As several book of mormon scholars have put it, believing without seeing will result in greater seeing. A twohundredyear era of peace followed that visit of christ. Then, with particular attention to the assumption that seeing with spiritual eyes negates ones witness, i will analyze the statements as an historian who chooses to believe in the testimonies of the book of mormon witnesses and end with an invitation to my readers to join me in making that informed choice. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. The book of mormon testifies that the lord is actively overseeing his creation and always reaching out to his children on earth to encourage good choices righteous living in obedience to his commandments. Gilbert, who printed the book of mormon, reported that harris. Grant palmer follows this argument and reading of the evidence, leading him to the conclusion that the witnesses seem to have seen the records with their spiritual eyes and inspected them in the context of a vision, apparently never having actually possessed or touched them. However, since the claim continues to be made, and given the. See more ideas about hero poster, book of mormon and lds art. Jul 01, 2011 later mormon leaders including general authority brigham h. Mormons dont seem to realize that the witnesses to the. I responded to this assertion in a column published five years ago see book of mormon witness testimonies published may 25, 2010.
According to smith, the book is originally written in an otherwise unknown language called reformed egyptian on golden plates and it should be of similar importance as the bible. In our final segments with renowned joseph smith historian dan vogel, author of joseph smith. Believers must make a leap of faith, apprehending with their spiritual eyes rather than their natural eyes investigating the investigation, dialogue. Roberts, expressed a strong desire to abandon the idea that joseph received the text of the book of mormon directly from god. May 23, 2015 they only saw the plates with their spiritual eyes, im assured, and spiritual eyes, to them, meant in their imaginations. Lesson 17 in the book of mormon class member study guide we came upon a passage which answered the question my wife asked earlier. Teresa spoke of the principle of fleeing when peer pressure becomes great, just as joseph in egypt did, rather than lingering to see the outcomes when we are. Today chris and clay join me again for a roundtable discussion about the eleven witnesses to the book of mormon. Did the eight witnesses to the book of mormon, just like. The book of mormon and the bible will grow together, 2 ne. The book of mormon prophesies that god would call special witnesses to testify to its truth. And when ye shall receive these things, i would exhort you that ye would ask god, the eternal father, in the name of christ, if these things are not true. I have now given myself the whole year to finish the book seeing how we will be studying it all year anyway in gospel doctrine class, but i am hoping i can commit to an extra step and finish it much, much earlier.
All of the living book of mormon witnesses, except oliver cowdery, later. Moroni, the last of the nephite prophethistorians, sealed up the abridged records of these people and hid them in about a. The official mormon narrative about the bom witnesses is deceptive. Did the book of mormon witnesses really see what they. Aug 20, 2017 though the events in the book of mormon occurred millennia ago, it is being repeated in our day. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses religious studies center. See more ideas about book of mormon, scripture study and lds scriptures. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. Book of mormonwitnessesspiritual or literal fairmormon. Next, teresa and i shared passagesreal flecks of gold, real nuggets, from the book of mormon and the holy bible that opened our eyes and helped us deal with real life issues. Oxford university press, 2003, 4142, emphasis added.
Elder roberts reasoned that such a view made god responsible for the grammatical and spelling errors and would hinder people from accepting joseph smith and the. Martin harris and david whitmer said they saw the plates with their spiritual eyes only. Gunnell goes on to quote a letter written in 1844 by phineas young to brigham young, martin harris is a firm believer in shakerism, says his testimony is greater than it was of the book of mormon martin harris witness and benefactor to the book of mormon, wayne c. 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. Nov 24, 2018 in the front of each copy of the book of mormon, there is printed the testimony of three witnesses and the testimony of eight witnesses. The making of a prophet, we focus our attention on the creation of the book of mormon through his extensive research, dan theorizes that the book of mormon is a tangible artifact giving insight into joseph smiths state of mind, and commentary on the cultural and spiritual influences that. I have seen the gold plates from which the book of mormon is written. We are fighting the same spiritual and literal battles over the same principles and freedoms they did. Signs and spiritual eclipses from power in the book. Did book of mormon witnesses simply see the golden plates with their spiritual eyes. Yesterday in gospel doctrine book of mormon class, we were studying the roles of a seer.
Mormons dont seem to realize that the witnesses to the book of mormon, only saw the gold plates with their spiritual eyes. The evidence left by the book of mormon witnesses is rich, varied, and uneven, including the following. The american scripture that launched a new world religion new york. By 1847, not a single one of the surviving eleven witnesses were affiliated with the mormon church. This latter, successful church lasted until 1961 which directly profited the whitmer family. The coming forth of the book of mormon with its perfect eyesight not only increased the field of spiritual vision but also gave muchneeded clarity to the overlapping portion of the two spiritual eyes, or the binocular field of vision. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses religious studies. The book of mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of joseph smith who claimed to. The contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf or the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Some critics like to focus on a few statements mostly from martin harris, instead of taking all statements into account, in order to say that the witnesses only had a spiritual vision. 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. Aug 11, 2008 concluding the witnesses statements themselves on what they mean by spiritual eyes being grounded in fundamental physical reality.
May 19, 2008 i never finished the book of mormon by april 1st as i once set forth to do as a new years resolution. And when we are not careful, we repeat the same cycle of pride, sin, apostasy, violence, and destruction that they did. 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. This wouldnt hold up to scrutiny in court, but it might get you committed. As lehi reads the book he is filled with the spirit. After josephs death, he sought to replace joseph as the head of the mormon church. Concluding the witnesses statements themselves on what they mean by spiritual eyes being grounded in fundamental physical reality. They only saw the plates with their spiritual eyes, im assured, and spiritual eyes, to them, meant in their imaginations. We know that the book of mormon is a spiritual message. As i look back after nearly thirtynine years on those lifechanging two nights reading the book of mormon for the first time and on my first prayer that early morning, i marvel at the tender mercy of my heavenly father in guiding me toward the restored gospel.
Introduced at the beginning of every copy of the book of mormon are the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses these three witnesses all over calgary, david whitmer and martin harris wrote that they were shown the plates by an angel who also attested to them that joseph smith translated the book by the gift and power of god. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. The eyes of the blind shall see church of jesus christ. Check out the viewpoint on mormonism podcast series 15 witnesses to the book of mormon part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 february 1518, 2016 joseph smith claimed that in 1823 he was visited by an angel named moroni and that this angel told him that there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the. Did the book of mormon witnesses see the gold plates only. In this interview, we focus our attention on the role of the golden plates in the creation of the book of mormon, the 116 lost pages of the original book of mormon and how this event influenced the final product, and we discuss the different events that may have influenced the timeline in which the book of mormon was created. Did martin harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his spiritual eye. Some critics of the restoration have focused on a single statement reportedly made by john whitmer in 1839 to make it appear as though the eight witnesses of the book of mormon did not have a physical encounter with the golden plates as they so testified on the pages of the book itself, but rather a spiritual or visionary experience only. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel.
The book of mormon was written for the intent that we may believe the bible, morm. Jul 26, 2018 the book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Did the book of mormon witnesses see the gold plates only in. He made it clear that the way to know for sure if the book of mormon is the word of god is to apply the spiritual test god has decreed for this spiritual book, as set forth in moroni 10.
Harris told them that he had seen the plates with the eye of faith or spiritual eyes. I have seen what i have seen and i have heard what i have heard. It demonstrates how the titles holy ghost, spirit of god, spirit of the lord, holy spirit, and the spirit are used interchangeably to refer to the third member of the godhead. Jeremy runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the church educational system ces and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. The lords words will hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, 2 ne. In the lds church, much emphasis is placed on the witness of three men who said that they saw the gold plates which were translated by joseph smith into the book of mormon, as well as eight additional witnesses who testified of their belief in the book of mormon. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. May 23, 2015 did book of mormon witnesses simply see the golden plates with their spiritual eyes. They could, however, witness his glory with spiritual eyes if they were changed or quickened by the spirit of god.
Nonetheless, harris said he believed the book of mormon to be true. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come. These divinely appointed witnesses help the book of mormon fulfill one of its primary purposesto convince the world that jesus is the christ, the eternal god. Did martin harris claim that even the eight witnesses. This study provides students of the book of mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word spirit is used in that volume of scripture. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of. Its all but irrelevant whether harris said it or not. He had seen and handled them all, by the power of god. After reading jeremys letter, the director promised him a response. Palmer, an insiders view of mormon origins salt lake city. Spiritual meaning of the book of mormon book of mormon. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation.
As mormon told the people, the spirit of christ was sent forth by the power and gift of christ, echoing language used page 199 throughout the book of mormon in reference to the holy ghost. This failed, and after following various splinter groups where his testimony held weight, eventually whitmer formed his own churches based on the book of mormon. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director witnesses. In his vision of christ and presumably his apostles, jesus comes to lehi and gives him a book to read. If, in fact, the book of mormon gold plates were delivered to joseph smith not by an angel but by a white salamander as mark hofmanns eventually exposed. Gilbert, who printed the book of mormon, reported that harris said that he saw the plates with his spiritual eye john h. Perhaps a more pervasive weakness of the book of mormon in the eyes of many is the christology of the book of mormon, the fact that there is a knowledge and an understanding of jesus christ. As the spirit opens the eyes of his understanding to spiritual truths, lehi is compelled by joy, excitement, gratitude, or something else to exclaim praises to.
We talk at length about our assumptions that the three witnesses has a spiritual event, that the eight witnesses had a physical event, whether. Martin was in the office when i finished setting up the testimony of the three witnesses,harriscowdery and whitmer i said to him,martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes. Two other palmyra residents said that harris told them that he had seen the plates with the eye of faith or spiritual eyes. Mormons dont seem to realize that the witnesses to the book. The three are part of twelve book of mormon witnesses. The three witnesses state that wehave seen the plates which contain this recordand we also testify tha. The book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Peterson points out that several of the 11 official.
Thus, we find every living book of mormon witnesses, except oliver cowdery, accepting strang as their prophet, at least for a time. Dec 06, 2016 as several book of mormon scholars have put it, believing without seeing will result in greater seeing. Smith said he has received these plates in 1827 from an angel named moroni, who identified himself to smith as a native. Why would real, metal plates need to be seen in a vision or with spiritual eyes as many of the witnesses later testified. Smith said he has received these plates in 1827 from an angel named. Compilation on the three witnesses of the golden plates. Did book of mormon witnesses simply see the golden plates. Martin harris may 18, 1783 july 10, 1875 was an early convert to the latter day saint movement who financially guaranteed the first printing of the book of mormon and also served as one of three witnesses who testified that they had seen the golden plates from which joseph smith said the book of mormon had been translated. Did the eleven witnesses actually see the gold plates. Evaluating the book of mormon witnesses book of mormon central. Though the events in the book of mormon occurred millennia ago, it is being repeated in our day. The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. 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. God perceives all that is real and true and guides his children on earth accordingly through his spirit, his prophets, the scriptures, and other means.
Did martin harris claim that even the eight witnesses had. Are seeing with our spiritual eyes something that needs to be developed. In the front of each copy of the book of mormon, there is printed the testimony of three witnesses and the testimony of eight witnesses. Or whether the report comes from a disaffected member whos no less credible than a tbm apologist with extreme confirmation biaslike dan peterson. Book of mormonwitnesseseye of faith and spiritual eye. According to gilbert, harris looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, no, i saw them with a spiritual eye. Harmon, made in about 1885, cited in vogel, emd, 2. Ces letter is one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Now jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.