Special witnesses the book of mormon is the promised land of. Cowdery also refused a high council decision that he not sell lands on which he hoped to make a profit. One of the three witnesses of the book of mormon, june 1829. Woods reprints did not tell that the revelations and the book of mormon had been changed, the church leaders evidently felt that they were safe as long as members of the church did not. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses by richard lloyd. Book of mormon printers manuscript is now online church. Moreover, sale of olivers wisconsin property before he returned appears in. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept. The three witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the latter day saint movement who wrote in a statement of 1829 that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which joseph smith translated the book of mormon and that they had heard gods voice testifying that the book had been translated by the power of god. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism.
The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. The grave site of one of the eight witnesses to the book of mormon, hiram page, was a mystery until two years ago. Explaining away the book of mormon witnesses fairmormon. The eight witnesses of the book of mormon lds blogs. Martins wife left him soon after this episode and he became estranged from his family. Every book of mormon makes these statements in the inside cover of title page.
In every copy of the book of mormon is the signed statement by the witnesses of the bom. Israel will be gathered when the book of mormon comes forththe gentiles will be established as a free people in americathey will be saved if they believe and obey. In this study we will show that there have been at least 3,9 changes made in the book of mormon from the time it was first published in 1830. The book is divided into smaller books titled after the main narrator or leader and arranged mostly in chronological order, with the words of mormon and the book of ether being exceptions. 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. Using the 1830 bible as a guide, the first edition book of mormon was replicated to look the same so people of that time period would easily recognize it. The three witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early latter day. He carefully chose eleven men who believed in his divine calling to become eyewitnesses to this grand event. David whitmer, one of the book of mormons three witnesses, said if you believe my testimony to the book of mormon. The book of mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of joseph smith who claimed to have seen the golden plates from which smith translated the. The book of mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of joseph smith who claimed to have seen the golden plates from which smith translated the book of mormon. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse.
It was caused by the stretching of the dampened paper during the impression of the type, compounded by the bulk of the thick textblock under pressure in the press and the binding. Richard lloyd anderson, wherein he presents evidence from original sources on each of the eleven witnesses of the metal plates from which the prophet joseph smith translated the ancient scriptural account known as the book of mormon. Book of mormon, 1830, page 73 the joseph smith papers. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. The three men chosen as witnesses of the book of mormon were oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks.
The creasing which is seen in the title page, at right, is a hallmark of the firstedition book of mormon, and is not a flaw. I just want to say something about the witnesses of the book of mormon in. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. For the first edition of the book of mormon, joseph smith jr. First edition book of mormon history moons rare books. Book of mormon witnesses all later denied its truthfulness. Martin harris shows signs of being an unstable person in terms of his religious convictions. One was the chronicles of voree and that was the original set of plates and.
Based on the body of available evidence we dont really know if the eleven book of mormon witnesses ever signed their testimony or not. It also contains biographical and historical information relating to the book of mormon. The historical narrative surrounding the book of mormon witnesses presents a labyrinth. The printers manuscript of the book of mormon, published in the latest. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons in. Did the eleven witnesses actually see the gold plates. Martin harris 17831875, a new york farmer, was one of the three witnesses to the divine origin of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The witnesses of the book of mormon preston nibley on. Paid printing costs for publication of book of mormon through sale of 151 acres. Palmyra, known as swifts landing and tolland before being renamed palmyra, 1796. While much that has been said regarding the origin of the book of mormon is beyond the experience of the average searcher, only as he accepts or rejects the credibility of the earliest witnesses, the existence of the book itself provides a common ground for careful investigation. Did oliver cowdery, one of the three special book of mormon witnesses, express.
Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Mar 22, 2017 by june 1829 martin harris, oliver cowdery, and david whitmer had verbalized a desire to be the special three witnesses alluded to in the book of mormon. Ten littleknown facts about the book of mormon meridian. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. A carefully researched, thoughtprovoking book, by dr. The names of oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris are familiar to most of us, notably because of their role as witnesses to the reality of the book of. He went on to become a successful lawyer and respected citizen among non mormon peers. The witnesses of the book of mormon by preston nibley. Grave of book of mormon witness identified the daily universe. It was agreed upon that 5,000 copies were printed by e. This article is being offered free as a courtesy to as it was footnoted in an expanded gospel topic on their site while much that has been said regarding the origin of the book of mormon is beyond the experience of the average searcher, only as he accepts or rejects the credibility of the earliest witnesses, the existence of the book itself provides a common ground for careful. Yes, it is true that the signatures on the extant manuscript page that we have for the testimony of the eight and three witnesses were done by oliver cowdery. Only 28 percent of the original, dictated manuscript of the book of mormon survives.
Thus the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god and not by the power of man address to all believers in christ, richmond, missouri, 1887, p. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come. Martins land was ultimately sold to thomas lakey on april 1, 1831, a year after the publication of the book of mormon, never to return to his possession. Book of mormon, 1830, page 0 the joseph smith papers. David whitmer, then age 73 and one of the three witnesses of the book of mormon, was. Dec 07, 2017 in june of 1878, a tornado tore through the town of richmond, missouri. The first edition of the book of mormon featured two testimonials. Recounting the preservation of the printers manuscript of the book. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Many critics of the book of mormon witnesses say that the witnesses of the book of mormon denied their written testimonies in statements to different people over the years. The earnest young men are challenged by the lack of interest from the locals, who are distracted by more pressing issues such as hivaids, famine. The 11 witnesses were all good, honorable men and regarded as upstanding members of the community. The witnesses of the book of mormon the millennial star.
Investigating the book of mormon witnesses richard l. In this carefully researched, thoughtprovoking book, dr. Here are some critics thoughts on that thanks to gary porter and craig criddle for these. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints, book of mormon, deseret news. David whitmer was one of six original members of the church of christ that. Today, the building in which the book of mormon was first published and sold is known as the book of mormon historic publication site. Three witnesses oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris declared an angel of god appeared to them and showed them the book of mormon plates. The deseret press, which is owned by the mormon church, did the printing, and the deseret book store, which is also owned by the church, sold them. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Their testimonies are found in the front of every modern edition of the book of mormon and are broken down into two categories. According to richard lloyd anderson in his book, investigating the book of mormon witnesses, cowdery. The three special witnesses saw the angel moroni and the plates. Upon completing the original book of mormon manuscript, joseph.
The three are part of twelve book of mormon witnesses, who also include smith and the eight witnesses. In addition, at the front of the book of mormon, in the section titled. And not one of the witnesses ever retracted or denied their testimony, including the men who later left mormonism. Joseph smith, the three witnesses, and the eight witnesses are a twelveman jury in affirming the reality of the gold plates and the book of mormon. Brodies reluctant vindication of a prophet she seeks to expose salt lake city. Scholars knew his grave was near a suburb northeast of kansas city. The most significant witnesses are the three witnesses and the eight witnesses, all of whom allowed their names to be used on two separate statements included with the book of mormon. The testimony of the eight witnesses was first published at the end of the 1830 edition of the book of mormon and has been printed in nearly every edition since, although most subsequent editions moved the statement to the front of the book and included minor grammatical corrections. I have a question the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Lds church buys printers manuscript of book of mormon for record. Savage, 1870, copy at church history library, original. Statements clearly traced to the witnesses verify the testimonies printed in the book of mormon. The eight other witnesses just saw and handled the golden plates. The author, richard lloyd anderson, gives many historical details about the statements of such critics and the sources and background of their statements. Three witnesses oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris declared an angel of god appeared to them and showed them the book of mormon plates and they heard the voice of the lord pronounce that joseph smiths translation had been accomplished. Their written testimony of three witnesses has been included in all of the almost 100 million copies of the book of mormon the church has published since 1830. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library.
We can compare the witnesses for the book of mormon to the witnesses of manuscript found. Photo courtesy of everything but the house firstedition book of mormon. In my red book is a documentation of david whitmer being present because he wouldnt let the manuscript of the book of mormon go out of his hands when the rlds committee came and was trying to do an edition of the book of mormon corrected by what they thought was the original manuscriptit was the printers. David whitmer, one of the witnesses to the book of mormon was living in the town at the time, and had the printers manuscript of the book of mormon stored in a room of his house. Davids house was a large twostory, sevenroom house, and the tornado turned most of it into matchsticks. Book of mormon sets new record for most expensive manuscript. The statement of the 3 witnesses for the book of mormon was a single statement signed by all three men. Jul 08, 2011 this is a photomechanical reprint of the first edition 1830 of the book of mormon. Richard lloyd anderson presents evidence from original sources on each of the eleven witnesses and concludes. The original book of mormon manuscript byu studies. The book of mormon follows two latterday saints missionaries as they attempt to preach the faith of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints to the inhabitants of a remote ugandan village.