195 years later, the witnesses of the Book of Mormon are receiving more attention than ever

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 witnesses 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 on May 15, 1829. Another estimated 200 million people have been given the chance to read these same words in the preface to the Book of Mormon in the nearly two centuries since it was published.

Yet as celebrated as these events are by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 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 from a small sample of observations, which are much 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, (drawing 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 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 earlier experience “pales” in comparison to this documentary work focused on a book that has “literally changed my life.” In sharing 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

The desire for a reliable confirmation of truth has understandably grown in a world saturated with distortion and deceit. And 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 human 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 to unanimously agree on the evidence placed before them.

Evidence laid before them

These Book of Mormon witnesses testified to evidence that was likewise 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 with 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 also 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 was approached by another angel 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 messenger 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. It is proper, therefore, that you should receive a witness that your faith may be strengthened.”

Sharing the responsibility to witness

Having had the evidence laid before them, these individuals 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.”

The young prophet returned home 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.”

That felt a joyful responsibility to these other witnesses too. When Martin Harris finally had his own chance to see the plates, he exclaimed. “‘Tis enough! ‘Tis enough! Mine eyes have beheld! Mine eyes have beheld!”

He was overjoyed, expressing to others afterward, “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 s and suffering Cowdery said of his first time witnessing angelic instruction.s “Twas the voice of an angel from glory ... earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage.”

Witnessing despite separation and suffering

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 these men 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.”

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.”

It wasn’t just estrangement that tested these and the other witnesses, however. 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.”

When the mob thought he was almost dead, they mocked him, “Now what do you think of your God, and when he don’t save you?”

“Well, I believe in God,” said 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 length of time, but to the end of his life, never denied his witness of what he had seen.

What does it mean when eye witnesses continue to attest to something, despite personal strong incentives to do otherwise? And what does it mean when their willingness to testify outlasts even serious agony — or in the case of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, death itself?

A cloud of witnesses

Along with these 12 main witnesses (three men and Mary Whitmer shown the plates by an angel, and eight others shown them directly by Joseph Smith), there were “many more” informal witnesses of the plates — who hefted the box and felt the leaves incidentally.

About these family members and friends, Daniel C. Peterson, an 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, he’s struck at how unconcerned Smith was about others he knows, he says — which “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.”

These 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 seemingly borne an independent, authoritative witness, it would have been Christ himself. But in ministries in both the Old and New Worlds, Jesus likewise points to the words of prophets consistently 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. Witnesses remain a constant part of modern Latter-day Saint life today, from witnesses to every baptism and sealing ordinance that takes place, to pairs of missionaries bearing testimony throughout the world, to modern apostles who lead the faith as “special witnesses of Christ.” The faith also declares the Book of Mormon as a second witness to the truths in the Bible.

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.”

As believers attest today, what exists is enough. As Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles would testify to those who are unsure just over 1500 years after Moroni sealed the book and almost 180 years after Joseph Smith translated the same record: “You don’t know everything, but you know enough!”

“In a court of law, for example, Martin and others’ testimonies of what they saw and heard and touched, what they hefted, the plates, the angels, the voice of God, would be entered as evidence” concludes the host, Scott Christopher.

“Their testimonies under sacred, solemn oath, corroborate Joseph’s claims” — with these united testimonies published all 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.”