Book of mormon the testimony of three witnesses duration. Request a free copy of the book of mormon another testament of jesus christ. Witnesses of the book of mormon church of jesus christ. Bofm witnesses presentation provides a spiritual and temporal witness of the realities of the book of mormon. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses deseret book. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that wethrough the grace of god the father, and our lord jesus christhave 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.
The witnesses of the book of mormon nibley, preston on. The testimony of these three prophets interlink in order to establish the veracity and power of each others witness of christ. 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. The first edition of the book of mormon featured two testimonials. 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. Today chris and clay join me again for a roundtable discussion about the eleven witnesses to the book of mormon. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons in. A faith promoting presentation of many correlations between the book of mormon and mesoamerican history. Jesus christ did show himself unto the people of nephi, as the multitude were gathered together in the land bountiful, and did minister unto them. Maxwell in echoes and evidences of the book of mormon, pp. Chapter 6 page 52 the testimony of the especial witnesses to the book of mormon.
One of the eight witnesses to the book of mormon was the fifth son of peter whitmer, sen. The book of mormon teaches that several groups of people came from the holy lands to the americas. Martin harris shows signs of being an unstable person in terms of his religious convictions. Title page, introduction, and testimonies of the three and. 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. This page links to subpages which discuss various attacks. This video uses testimonies of several different apostles of jesus christ to discuss the importance of the book of mormon in gods plan to establish his doctrine and kingdom. And not one of the witnesses ever retracted or denied their testimony, including the men who later left 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. Whereas jesus said i am the way and the truth and the life, john 14. Lds institute book of mormon student manual pdf version. Critics have long tried to dismiss or destroy the witnesses witness. For a huge array of resources, talks, articles, videos, and so forth, go to or. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses and millions of other books are available for.
Richard lloyd anderson, personal writings of the book of mormon witnesses, in book of mormon authorship revisited. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world. First, he stated that he was going to include the words of isaiah in his book because isaiah verily saw my redeemer, even as i have seen him v. This is a photomechanical reprint of the first edition 1830 of the book of mormon. 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. Jul 08, 2011 this is a photomechanical reprint of the first edition 1830 of the book of mormon. 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. 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. Brother scotts book of mormon witness presentation. The law of witnesses in 2 nephi book of mormon central. The three witnesses of the book of mormon, part 1 youtube. I have chosen to speak about the significance of their testimonies and about the life of one of them.
Contrary to the claims of our critics, there are impressive findings that make it difficult to explain away the book of mormon as a nineteenthcentury fraud from joseph smith. 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 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. It helps me feel closer to jesus christ and his teachings. The book of mormon spiritual and temporal witnesses presentation lidar technology now lets us look underneath the canopy of the jungle. After the witnesses returned to the house the angel again made his appearance to joseph and. However, within the pages of the book of mormon itself are the combined testimony of three ancient witnesses. Why were three key witnesses chosen to testify of the book of mormon.
The book of mormon is used as a companion book to the bible by members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The witnesses of the book of mormon lds scripture teachings. The book of mormon provided multiple official and unofficial witnesses who corroborated aspects of josephs account. The book of mormon is a witness to the truth of the bible. The statement of the 3 witnesses for the book of mormon was a single statement signed by all three men. Soon after josephs arrival at fayette from pennsylvania the summer of 1829, peter became a zealous friend of the prophet and an able assistant in the translation of. Today chris and clay join me again for a roundtable discussion about the eleven witnesses to the. When i was a member of the church i honestly never thought about checking up on the witnesses of the book of mormon. A carefully researched, thoughtprovoking book, by dr. Much has been said about the book of mormon since its first publication in the 1800s. Apr 26, 2010 the book of mormon has 12 official witnesses. Videos photographs illustrations charts maps podcast. The past several articles revealed that some people who lived in ancient america knew of jesus christ.
Additionally, each of the three witnesses martin harris, oliver cowdery, and. Dec 05, 2009 book of mormon the testimony of three witnesses. Love for the book of mormon expands ones love for the bible and vice versa. This page is a continuation of book of mormon evidences, part one and part two. 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. Sep 10, 2010 the witnesses of the book of mormon nibley, preston on. Book of mormon spiritual and temporal witnesses presentation. Here it was that those 8 witnesses recorded in the book of mormon looked upon the plates and handled them of which they bear witness in the title page of the book of mormon. The world was not left with joseph smiths testimony alone.
It is inconclusive if the witnesses actually saw plates or if they only claimed to see them. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons. It is very interesting how the lord decided to have those special witnesses of his work of the last days. Book of mormon the testimony of three witnesses youtube. Fawn brodie, who thought that the three witnesses all told different.
The mormon bibleproofs of its divinity plagiarism of its. All three special witnesses became estranged and left the church. Book of mormon evidences, part 3 presents further evidence supporting the book of mormon as an ancient document. In the course of the work of translation, we ascertained that three special witnesses 1 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. 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. It also contains biographical and historical information relating to the book of mormon. Invite students to turn to any chapter in the book of mormon and see if they can. May 21, 2014 this is the first half of an old byu film depicting the story of the three witnesses of the book of mormon. He gave joseph like first witness, but one according to the scriptures is not enough so god provided three new witnesses. The author, richard lloyd anderson, gives many historical details about the statements of such critics and the sources and background of their statements. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon central.
Free copy of the book of mormon another testament of jesus christ. And they were marveling and wondering one with another and were shewing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place. The most significant witnesses are the three witnesses and the eight. The evidence left by the book of mormon witnesses is rich, varied, and uneven, including the following. And they were marveling and wondering one with another and were shewing one to another the. 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. Echoing the statement of the three witnesses in the book of mormon, david.
That we, through the grace of god the father, and our lord jesus christ, have seen the plates which contain this record. After the witnesses returned to the house the angel again made his appearance to joseph and received the plates from his hands. We also talk about the testimony of the three witnesses, three men who were allowed to see an angel and the physical gold. Here are some critics thoughts on that thanks to gary porter and craig criddle for these. The case against the 3 witnesses of the book of mormon duration. I have made an effort to add scripture references to each paragraph, when applicable, including chapter and verse. 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. Questions about the witnesses to the reality of the. Chapter 11 of 2 nephi serves to connect the witnesses of jacob, nephi, and isaiah, and it is here that nephi explicitly applied the law of witnesses. Readers of the book of mormon are undoubtedly familiar with the three witnesses. Smith lorenzo snow lucy mack smith mary whitmer oscar mcconkie william smith richard lloyd anderson analyzes the witnesses to.
Teachings of the seventies the bible is one witness of jesus christ. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. Book of mormon the testimony of eight witnesses youtube. The three are part of twelve book of mormon witnesses. Statements clearly traced to the witnesses verify the testimonies printed in the book of mormon. This concept was explained long ago when a prophet wrote that the book of mormon was written for the intent that ye may believe the bible. David whitmer, one of the book of mormon s three witnesses, said if you believe my testimony to the book of mormon. This remarkable statement was in fulfillment of prophecy in the book of mormon itself, given by nephi, the son of lehi. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon. Because the book of mormon published by the church of jesus christ of latterday. 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. We can compare the witnesses for the book of mormon to the witnesses of manuscript found. Mar 11, 2018 scriptural witnesses authenticate each other.
Three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of god, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered. 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. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of. The witnesses of the book of mormon by preston nibley. Title page, introduction, and testimonies of the three and eight witnesses. Investigating the book of mormon witnesses by richard. This is the first half of an old byu film depicting the story of the three witnesses of the book of mormon. In this carefully researched, thoughtprovoking book, dr. Mormon messages video testimony of the book of mormon 4. The eight witnesses of the book of mormon lds blogs. National geographic says it has turned everything we know on its head, there are over 60,000 new cement structures that they didnt know about before tons of defensive fortifications and roads everywhere. The witnesses of the book of mormon the millennial star.
Each book stands as evidence that god lives and speaks to his children by revelation to his prophets. In my personal experience, and as a member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints sometimes mistakenly called the mormon church, i have heard it described as everything from interesting, false, uplifting, or contrary to the bible. The testimony of three witnesses be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come. I grew up believing that i belonged to the only true church on the face of the earth and even though there were teachings about the church i didnt agree with, it never occurred to me they didnt have physical proof for the book of mormon. Richard lloyd anderson presents evidence from original sources on each of the eleven witnesses and concludes. The bible prescribe at least two or three witnesses for everything.
Investigating the book of mormon witnesses by richard lloyd. Also see the vast body of scholarship in past and current publications at the maxwell institute. They worship the bible instead of the savior of which it teaches. Haight emma smith harrison burgess john henry smith joseph f. The three and eight witnesses to the book of mormon. In studying the history of joseph smith and the the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, referred to as the mormons, we emphasize joseph smiths own testimony of the book of mormon, that book of additional scripture that is another testament of jesus christ.