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The Book of Mormon is a sacred record that contains the everlasting gospel and bears witness of Jesus Christ.
The
Book of Mormon is the sacred history of the ancient inhabitants of the
American continent, and contains the predictions of their prophets, the
commandments of the Lord to them, and the history and destiny of those
ancient peoples. It is the American volume of scripture, and is just as
sacred and inspired as is the
Bible, which contains the sacred records of the Hebrew race on the eastern hemisphere.
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The
Nephite prophets in prayer earnestly sought that their writings should
be preserved to come forth and to speak as from the dead, to bear
witness to the remnant of Lehi, and also to Jew and Gentile, that God
had revealed to them the fulness of the Gospel. Their anxiety was that
in these last days men might be brought to repentance and faith in God
through the testimony given many centuries before to these Nephite
prophets. In fact, we learn from the Book of Mormon that this is the
main object of the Book of Mormon, as stated in many of its passages. …
… The
Lord made it very clear to the Nephite prophets that their history and
prophecies would be preserved to come forth in the latter days as a
witness for Jesus Christ and to establish among the people his Gospel.
Nephi prophesied to the Gentiles and the Jews of our day and left for
them his testimony in a most emphatic and telling manner. (
2 Nephi 33.) Moroni did the same. (
Moroni 10:24–34.)
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Nephi, one of the earliest prophets of the Israelitish colony, predicted nearly six hundred years before the
Christian
era, that when the records containing the history of his people should
be revealed from the dust, it would be in a day when the people would
“deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel,” and they would say:
“Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God
today, for the Lord and
the Redeemer hath done His work, and He hath given His power unto men.” [
2 Nephi 28:5.]
Again, many among them would say when presented with a new volume of
scripture containing the history of the people of this western world: “A
Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more
Bible.” [
2 Nephi 29:3.]
… This
new volume of scripture was to be a witness, not only for Christ and to
contain the everlasting Gospel, but was also to be a witness for the
Jewish scriptures—the Bible; and these two records—according to the
prophesying of Nephi, his father, and also Joseph, son of Israel—were to
grow together bearing testimony of the everlasting gospel [see
2 Nephi 3:11–13;
29:10–14]. As such a witness these records stand today testifying of the truth to the condemnation of all who reject their teachings.
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I know that
Joseph Smith
translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, and that it
has come forth “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is
the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”
[Title page of the Book of Mormon.]
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2
In accordance with the law of witnesses, the Lord called special witnesses to testify of the Book of Mormon.
There
is a law definitely stated in the scriptures governing testimony and
the appointment of witnesses. This law the Lord has always followed in
granting new revelation to the people.
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All
down through the ages this law [the law of witnesses] has been a fixed
and definite one. If we had perfect records of all ages, we would find
that whenever the Lord has established a dispensation,
there has been more than one witness to testify for him. Paul in
writing to the Corinthians said: “In the mouth of two or three witnesses
shall every word be established.” [
2 Corinthians 13:1.]
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In
regard to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the Lord said that he
would choose witnesses. There should be three special witnesses that
should bear record to the world, and said he:
“And
there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to
the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men;
for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak
as if it were from the dead.
“Wherefore,
the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in
the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his
word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!” (
2 Ne. 27:13–14.)
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The
three men called to serve as special witnesses of the coming forth of
the Book of Mormon by the power of God, are Oliver Cowdery, David
Whitmer, and Martin Harris. … They were associated with Joseph Smith in
the establishing of this marvelous work in this dispensation. …
Their
testimony is that they received a visitation of an angel from the
presence of the Lord, who laid before them the golden record from whence
the Book of Mormon was translated and instructed them. They beheld the
engravings upon the plates as the leaves were turned one by one before
them, and the voice of God was heard by them declaring from the heavens
that the translation was by the gift and power of God, and commanding
them to bear record of it to all the world. These three witnesses,
through adversity, persecution, and all the vicissitudes of life, always
remained true to their testimony that they beheld the plates in the
presence of an angel and heard the voice of God speaking to them from
the heavens.
There
were eight other witnesses who also beheld the plates, handled them,
examined carefully the engravings upon them as they were shown them by
Joseph Smith. Their testimony is also given to the world and appears in
each issue of the Book of Mormon. All of these eight men remained true to this testimony until death.
These
twelve witnesses [including Joseph Smith], four of whom beheld angels
and had heavenly visions, and eight who beheld the record as it was
shown to them by Joseph Smith, are all, it appears, that the Lord deemed
necessary to establish the truth of the Book of Mormon, as he promised
through Nephi that he would do. “And wo be unto him that rejecteth the
word of God!” The testimonies of these men more than satisfy the law.
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Joseph Smith …
was alone in the first vision, alone when Moroni brought the message to
him, alone when he received the plates; but after that he was not
alone. The Lord called other witnesses. Grandmother Smith [Joseph
Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith] in her history says that the Prophet
came home weeping for joy after the witnesses had beheld the plates
under the direction of an angel of God, because, he said, “The load has
been lifted and I am no longer alone.”
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3
The Three Witnesses remained faithful to their testimonies of the Book of Mormon.
All
three [special] witnesses became estranged and left the Church. Oliver
Cowdery and Martin Harris came back humbly seeking membership in the
Church and both died in full fellowship. David Whitmer remained out of
the Church; however, all three of these men remained faithful to the
testimony they gave to the world which is found in each copy of the Book
of Mormon.
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This
is a testimony of David Whitmer, given in Richmond, Missouri, March 19,
1881—copied from the original document, which was published in the
Richmond Conservator on that date.
“Unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people unto whom these presence shall come—
“It
having been represented by one John Murphy of Polo [Caldwell County],
Missouri, that I had in a conversation with him last summer, denied my
testimony as one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon—
“To
the end thereof, that he may understand me now if he did not then, and
that the world may know the truth, I wish now, standing as it were, in
the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make
this public statement:
“That
I have never at any time, denied that testimony or any part thereof,
which has so long since been published with that book, as one of the
three witnesses.
“Those who know me best, will know that I have always adhered to that testimony—And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do now again affirm the truth of all my statements as then made and published.”
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Now
let me say something about Martin Harris. … While continuing true to
his testimony of the Book of Mormon he was for many years disgruntled
with the Church. But some time after the saints came to Utah some of our
good brethren went after him, found him and warmed him up, and brought
him back. He came out here [to Utah], was re-baptized, and lived here
for a number of years, bearing witness of his testimony among the
settlements. He died here and was buried [in Clarkston, Utah].
Now
we come to Oliver Cowdery. What about Oliver Cowdery, the most
important of the three, who was with Joseph Smith so many times at the
appearing of angels and the restoration of keys? What about him? He left
the Church and became extremely bitter, but never denied the testimony.
Some people have said he did, but he did not. Always he was true to
that testimony. …
… After
the saints were driven from Nauvoo and were out on the plains and
everything looked the darkest (Sidney Rigdon said they had gone to their
destruction and there was no hope for them, and the newspapers said
they could not survive!), under those conditions, Oliver Cowdery … asked
to come back to the Church. … He was received back, and was preparing
to take a mission to Great Britain when he was taken ill and died. He
died at the home of David Whitmer, bearing testimony to the truth.
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4
Each member of the Church can be a witness of the Book of Mormon.
These
are not all the witnesses who can speak of the divine mission of Joseph
Smith, or of the truth of the Book of Mormon. The promise is made in
the Book of Mormon that all who desire to know whether it is true and
contains the word of the Lord may know that it is true if they will ask
with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, for he
will reveal it to them by the power of the
Holy Ghost [see
Moroni 10:3–5].
There are hundreds of thousands who have put this promise to the test
and can in all sincerity say that they have received that knowledge.
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I am just as
firmly convinced that this Book of Mormon from which I have read is the
word of God and was revealed, as Joseph Smith declared it was revealed,
as I am that I stand here looking into your faces. Every soul on the
face of the earth who has intelligence enough to understand may know
that truth. How can he know it? All he has to do is to follow the
formula that was given by the Lord himself when he declared to the Jews
that they who would do the will of his Father should know of the
doctrine, whether it was of God or whether he spoke of himself [see
John 7:17]. My witness to all the world is that this book is true. …
I
know that the testimony of these [three] witnesses recorded in each
copy of the Book of Mormon is true, that they stood in the presence of
an angel of God who declared unto them that the record as it was
translated was correct, that their testimony that God spoke to them from
the heavens calling upon them to bear witness of that fact is true, and
there is not a soul who cannot receive that testimony if he desires to
receive it, by reading this book prayerfully and faithfully, with a
desire to know the truth as Moroni has declared by revelation. He shall
know the truth regarding the restoration of this scripture given to the ancient inhabitants of this continent.
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It
seems to me that any member of this Church would never be satisfied
until he or she had read the Book of Mormon time and time again, and
thoroughly considered it so that he or she could bear witness that it is
in very deed a record with the inspiration of the Almighty upon it, and
that its history is true. …
… No
member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has
not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon.
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When
you read the Book of Mormon you know you are reading the truth. Why?
Because God directed men to write events as they occurred and He gave
them the wisdom and inspiration to do this. Thus records were written by
men who believed in God. These records never fell into the hands of
apostates; but the historians wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by
the Holy Ghost, and we know that what they wrote is true because the
Lord has put His stamp of approval upon it [see
D&C 17:6].
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