"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
The
various witnesses to the Book of Mormon, especially the Three
Witnesses and then the Eight Witnesses (or the 11 official
witnesses), provide extensive and reliable evidence for the reality
and authenticity of the Book of Mormon. This is not proof to remove
the need for faith, but evidence that can buttress faith and refute
arguments against it.
One
of the most solid and respected veteran scholars of the Church, the
impeccable Richard Lloyd Anderson, gave the Neal. A. Maxwell lecture
at BYU on March 20, 2009, where he offered his insights about the
authenticity and integrity of the New Testament record. His lecture
was published in the Farms
Review of Books, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2009.
He
points out some serious errors by modern scholars who say that the
story of the Gospels are not based on eyewitness accounts but evolved
from storytelling over decades. He also turns to the Joseph Smith
story, including the First Vision and the Book of Mormon.
He
is most well known for his work dealing with the latter, for he has
been a leader in collecting and analyzing extensive records dealing
with the witnesses to the Book of Mormon.
His
scholarship has amply refuted the allegations of critics regarding
the witnesses and has shown with overwhelming evidence that these
primary witnesses never denied their witness of the Book of Mormon,
even when some had left the Church over other issues, and even when
they had nothing to gain and everything to lose for their stand.
One
relatively unknown tidbit that Brother Anderson shared comes from an
1871 notebook by William McLellin. The notebook was long missing and
only recently acquired by Brent Ashworth.
It
describes a scene in 1833, when McLellin was being sought by mobs in
Missouri, shortly after Bishop Partridge had been tarred and
feathered. Armed men were out looking for McLellin and Oliver
Cowdery, who were in hiding in woods west of Independence.
They
met with David Whitmer there, and McLellin recalls his conversation
there with two of the Three Witnesses in those dire circumstances,
facing death for their religion:
I
said to them, "brethren I never have seen an open vision in my
life, but you men say you have, and therefore you positively know.
Now you know that our lives are in danger every hour, if the mob can
catch us. Tell me in the fear of God, is that book of Mormon true?"
Cowdery
looked at me with solemnity depicted in his face, and said, "Brother
William, God sent his holy Angel to declare the truth of the
translation of it to us, and therefore we know. And though the
mob kill us, yet we must die declaring its truth."
David
said, "Oliver has told you the solemn truth, for we could not be
deceived. I most truly declare to you its truth!!" Said I, boys
I believe you. I can see no object for you to tell me falsehood now,
when our lives are endangered."
The
faithful and adamant testimony of the Book of Mormon from every
witness of the gold plates, to the end of their lives, is one of the
most insurmountable barriers yet to be scaled by those who claim
there were no plates, no angel, no divine record translated by the
power of God, but merely a fraud concocted by a charlatan.
As
one observer (can you remind me who?) quipped, it's one thing to talk
about seeing an angel, but it's quite a different thing to introduce
him to your friends.
Here
is the Testimony of the Three Witnesses, three honorable and
respected men who experienced the miracle of the Angel Moroni showing
them the gold plates and declaring that it was of God.
THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES
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, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who 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 seen the engravings which are
upon the plates; and they have been shown 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 marvelous 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.
Oliver Cowdery
David Whitmer
Martin Harris
There
were others also, such as the Eight Witnesses, who saw the plates
under less miraculous conditions and testified of their reality,
never departing from that. So who were these witnesses, and what is
the importance of their persistent, consistent, and insistent
eyewitness accounts? It's worth considering.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.