It was 195 years ago Friday, on June 28, 1829, in Fayette, New York, that three individuals testified to have “seen the plates which contain” the Book of Mormon record and the “engravings which are upon the plates” by assistance of a heavenly messenger and confirmed by the voice of God.
Four days later, July 2, 1829, another eight people were shown the plates by Joseph Smith — the future leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — in Palmyra, New York, “witness(ing) unto to the world” that they “hefted” them, did “handle” with their hands the pages, and “saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship.”
This was front page news not only in their lives, but also in the lives of more than 20 million other men and women who came into the faith since Joseph Smith first baptized Oliver Cowdery in the late spring waters of the Susquehanna River in 1829. Another estimated 200 million people have been given the chance to read physical copies of these same words in the preface to the Book of Mormon over the nearly two centuries since it was published.
As celebrated as these events are by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, they have been remarkably easy for some to overlook or minimize. In the absence of hundreds of data points across repeated studies, modern minds sometimes assume little can be known about anything — certainly not from a small sample of observations, which are more likely to be written off as merely “subjective” or “anecdotal.”
All of this makes a resurgence in attention to the historical details of what took place especially impactful — starting with the new 2018 history of the Church, Saints, which draws upon extensive scholarship in the two-decades long Joseph Smith Papers project.
More recently, a well-received 2021 film “Witnesses” was directed by Mark Goodman and produced by Russell Richins, in partnership with The Interpreter Foundation. And two weeks ago, a new documentary was released focused on these same events, produced by James Dalrymple and Jonathan Farrell, and released by Scripture Central, a non-profit organization dedicated to “making the Book of Mormon and other Restoration scripture accessible, defensible, and comprehensible to people everywhere.”
Farrell, who enjoyed working in Hollywood feature animation for many years at Dreamworks and Pixar, said that his earlier filmmaking experience “pales” in comparison to documentary work focused on a book that has “literally changed my life.” In explaining his approach, Darymple said, “I wanted to ask what would it have been like to be there, to see the plates, to hear the voice of God or see Moroni?”
“The witnesses, all of them, were real people. Too often, I think, we gloss over their humanity. They had families to feed and friends who questioned their actions and their beliefs. How would I have dealt with that? How do I deal with it today?”
Reliable processes for verifying truth
It’s understandable that the desire for a reliable confirmation of truth has grown in a world saturated with distortion and deceit. Through recent human history, scientific processes that attempt to control and simplify conditions in order to identify clear patterns have been invaluable in learning more about the world.
Surrounded by seemingly endless data points, however, it can be easy to shrug off the report of one or a group of eye-witness(es) — even if that’s been the long-standing basis for verifying facts across many centuries of jurisprudence.
Historian William Blackstone dated the earliest incarnation of the modern jury system back to 829 A.D in England, with trial by a jury of peers becoming the English norm by the late 800s. Ever since, when serious allegations arise, determining what truly happened (and what should be done in response), requires 12 independent jurors unanimously agreeing on the evidence placed before them.
Evidence laid before them
These Book of Mormon witnesses likewise spoke to the evidence that was laid before them. After kneeling in prayer near the woods close to the Whitmer farm, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer recounted seeing an angel appear above them in brilliant light. As summarized in Saints, the angel turned the plates “over one by one,” showing the men the engraved symbols on every page. On a table beside him were laid out artifacts mentioned in the Book of Mormon, including the interpreters, the breastplate, a sword and the Liahona compass.
Even before these men had witnessed the evidence, Mary Whitmer described being approached by an older gentleman she had never met after exhausting herself providing meals for her family and their many visitors. “You have become pretty tired with all the extra work you have to do,” she recounted being told, before the figure she now recognized as an angel likewise held the plates in front of her, turning their pages so she could examine the engravings.
“You have been very faithful and diligent in your labors,” the messenger said. “It is proper, therefore, that you should receive a witness that your faith may be strengthened.”
A shared responsibility to witness
Having the evidence laid before them, these eye witnesses took away a great sense of responsibility. “These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God,” Whitmer and Cowdery recounted hearing. “The translation of them, which you have seen, is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.”
Opens in new windowThe young prophet returned to the Whitmer home later that afternoon to find his parents there visiting. “Father! Mother! You do not know how happy I am!” he said, kneeling beside his mother. “The Lord has caused the plates to be shown to three more besides me.”
“They know for themselves that I do not go about to deceive the people.”
A tangible burden seemed to have been lifted. “They will now have to bear a part. I am not any longer to be entirely alone in the world.”
The new witnesses likewise felt a joyful responsibility. When Martin Harris finally had his chance to see the plates, he exclaimed. “‘Tis enough! ‘Tis enough! Mine eyes have beheld! Mine eyes have beheld!”
He could hardly contain his joy afterwards, telling others, “I have now seen an angel from heaven! I bless God in the sincerity of my soul that he has condescended to make me — even me — a witness of the greatness of His work!”
Witnessing despite separation
Despite the initial excitement these witnesses all felt, severe testing would come to them all, as the early Church faced significant trials as a community, including strain from the financial crisis of 1837. Within eight years after publishing their testimony to the world, each of the three witnesses had become embittered and estranged from fellowship with the Saints.
This would have been an ideal time to recant their witness had it been fabricated. “Each of the three had ample reason and opportunity to renounce his testimony if it had been false, or to equivocate on details if any had been inaccurate,” taught President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Yet to the end of their lives,” he continued, “not one of these witnesses deviated from his published testimony or said anything that cast any shadow on its truthfulness.”
On the contrary, each of these witnesses bore repeated testimony throughout their lives of what they had experienced in interviews, published statements, and private conversations. “As sure as you are standing there and see me,” Martin Harris said on one occasion, “just as sure did I see the angel with the golden plates in his hand.”
50-year-old Zach Sibio of Saratoga Springs described experiencing moments of doubt throughout his life, yet having his testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon ultimately endure. “One fact that always shined through the gloom of doubt was the immovability of the three and the eight witnesses,” he said.
“There was so much pressure to decry the nascent church, and especially to denounce Joseph,” Sibio continued. “It would have been so much easier for any of them to just throw their hands in the air and say it was all fake, or that they had been deceived.”
“But none of them did so ... Not ever. Not even those who later abandoned Joseph and their church membership.”
Witnessing despite suffering
It wasn’t just estrangement that tested these and the other witnesses. William McLellin writes about an 1833 mob attack on Hiram Page, one of the eight witnesses, when “some young men ran down” the 33-year old man in the woods, “and commenced beating and pounding him with whips and clubs.”
Page, who had been a member of the church for only three years, “begged” for mercy but found none — with the gang insisting “they meant to beat him to death” because of his faith.
“But finally, McLellin writes, “one of them said to him, ‘If you will deny that damned book, we will let you go.’”
“How can I deny what I know to be true?” Page responded, which led them to “pound him again.” Noticing his poor condition, some of the attackers mocked him, “Now what do you think of your God ... when he don’t save you?”
“Well, I believe in God,” cried the severely wounded man. “The fool will stick to it though we kill him,” said one of the mobsters. “Let him go.”
Page was confined to his bed for a long while, but to the end of his life, never denied his witness of what he had seen with the plates.
It’s worth asking, what does it mean when eye witnesses continue to attest to something, despite strong personal incentives to do otherwise? And what does it mean when their willingness to testify outlasts even intense pain — or in the case of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, death itself?
A cloud of witnesses
Along with these 12 more substantial witnesses (three men and Mary Whitmer shown the plates by an angel, and eight others shown the plates by Joseph Smith), there were many more informal witnesses of the plates, who had more incidental contact — hefting the box, seeing Joseph carrying them, feeling the leaves under the cloth, etc.
About these family members and friends, Daniel C. Peterson, Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies at BYU, says in the documentary, “it would have been easy for one of them to look and say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. I looked at the so-called plates and they were a brick, or it was a rock in there, or something like that.’”
Even though the young prophet took very seriously the overall safety of the plates, this scholar has been struck at how unconcerned Smith was about others he knew, which he says “impresses” him.
“If I were faking it, had a con going and had some mystical object, I’d make sure people never saw it when I wasn’t around. I would want to control the circumstances all the time. He doesn’t.”
The words of these early witnesses converge in a unity that constitutes another well-known sign of validity — both in modern scholarship and throughout sacred history. Rather than single individuals bearing witness on their own, prophets point to the words of other prophets throughout scripture. New Testament apostles frequently cite the words of Isaiah and Moses. And Alma calls upon the words of Zenos, Zenock and Moses to back up his own witness of the Savior.
If anyone could have borne an independent, authoritative witness, it would have been Christ himself. But throughout ministries in both the Old and New Worlds, Jesus likewise points to the words of prophets over and over to bolster and corroborate his own witness. And, of course, many others point to him — from John the Baptist and early apostles, to the 500 witnesses of his resurrection in Palestine and 2500 more in ancient America.
Witnessesing remains a constant part of modern Latter-day Saint life today, from witnesses attesting to every baptism and sealing ordinance that takes place, to pairs of witnesses bearing testimony as missionaries throughout the world. Modern apostles also lead the faith as “special witnesses of Christ.” The Book of Mormon is also declared to be a second witness, alongside the Bible, to the “precious” truth about Jesus Christ and his message of redemption.
Enough physical evidence, but not too much
Wouldn’t all of this be easier if the angel had allowed the plates to remain and they were on display to the world in a special exhibit at the Church History Museum?Documentary host Scott Christopher highlights this very question — suggesting that if the Lord wanted to, he could have said, “Joseph, here are the plates. Go show them to anyone who wants to see them.”
“People assume that there would be more believers if he did,” remarks BYU professor of Church History and Doctrine, Steven Harper. “That’s not true.”
According to scripture, it’s not “perfect knowledge” that grows Christ-followers, but faith — a faith that could be undermined if too much evidence was initially provided.
“Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen,” writes Moroni in ancient America. “Wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.”
The evidence that does exist (from external witnesses, to the Book of Mormon text itself, to inner assurances acting as “evidence of things not seen”), is enough according to many believers. As Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified to members of the church grappling with history questions: “You don’t know everything, but you know enough!”
“Martin and others’ testimonies of what they saw and heard and touched, what they hefted, the plates, the angels, the voice of God,” could be “entered as evidence” in a court of law, concludes the documentary host, Scott Christopher.
“Their testimonies under sacred, solemn oath, corroborate Joseph’s claims,” he said — with these united testimonies published around the world attesting to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. “They knew it, they knew that God knew it, and they would not deny it.”