Facts on the book of mormon witnesses spiritual eyes

Martin harris shows signs of being an unstable person in terms of his religious convictions. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Gods word is to be established by two or more witnesses 2 cor. Three witnesses the three witnesses are david whitmer, oliver cowdery, and martin harris, who mortgaged his farm to finance the first printing of the book of mormon. The three are part of twelve book of mormon witnesses. Jul 08, 2011 this is a photomechanical reprint of the first edition 1830 of the book of mormon.

They knew it the same way five of the book of mormon witnesses later knew william mclellins church of christ was true. Aug 11, 2008 concluding the witnesses statements themselves on what they mean by spiritual eyes being grounded in fundamental physical reality. The book of mormon relies not only on the record of an ancient people, but also on the separate testimonies of three and eight witnesses published in the back of the books original 1830 edition and in the front of its more recent editions. Christian whitmer, jacob whitmer, peter whitmer, jr. In this carefully researched, thoughtprovoking book, dr. Pomeroy tucker told of harris using the phrase seeing with the spiritual eye pomeroy tucker in his book origin, rise, and progress of mormonism 1867. Book of mormon spiritual and temporal witnesses presentation. The lds church teaches members from childhood to rely upon feeling the spirit to confirm truth, promoting a personal connection to god which stems from its uniquely powerful priesthoodconferred gift of the spirit. The testimony of the three and eight witnesses to the book of mormon is a key part to the testimonies of many members of the church. The book of mormon witnesses and their challenge to.

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. The eleven witnesses are gods modern servants, supporting, with joseph smith, the truth of the book of mormon. Brother scott and the book of mormon spiritual and. Current mormon doctrine on the nature of god, the priesthood, use of temples, baptism for the dead, and men becoming gods, is nowhere contained in the book of mormon. I appreciate reading the firsthand accounts from the prophet himself and oliver cowdery, and, of course, the scriptural references to the translation of the book of mormon. Do mormons interpret the events depicted in the book of. We talk at length about our assumptions that the three witnesses has a spiritual event, that the eight witnesses had a physical event, whether their experience was consistent, and how the institutional church may have. Their testimonies are found in the front of every modern edition of the book of mormon and are broken down into two categories. Compilation on the three witnesses of the golden plates. Plates which they only saw in a \vision\ or \entranced state\never with their \natural\ eyes. All of the living book of mormon witnesses, except oliver cowdery, later accepted james strangs prophetic claim of being josephs true successor and joined his church.

The witnesses experiences may have only been visionary in nature. Anderson, in his faithpromoting book titled investigating the book of mormon witnesses, insists that readers must take the testimony of the eleven witnesses at face value. Witnesses of the book of mormon the first edition of the book of mormon featured two testimonials. Book of mormon witnesses all later denied its truthfulness. Telling the story of the coming forth of the book of mormon. George mantle to marietta walker, 26 december 1888, saint catherine, missouri, cited in autumn leaves 2 1889. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses kindle edition. For more about the witnesses to the book of mormon, visit their site. For instance, all 11 witnesses to the book of mormon shared a common worldview of second sight, magic, and treasure digging. How did joseph smith translate the plates from which the. Russell, a member of the community of christ and professor of history of the lds movement at graceland university, strongly disagrees. History skills can strengthen study of book of mormon. Apr 16, 2020 even if the majority of the witnesses to the book of mormon did not deny their testimony of the book itself, this does little to support mormonism today.

We talk at length about our assumptions that the three witnesses has a spiritual event, that the eight witnesses had a physical event, whether their experience was consistent, and how the institutional church may have expressed certainty about the boundaries and constructs of their. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading investigating the book of mormon witnesses. But, oliver cowdery, according to the mormon publication times and seasons, did deny. 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. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon. Johnson reflected the sentiments of the community by writing a poem attempting to reflect the fact that men may be untrue to the truth. Did the eleven witnesses actually see the gold plates. Today chris and clay join me again for a roundtable discussion about the eleven witnesses to the book of mormon. The three witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early latter day saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which joseph smith, jr. Joseph dictates the part of the book of mormon that mentions three special witnesses while all three are there with him. Richard lloyd anderson presents evidence from original sources on each of the eleven witnesses and concludes. Book of mormonwitnessesspiritual or literal fairmormon.

As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model is. 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. Historical evidence has led many people to question the authenticity of the book of mormon and the credibility of joseph smiths story. After reading jeremys letter, the director promised him a response. Janis hutchinson the three witnesses to the gold plates.

His 1981 book investigating the book of mormon witnesses explores the lives and characters of the witnesses in great detail, but nothing is said about their propensities for visionary experience. Two sets of official book of mormon witnesses mormonism. The book of mormon contains two sets of joint statements written by joseph smith for those who claimed to have seen the gold plates. Even if the majority of the witnesses to the book of mormon did not deny their testimony of the book itself, this does little to support mormonism today. This choice asks us to have faith in the marvelous, the possibility of angels, spiritual eyes, miraculous translation, and gold plates, but it does not require us to discount the historical record or create hypothetical ways to reconcile the compelling book of mormon witnesses with our own skepticism. Some mormons will agree that all three witnesses denied the book of mormon but came back to deny their denial. The witnesses assisted in many ways, he pointed out, including sharing the burden with joseph smith of testifying to the truthfulness of the book of mormon account. According to gilbert, harris looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, no, i saw them with a spiritual eye. Cited in richard lloyd anderson, investigating the book of mormon witnesses salt lake city. It is inconclusive if the witnesses actually saw plates or if they only claimed to see them. 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. Concluding the witnesses statements themselves on what they mean by spiritual eyes being grounded in fundamental physical reality. Perhaps most strikingly, unlike the witnesses to the book of mormon, at least some of strangs witnesses later denied their testimonies. Jeremy runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the church educational system ces and was assured that his doubts could be resolved.

Strang as mormonisms new prophet, a prophet with his own set of supernatural plates and witnesses to authenticate them. Even before he had become a mormon, harris had changed his religion at least five times. Multiple other witnesses claim he said he saw the plates with his spiritual eyes or with the eye of faith source. 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. After discovering the inner workings of their minds, he concludes that these witnesses thought the spiritual was material, meaning that their official statement sounded more physical than was intended.

Mary whitmer, who was visited by the angel moroni and shown the plates, assisted by keeping house, milking cows, and caring for guests while men in the household brought forth the. The evidence left by the book of mormon witnesses is rich, varied, and uneven, including the following. Martin harris one of the 3 witnesses testified publicly on march 25, 1838 that none of the signatories to the book of mormon saw or handled the actual physical plates. Ive only begun to scratch the surface of the case that can be made for the reliability of the book of mormon witnesses. The eight other witnesses just saw and handled the golden plates. In every copy of the book of mormon is the signed statement by the witnesses of the bom. Rob sivulka at copper hills high school introduction on january 29, 2018, a buddy and i went to go hear brother scott of the book of mormon spiritual and temporal. Here are a few key points from the essays listed above. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come. This is the message of gods law of witnesses for us today. The earliest documented statement of the three witnessesoliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harrisis their statement in the handwriting of oliver cowdery subsequently published in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon.

Since leaving the mormon church, i have come to the conclusion that religion does more harm than good. The 11 witnesses were all good, honorable men and regarded as upstanding members of the community. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons. Those who would defend traditional beliefs about mormon origins often turn to the testimonies of 11 men. The three special witnesses saw the angel moroni and the plates. Nevertheless, the power of this book is not based only in its magnificent history but on its powerful, unparalleled message that has changed countless lives including mine. 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. Apr 05, 2020 the historical facts and the special witnesses of the book of mormon testify that its coming forth was indeed miraculous. Nevertheless, the power of this book is not based only in its magnificent history but on its powerful, unparalleled message that. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new york. The mormon church, of course, claims that none of the three witnesses ever denied their testimony. Brother scott and the book of mormon spiritual and temporal witnesses presentation session 1 let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment james 3. One of the best sources of current scholarship on the book of mormon and other lds topics is the new mormon interpreter, a site managed by daniel peterson. He notes that the two signed testimonies appearing in the front of.

They knew it in the same way mormons all over the world know mormonism is true. Gilbert, the typesetter for most of the book, said that he had asked harris, martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes. I have also become an atheist, looking for logic and reason instead of accepting things on faith. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons in. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director witnesses. Some critics of the restoration have focused on a single statement reportedly made by john whitmer in 1839 to make it appear as though the eight witnesses of the book of mormon did not have a physical encounter with the golden plates as they so testified on the pages of the book itself, but rather a spiritual or visionary experience only. Here are 10 things you might not know about witness to the book of mormon, martin harris. Bofm witnesses presentation provides a spiritual and temporal witness of the realities of the book of mormon.

The first edition of the book of mormon featured two testimonials. A faith promoting presentation of many correlations between the book of mormon and mesoamerican history. 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. Ces letter is one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. When he finally gives in, joseph immediately gets a revelation that says, if they have faith. Harris is also reported as having publicly denied that he or the other witnesses ever saw the physical plates. Check out the viewpoint on mormonism podcast series 15 witnesses to the book of mormon part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 february 1518, 2016 joseph smith claimed that in 1823 he was visited by an angel named moroni and that this angel told him that there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the. Thus he paints the book of mormon witnesses as simplistic believers who possessed the shared magical perspective of their culture. Whats the difference between the book of mormon witnesses.

After several aborted attempts that turned into short books, ill try again. The contrasts work very much in joseph smiths favor. Irr facts on the book of mormon witnesses jole groat. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new. Testimony feeling the spirit the lds church teaches members from childhood to rely upon feeling the spirit to confirm truth, promoting a personal connection to god which stems from its uniquely powerful priesthoodconferred gift of the spirit. Also see the vast body of scholarship in past and current publications at the maxwell institute. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses deseret book.

The historical facts and the special witnesses of the book of mormon testify that its coming forth was indeed miraculous. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon central. Gods voice said the book of mormon was translated correctly. How did joseph smith translate the plates from which the book. Also cited in richard lloyd anderson, investigating the book of mormon witnesses salt lake city. Book of mormonwitnesseseye of faith and spiritual eye. 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. Some even base their testimony of the truthfulness of the book of mormon on these 11 witnesses and their claims. Check out these episodes from viewpoint on mormonism that originally aired february 1518, 2016 part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 in his continuing effort at defending the lds faith, byu professor daniel peterson has recently tackled the testimonies of the eleven book of mormon witnesses. Witnesses of the book of mormon church of jesus christ. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model. Statements clearly traced to the witnesses verify the testimonies printed in the book of mormon.

Modern mormon spin doctors write all kinds of articles claiming that the witnesses may have denied the mormon church but they never the book of mormon. This recantation influenced 3 apostles and 2 other influential members who all left shortly after. That means 37% of them can be considered as credible by virtue of not being excommunicated. These men beg joseph to ask god if maybe they arent the ones. The author, richard lloyd anderson, gives many historical details about the statements of such critics and the sources and background of their statements. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses kindle edition by anderson, richard lloyd. Some later clarified that they witnessed the plates not physically with their physical eyes but with their spiritual eyes. Reading your article got me curious as to whywith such direct and clear information on how the book of mormon was translatedtheres even a question about it. It also contains biographical and historical information relating to the book of mormon. For a huge array of resources, talks, articles, videos, and so forth, go to or. They also provided us with the sources for this post, so go do some factchecking there, should you feel inclined. This is a photomechanical reprint of the first edition 1830 of the book of mormon.