The Three Witnesses were the first of two sets of "special witnesses" to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates. The second set are the Eight Witnesses.

The Three Witnesses were Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris. Their joint testimony has been printed with nearly every edition of the Book of Mormon, since its initial publication in 1830.

Testimony of the Three Witnesses

The original 1830 statement, found at the end of the first edition of the Book of Mormon reads:

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, his brethren, and also of the people of Jared, which 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 seeen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shewn 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 marvellous 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.

Subsequent editions moved the testimony to the beginning of the book and have included minor grammatical corrections.

Subsequent history of the Three Witnesses

Although all three witnesses later broke with Smith and were excommunicated from the church, Harris and Whitmer continued to testify of their belief in the Book of Mormon. In the early 1840s, Cowdery became a lawyer in Ohio, and a lawyer associate claimed that Cowdery had privately denied his testimony to him, stating that Cowdery had told him that he didn't believe in angels. Cowdery later stated in a court of law that he did not deny his testimony, but didn't "believe" in angels, rather he "knew" they were real, having seen them. In 1849, Cowdery was re-baptised into the church at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, and he subsequently met with fellow witness David Whitmer in Richmond, Missouri, where he died.

According to Anthony Metcalf, Harris provided the following clarification in an interview:

I never saw the golden plates, only in a visionary or entranced state. I wrote a great deal of the Book of Mormon myself, as Joseph Smith translated or spelled the words out in English. Sometimes the plates would be on a table in the room in which Smith did the translating, covered over with a cloth. I was told by Smith that God would strike him dead if he attempted to look at them, and I believed it. When the time came for the three witnesses to see the plates, Joseph Smith, myself, David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery, went into the woods to pray. When they had engaged in prayer, they failed at the time to see the plates or the angel who should have been on hand to exhibit them. They all believed it was because I was not good enough, or in other words, not sufficiently sanctified. I withdrew. As soon as I had gone away, the three others saw the angel and the plates. In about three days I went into the woods to pray that I might see the plates. While praying I passed into a state of entrancement, and in that state I saw the angel and the plates. (Anthony Metcalf, Ten Years Before the Mast, n.d., microfilm copy, p. 70-71.)

Critics have since charged that Harris had merely imaged that he and the other two witnesses had seen an angel. Harris responded to this:

Gentlemen, do you see hand? Are you sure you see it? Are your eyes playing a trick or something? No. Well, as sure as you see my hand so sure did I see the angel and the plates." (Richard L. Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, Deseret Book, 1981, p. 116.)

Since the publication of the Book of Mormon, many of its readers have found the statement of the Three Witnesses to be a compelling proof of the work's truthfulness. Bearing one's testimony has subsequently become an important Latter Day Saint practice.

References

• An Address To All Believers In Christ - By A Witness to the Divince Authenticity of the Book of Mormon - David Whitmer, Richmond Missouri (reprint of pamphlet)
• Liahona, August 30, 1910.
• Improvement Era, March 1926.

See also

Eight Witnesses