The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who made statements stating that they had seen the
golden plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...
which
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
said was his source material for the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...
. An earlier group of witnesses who said they had seen the plates were called the
Three Witnesses
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 translated the Book of Mormon; they also stated tha ...
.
Testimony
The Testimony of 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.
Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shewn unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shewn unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen. And we lie not, God bearing witness of it.
Christian Whitmer
Jacob Whitmer
Peter Whitmer, Jr.
John Whitmer
Hiram Page
Joseph Smith, Sen.
Hyrum Smith
Samuel H. Smith
Unlike the Three Witnesses, the Eight testified that they both saw and handled the plates. Another difference is that the Eight testified that they were shown the plates by
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
rather than by an angel as had the Three Witnesses.
Setting
Toward the end of June 1829, at the
Peter Whitmer Sr.
Peter Whitmer Sr. (April 14, 1773 – August 12, 1854) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, and father of the movement's second founding family.
Whitmer was born in Pennsylvania and married Mary Elsa Musselman. The Whitmers had ...
home in
Fayette, New York
Fayette is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Seneca County, New York, Seneca County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,617 at the 2020 census. The town is in the north-central part of the county and ...
, Joseph Smith (with
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...
as scribe) finished the translation of the Book of Mormon. Near the end of translation process, a prophecy was translated from the
Second Book of Nephi
The Second Book of Nephi (), usually referred to as Second Nephi or 2 Nephi, is the second book of the Book of Mormon. The original translation of the title did not include the word "second". First and Second were added to the titles of The Books ...
that three, and "a few" others, might see the golden plates. Subsequently, on June 28, 1829, near the Whitmer farm,
the Three Witnesses had their experience. Thereafter, the Smith and Whitmer families traveled to the
Joseph Smith, Sr. home in
Palmyra, New York. On July 2, 1829, near the Smith home, the Eight Witnesses allegedly saw and handled the golden plates.
About the witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were all members of the Whitmer or Smith families:
Christian Whitmer
Christian Whitmer (January 18, 1798 – November 27, 1835) was the eldest son of Peter Whitmer, Sr. and Mary Musselman. He is primarily remembered as one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates.
Biography
Born in Dauphin, Penn ...
,
Jacob Whitmer
Jacob Whitmer (February 2, 1800 – April 21, 1856) was the second born child of Peter Whitmer, Sr., and Mary Musselman. He is primarily remembered as one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon’s golden plates.
Biography
Born in Penn ...
,
Peter Whitmer Jr.
Peter Whitmer Jr. (September 27, 1809 – September 22, 1836) was the sixth child and fifth son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Whitmer, Mary Musselman. He is primarily remembered as one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, Book of Mormon's ...
,
John Whitmer
John Whitmer (August 27, 1802 – July 11, 1878) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Whitmer was also the first official Church Historian and a member of t ...
,
Hiram Page
Hiram Page ( 1800August 12, 1852) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates.
Early life
Page was born in Vermont. Earlier in his life, he studied medicine which h ...
,
Joseph Smith Sr.
Joseph Smith Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) was the father of Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translate ...
,
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, J ...
, and
Samuel H. Smith. Joseph Smith Sr. was Joseph Smith's father, and Hyrum and Samuel were his brothers. Christian, Jacob, Peter Jr. and John were
David Whitmer
David Whitmer (January 7, 1805 – January 25, 1888) was an American Mormon leader who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates.
Early life
Whitmer was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvani ...
's brothers, and Hiram Page was his brother-in-law. Noting the familiar relationship among the witnesses, satirist
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
wrote, "I could not feel more satisfied and at rest if the entire Whitmer family had testified."
Split with Smith
In 1838, the living members of Whitmer family (Christian Whitmer and Peter Whitmer Jr. died in 1835 and 1836, respectively) became estranged from Smith during a leadership struggle in
Far West, Missouri
Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It ...
, and all were excommunicated along with other dissenters and fled Caldwell County after receiving an ultimatum from the
Danites
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took ...
. Following the death of Smith, none of the Whitmers joined the group that was led by
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
and would become
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
.
Yet despite the estrangement of the Whitmer family, there is little evidence that any of the Eight Witnesses denied his testimony to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon or the gold plates.
[; . One third-hand source, the former Mormon leader Stephen Burnett, said in 1838 that Martin Harris had told him that "the eight witnesses never saw ]he plates
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
& hesitated to sign that instrument for that reason, but were persuaded to do it." Stephen Burnett letter to Lyman E. Johnson dated April 15, 1838. Typed transcript from Joseph Smith Papers, Letter book, April 20, 1837 – February 9, 1843, microfilm reel 2, pp. 64–66, LDS Church archives.
See also
*
Reformed Egyptian
The Book of Mormon, a work of scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement, describes itself as having a portion originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of metal or "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perha ...
*
Mary Whitmer Mary Elsa Musselman Whitmer (August 27, 1778 – January 1856) was a Book of Mormon witness and the wife of Peter Whitmer Sr.
She was born Mary Elsa Musselman in Germany to Jacob and Elizabeth Musselman. She immigrated to Pennsylvania in the ...
References
{{Book of Mormon Witnesses
1829 in Christianity
1829 in New York (state)
1830 in Christianity
1830 in New York (state)
Octets
Fayette, New York
8 witnesses