by [the] faith and power of God.

“He–Martin Harris is correct….we saw it, and our testimony, which we give to the world, is true exactly as you read it, we saw by the gift and power of God. As we were praying the angel stood before us in his glory, and all those things were before us, as they were laid before us on a table, and we heard the testimony about the plates, and we were commanded to bear that testimony to the world, and our testimony is true. And when the angel had finished his words, and shown us the plates, one by one, which were to be translated, then the vision was closed at once, and exactly as it came even so did the sight disappear. David Whitmer interview with P. Wilhelm Poulson, circa April 1878, letter to the editor, Deseret Evening News (16 August 1878); Second-hand account.

I have heard the same from the mouth of Father Whitmer, more than once; and every time I ever heard him tell the particulars of that glorious scene, he always told it just the same; and as far as I have ever heard, from reliable witnesses, he has always told the same story—’straight as a nail.’”
-David Whitmer, J.L. Traughber to the editor, 13 October 1879, Saints’ Herald 26 (15 November 1879): 341; Second-hand account.

“Did you see the angel?”

“Yes; he stood before us [Whitmer, Joseph, and Oliver]. Our testimony as recorded in the Book of Mormon is absolutely true, just as it is written there.”
-David Whitmer, Interview with Kansas City Journal (1 June 1881). Second-hand account.

...I will say once more to all mankind, that I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof. I also testify to the world, that neither Oliver Cowdery nor Martin Harris ever at any time denied their testimony. They both died affirming the truth of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.”
David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ by a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon. First-hand account.

“Persons may attempt to describe the presentation of the plates as shown to himself and other witnesses, but there was a glory attending it that no one could describe, no human tongue could tell the glorious scenes that were presented to them. Joseph Smith was there and Oliver Cowdery and himself—Martin Harris did not come as expected, but they were shown to him a short time after.”
-David Whitmer, interview with James H. Hart on 21 August 1883, Letter to Deseret News (23 August 1883); Second-hand account.

I personally heard him [David Whitmer] state in Jan. 1876 in his own house...in most positive language, that he did truly see in broad day light, a bright, and most beautiful being, an 'Angel from Heaven," who did hold in his hands the golden plates, which he turned over leaf by leaf, explaining the contents, here and there. He also described the size and general appearance of the plates...David Whitmer, reported by Thomas Wood Smith to the Editor, Fall River (MA) Herald, 28 March 1879; reprinted in the Saints' Herald 26 (15 April 1879): 128; cited in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 5:26.

They went out and sat upon a log conversing upon the things to be revealed when they were surrounded by a glorious light which overshadowed them. A glorious personage appeared and he showed to them the plates…. Human language could not, he said, describe heavenly things and that which they saw. The language of the angel was: Blessed is he that believed and remaineth faithful to the end. He had his hours of darkness and trial and difficulty, but however dark upon other things[,] that had ever been a bright scene in his mind and he had never wavered in regard to it; he had testified fearlessly always of it, even when his life was threatened. Martin Harris was not with them at the time that he and Oliver saw the angel, but he and Joseph afterwards saw the same, and he thus became a witness also.”
David Whitmer, Interview with George Q. Cannon, Journal, 27 February 1884, LDS Church Archives; Second-hand account.

“In June, 1829, [when] I [David Whitmer] saw the angel by the power of God, Joseph, Oliver and I were alone, and a light from heaven shone round us, and solemnity pervaded our minds. The angel appeared in the light, as near as that young man. [Within five or six feet – note in original] Between us and the angel there appeared a table, and there lay upon it the sword of Laban, the Ball of [sic] Directors, the Record, and Interpreters. The angel took the Record, and turned the leaves, and showed it to us by the power of God….My testimony in the Book of Mormon is true; I can’t deviate from it.”
David Whitmer, Interview with E.C. Briggs, 1884; recorded in E.C. Briggs to Joseph Smith III, 4 June 1884, Saints’ Herald 31 (21 June 1884): 396-97; Second-hand account.



“Mr. Whitmer on being asked if he saw the angel, as stated in some accounts, opened the book and pointing to a section said, ‘there is my testimony. Read it; that tells all that is necessary for me to say about it. That contains the solemn testimony of myself and the other persons named.’”
David Whitmer, interview with St. Louis Republican 77 (16 July 1884): 7; Second-hand account.



“I saw this apparition [the angel] myself and gazed with awe on the celestial messenger and heard him say, ‘Blessed is the Lord and he that keeps his commandments.’ Then, as he held the plates and turned them over with his hands so that we could see them plainly, a voice that seemed to fill all space was heard, saying: ‘What you see is true. Testify to the same.’ Oliver Cowdrey and I, standing there, felt, as the white garments of the angel faded from view, that we had received a message from God, and we have so recorded it. Two or three days later the same angel appeared to Martin Harris while he was in company with [Joseph] Smith, and placed the same injunction upon him. He described the sight and his sensations to me, and they corresponded exactly with what I had seen and heard.”
David Whitmer, Interview with Unknown Reporter, around July 1884, unidentified and undated newspaper clipping, William H. Samson, Scrapbook, 18:76-77, Rochester Public Library, Local History Room, Rochester, New York; Second-hand account.

“Mr. Whitmer turned his large, kind, but penetrating eyes upon me and, in a very pleasant and considerate, but firm and steady voice said: ‘Read the printed testimony of the three witnesses, which you will find on one of the front pages of the Book of Mormon—and I say to you that every word of it is true.”
David Whitmer, Interview with Franklin D. Richards and Charles C. Richards, 22 May 1885; Second-hand account.

“David bore his testimony of standing in the presence of the angel….

David said to Mrs S[tevenson], ‘My testimony as found in the Book of Mormon is verily true and I cannot deny it.’ ‘I know,’ he said, ‘that the Book of Mormon is as true as the Bible.’ He relates seeing a messenger while plowing who said ‘Blessed is the name of the Lord and they who keep his Commandments.’ Soon after Joseph Smith and O[liver] Cowdery came along. David tied his team to the fence. The three were about 40 rods from his father’s. While sitting on a log an angel appeared in the midst of a brightness that preceded him. On a table in front of him was the ball or compass…sword of Laban, Urim and Thummim or Interpreters. Also the plates, which was shown to them and they were commanded to bear testimony of these things, and he said as he lived those things were true. He fired up with zeal.”
David Whitmer, Interview with Edward Stevenson, Journal, 28:123-130, entry of 2 January 1887, LDS Church Archives (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation modernized); Second-hand account.

“This is the critical issue of the life of David Whitmer. During fifty years in non-Mormon society, he insisted with the fervor of his youth that he knew that the Book of Mormon was divinely revealed. Relatively few people in Richmond could wholly accept such testimony, but none doubted his intelligence or complete honesty.”
Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1981), 74.

“When Martin Harris came back to them [Joseph, Oliver, and David Whitmer], they knew he had also seen the angel, because his face was radiant and he declared he had received the testimony. David Whitmer told me they knew he had also seen the vision which they had, because he explained what they had themselves seen.”
David Whitmer, cited by Joseph F. Smith, Brian H. Stuy (editor), Collected Discourses: Delivered by Wilford Woodruff, his two counselors, the twelve apostles, and others, 1868–1898, 5 vols., (Woodland Hills, Utah: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987–1989), 2:1987-1982. [Discourse given on 21 February 1892.] ; Second-hand account.

David Whitmer died at his home in Richmond, on the 25th of January, 1888, in the eighty-fourth year of his life. His final testimony was given under the following circumstances:

On the evening of Sunday, January 22, at half past five o’clock, Mr. Whitmer called his family and a number of his friends to his bedside, and to them delivered his dying testimony. Addressing his attendant physician he said: “Dr. Buchanan, I want you to say whether or not I am in my right mind before I give my last testimony.” The doctor answered: “Yes, you are in your right mind, for I have just had a conversation with you.” He then directed his words to all who surrounded him, saying:

“Now, you must all be faithful in Christ. I want to say to you all that the Bible and the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon), are true, so you can say that you have heard me bear my testimony on my death bed. All be faithful in Christ and your reward will be according to your works. God bless you all. My trust is in Christ for ever, worlds without end. Amen.” Andrew Jenson, Latter Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901), 1:270.Latter Day Saints Millennial Star, Volume 50, p. 412. See also: B.H. Roberts, A New Witnesses for God, 2:296.

I could have highlighted all of these quotes, so I did not highlight any of them. We could keep going on David Witmer but this is probably enough. Lot's more to come.

[kirtland r.m.]

How about Oliver Cowdrey next. Imagine the things Oliver saw. Let's start out with this.

Joseph Smith remembered the events of May 1829 as he and scribe Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon from ancient metal plates revealed by an angel. “We . . . went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us” (Joseph Smith—History 1:68).

Joseph continued his matter-of-fact narrative, noting how the angel “said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me” (Joseph Smith—History 1:70). Only late in the account, almost as an afterthought, Joseph reveals the identity of the ministering angel. He said, “His name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred upon us, and that I should be the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second” (Joseph Smith—History 1:72).

Joseph Smith combines nonchalance and historicity. He remembered that “it was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized” (Joseph Smith—History 1:72). Oliver Cowdery, by contrast, could hardly contain himself when he sat down to pen what became the first published account of the good news:

The angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the gospel of repentance!—What joy! what wonder! what amazement! . . . Our eyes beheld—our ears heard. As in the “blaze of day;” yes, more—above the glitter of the May Sun beam. . . . Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, “I am thy fellow-servant,” dispelled every fear. We listened—we gazed—we admired! ’Twas the voice of the angel from glory—’twas a message from the Most High! . . . But, dear brother think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts and with what surprise we must have bowed, . . . when we received under his hand the holy priesthood, as he said, “upon you my fellow servants, . . . I confer this priesthood and this authority.” Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, September 7, 1834, Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, October 1834, 15–16.

He laid hands upon their heads and spoke from a now-healed voice box that was damaged when he was beheaded (see Bible Dictionary, “John the Baptist,” 714). No wonder Oliver wrote that they listened, gazed, and admired. They knew the man who baptized Jesus Christ, that he had been resurrected, that the Bible was generally true, that there had been an apostasy resulting in the loss of authority to baptize according to the order of God, and that they were John’s fellow servants in that same ministry, having received, as Oliver put it, “under his hand the holy priesthood.” “Where was room for doubt?” Oliver asked. “No where,” he answered. “Uncertainty had fled.” Reference same as above.https://rsc.byu.edu/days-never-be-forgo ... estoration


The Testimony of Oliver Cowdery

By Larry C. Porter

After they came back to the Church, Oliver Cowdery and his family planned to travel to the Rocky Mountains to unite with the Saints there. What was to have been an interim visit to Richmond, Missouri, turned into an extended stay as Oliver’s health steadily declined because of an illness. While attempting to recuperate at the home of his father-in-law, Peter Whitmer Sr., Oliver entertained an acquaintance from the Ohio and Missouri days of the Church, Elder Jacob Gates. Called on a mission to England, Elder Gates stopped in Richmond on his way from Utah to the port at New Orleans. In the course of their conversation, Jacob pressed two all-important questions. First:

“‘Oliver, I want you to tell me the whole truth about your testimony concerning the Book of Mormon—the testimony sent forth to the world over your signature and found in the front of that book. Was your testimony based on a dream, was it the imagination of your mind, was it an illusion, a myth—tell me truthfully?’

“Oliver seemed deeply touched. Without saying a word, he moved from his chair to the bookcase and retrieved an edition of the Book of Mormon. He then read in a solemn manner the words of testimony to which he had subscribed his name, and addressing Elder Gates, he said, ‘Jacob, I want you to remember what I say to you. I am a dying man, and what would it profit me to tell you a lie? I know … that this Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. My eyes saw, my ears heard, and my understanding was touched, and I know that whereof I testified is true. It was no dream, no vain imagination of the mind—it was real.’

“Then Jacob followed with a second question, asking about the reality of the angel, John the Baptist, under whose hands Oliver had first received the priesthood. Oliver replied, ‘Jacob, I felt the hand of the angel on my head as plainly as I could feel yours, and could hear his voice as I now hear yours.’”1 It was a simple observation, but the testimony was sure: “‘I felt the hand … and could hear his voice.’”

Oliver Cowdery is reported to have cited this same kind of experience in describing his ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John. David H. Cannon visited David Whitmer in Richmond, Missouri, in 1861, where Oliver had died on 3 March 1850. At the site of Oliver’s grave, David Whitmer re-created for Brother Cannon his brother-in-law’s last moments. David Cannon said of that experience:

“The thing which impressed me most of all was, as we stood beside the grave of Oliver Cowdery the other Witness, who had come back into the Church before his death, and in [David Whitmer’s] describing Oliver's action, when bearing his [Oliver’s] testimony, [David said that Oliver] said to the people in his room, placing his hands like this upon his head, saying ‘I know the Gospel to be true and upon this head has Peter James and John laid their hands and confer[r]ed the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood,’ the manner in which this tall grey headed man [David Whitmer] went through the exhibition of what Oliver had done was prophetic. I shall never forget the impression that the testimony of … David Whitmer made upon me.”https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... 2?lang=eng

More on Oliver Cowdrey to follow, then Martin Harris, then the eight witnesses, and then Cumorah, the surrounding area, and lastly Book of Mormon evidence since the translation and publication. As I said to simpleton, boatloads of information. This may be the biggest thread on the Book of Mormon translation and historical information that you will ever read. Hope this will bless everyone's lives, hope you can share this, and may God watch over us and bless us.

[kirtland r.m.]

In 1828, when Oliver Cowdery was in his early twenties, he moved to western New York, where he was offered a position as a schoolteacher near Palmyra. There he heard rumors about Joseph Smith and the gold plates. Joseph Smith’s earliest written history records that the Lord appeared to Cowdery and “shewed unto him the plates in a vision and also the truth of the work.”2 After boarding for a short time with Joseph Smith’s parents in Manchester, he determined to travel to Harmony, Pennsylvania, to meet Joseph in person. Almost immediately after his arrival, Cowdery began working as Joseph’s scribe on the translation of the Book of Mormon. Cowdery received priesthood authority from angelic ministers, was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates, helped supervise the publication of the Book of Mormon, and was a founding member of the Church on April 6, 1830. Of his involvement in these miraculous events, Cowdery later wrote, “I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry.”https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... y?lang=eng

Wilford Woodruff wrote, “I have seen Oliver Cowdery when it seemed as though the earth trembled under his feet. I never heard a man bear a stronger testimony than he did when under the influence of the Spirit.” “Testimony of Wilford Woodruff,” Deseret News Weekly, 35:391, as cited in Stanley R. Gunn, Oliver Cowdery: Second Elder and Scribe (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), p. 73.


June, 1829
Doctrine & Covenants 17 is received authorizing Oliver, David, and Martin to “have a view of the plates, and also of the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim.”
The Three Witnesses see the golden plates and testify of the book’s truth. Joseph Smith finishes translating the Book of Mormon at the Whitmer home.

“It was a clear, open beautiful day, far from any inhabitants, in a remote field, at the time we saw the record, of which it has been spoken, brought and laid before us, by an angel, arrayed in glorious light, [who] ascend [descended I suppose] out of the midst of heaven. Now if this is human juggling—judge ye.” Oliver Cowdrey

When Thomas B. 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:
I inquired seriously at David if it was true that he had seen the angel, according to his testimony as one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. 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, how did he 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 filled with the Holy Ghost, but he considered he had now fallen. I interrogated Oliver Cowdery in the same manner, who answered me similarly. “History of Thomas Baldwin Marsh,” November 1857; printed in Deseret News (24 March 1858) and Millennial Star 26 (1864): 406; cited in Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1981), 56-57. ISBN 0877478465.


Oliver Cowdery Testifies In Court About the Golden Plates and Book of Mormon
After being challenged by a rival attorney during a trial, Cowdery affirms that his written testimony of seeing the golden plates is true.
The following is an account given by C.M. Nielson:

"When I was 21 years of age I was working my father's farm in Michigan. I had worked hard on the farm that summer and decided to take a day off, so went to the city. Near the courthouse I saw a great many people assembling and others walking that way, so I went over to see what was up. There was a jam in the courtroom, but being young and strong, I pushed my way close up to the center, where I found the prosecuting attorney addressing the court and jury in a murder trial. Oliver Cowdery

"The prosecuting attorney was Oliver Cowdery, and he was giving his opening address in behalf of the state. (After he was cut off from the Church, Oliver Cowdery studied law, practicing in Ohio, Wisconsin and then Michigan, where he was elected prosecuting attorney.) After Cowdery sat down the attorney representing the prisoner arose and with taunting sarcasm said: 'May it please the court and gentlemen of the jury, I see one Oliver Cowdery is going to reply to my argument. I wish he would tell us something about the Mormon Bible; something about that golden Bible that Joe Smith dug out of the hill; something about the great fraud he perpetrated upon the American people whereby he gained thousands of dollars. Now he seems to know so much about this poor prisoner, I wonder if he has forgotten all about Joe Smith and his connection with him.' The speaker all the while sneering and pointing his finger in scorn at Cowdery in the hope of making him ridiculous before the court and jury.

"Everybody present began to wonder if they had been guilty of making such a mistake as choosing a Mormon for prosecuting attorney. Even the judge on the bench began looking with suspicion and distrust at the prosecuting attorney. The prisoner and his attorney became elated at the effect of the speech. People began asking, 'Is he a Mormon?' Everybody wondered what Cowdery would say against such foul charges.

"Finally Oliver Cowdery arose, calm as a summer morning. I was within three feet of him. There was no hesitation, no fear, no anger in his voice, as he said: 'May it please the court, and gentlemen of the jury, my brother attorney on the other side has charged me with connection with Joseph Smith and the golden Bible. The responsibility has been placed upon me, and I cannot escape reply.Before God and man I dare not deny what I have said, and what my testimony contains and as written and printed on the front page of the Book of Mormon. May it please your honor and gentlemen of the jury, this I say, I saw the angel and heard his voice—how can I deny it? It happened in the daytime when the sun was shining bright in the firmament; not in the night when I was asleep. That glorious messenger from heaven, dressed in white, standing above the ground, in a glory I have never seen anything to compare, with the sun insignificant in comparison, and this personage told us if we denied that testimony there is no forgiveness in this life nor in the world to come. Now how can I deny it—I dare not; I will not!'"
Source: Oliver Cowdery and His Testimony: An Address Delivered by Judge C. M. Nielsen in the Twenty-fourth Ward Meeting House, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 20, 1910 This account of Oliver Cowdrey's Court Testimony was published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Liahona 1910,and the Improvement Era,1943.

Oliver journeyed from Elkhorn to Kanesville, Iowa to be with the Saints. At a conference held on October 21, 1848 at Kanesville, he addressed the assembled by saying, “Friends and Brethren—My name is Cowdery—Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church I stood identified with her, and one in her council . . . I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith. . . .That book is true.” In early November 1848 Oliver requested that the Kanesville high council to grant him fellowship in the Church: “Brethren, for a number of years, I have been separated from you. I now desire to come back. I seek no station. I only wish to be identified with you.” Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1936), 1:249-250.Upon the motion of Orson Hyde, Oliver Cowdey was welcomed back into Church fellowship.

After his baptism, Oliver helped Orson Hyde publish the Frontier Guardian newspaper until April 1849. He then journeyed with his wife Elizabeth Whitmer Cowdery to Richmond, Missouri, to visit her family. From Richmond, Oliver wrote of his struggles with his “old difficulty of the lungs.” Just before his death on March 3, 1850 at the David Whitmer home in Richmond, Oliver admonished his loved ones “to live according to the teachings set forth in the Book of Mormon and he promised them that if they were faithful to this they would be assembled with him in Heaven.” Oliver Cowdery quote, in Gunn, Oliver Cowdery, p. 209.

After they came back to the Church, Oliver Cowdery and his family planned to travel to the Rocky Mountains to unite with the Saints there. What was to have been an interim visit to Richmond, Missouri, turned into an extended stay as Oliver’s health steadily declined because of an illness. While attempting to recuperate at the home of his father-in-law, Peter Whitmer Sr., Oliver entertained an acquaintance from the Ohio and Missouri days of the Church, Elder Jacob Gates. Called on a mission to England, Elder Gates stopped in Richmond on his way from Utah to the port at New Orleans. In the course of their conversation, Jacob pressed two all-important questions. First:

“‘Oliver, I want you to tell me the whole truth about your testimony concerning the Book of Mormon—the testimony sent forth to the world over your signature and found in the front of that book. Was your testimony based on a dream, was it the imagination of your mind, was it an illusion, a myth—tell me truthfully?’

“Oliver seemed deeply touched. Without saying a word, he moved from his chair to the bookcase and retrieved an edition of the Book of Mormon. He then read in a solemn manner the words of testimony to which he had subscribed his name, and addressing Elder Gates, he said, ‘Jacob, I want you to remember what I say to you. I am a dying man, and what would it profit me to tell you a lie? I know … that this Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. My eyes saw, my ears heard, and my understanding was touched, and I know that whereof I testified is true. It was no dream, no vain imagination of the mind—it was real.’https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... 20illness.

“Then Jacob followed with a second question, asking about the reality of the angel, John the Baptist, under whose hands Oliver had first received the priesthood. Oliver replied, ‘Jacob, I felt the hand of the angel on my head as plainly as I could feel yours, and could hear his voice as I now hear yours.’”1 It was a simple observation, but the testimony was sure: “‘I felt the hand … and could hear his voice.’”

Oliver Cowdery is reported to have cited this same kind of experience in describing his ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John. David H. Cannon visited David Whitmer in Richmond, Missouri, in 1861, where Oliver had died on 3 March 1850. At the site of Oliver’s grave, David Whitmer re-created for Brother Cannon his brother-in-law’s last moments. David Cannon said of that experience:

“The thing which impressed me most of all was, as we stood beside the grave of Oliver Cowdery the other Witness, who had come back into the Church before his death, and in [David Whitmer’s] describing Olivers action, when bearing his [Oliver’s] testimony, [David said that Oliver] said to the people in his room, placing his hands like this upon his head, saying ‘I know the Gospel to be true and upon this head has Peter James and John laid their hands and confer[r]ed the Holy Melchesdic Priestood,’ the manner in which this tall grey headed man [David Whitmer] went through the exhibition of what Oliver had done was prophetic. I shall never forget the impression that the testimony of … David Whitmer made upon me.”

In a letter to his brother-in-law, Oliver wrote, “I have cherished a hope, and that one of my fondest, that I might leave such a character, as those who might believe in my testimony, after I should be called hence, might do so, not only for the sake of the truth, but might not blush for the private character of the man who bore that testimony.”https://saintsunscripted.com/faith-and- ... ld-plates/

Oliver Cowdery’s half-sister, Lucy P. Young, widow of Phineas H. Young, relates that Oliver Cowdery just before breathing his last asked his attendants to raise him up in bed that he might talk to the family and his friends who were present. He then told them to live according to the teachings contained in the Book of Mormon, and promised them if they would do this that they would meet him in heaven. He then said, “Lay me down and let me fall asleep.” A few moments later he died, without a struggle.

David Whitmer testified to Apostles Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith in 1878, as follows: “Oliver died the happiest man I ever saw. After shaking hands with the family and kissing his wife and daughter, he said, “Now I lay me down for the last time: I am going to my Savior;” and he died immediately with a smile on his face. [See MS 40 (1880):774.]http://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/20 ... testimony/