Chapter XIV: Appendix: Outline for class review of the Lectures 463-477 (12)

=28. 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,[786] wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings[787] 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[788] 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.

[786] Doc. and Cov. xvii, 6; xx, 8.

[787] II Nephi v, 32; Alma lxiii, 12; Mormon i, 3.

[788] See History of Joseph Smith, June, 1829.

=29.= The testimony so declared was never revoked, nor even modified by any one of the witnesses whose names are subscribed to the foregoing,[789] though all of them withdrew from the Church, and developed feelings amounting almost to hatred toward Joseph Smith. To the last of their lives, they maintained the same solemn declaration of the angelic visit, and of the testimony that had been implanted in their hearts. Shortly after the witnessing of the plates by the three, other eight persons were permitted to see and handle the ancient records; and in this also was prophecy fulfilled, in that it was of old declared, that beside the three, "God sendeth more witnesses,"[790] whose testimony would be added to that of the three. It was presumably in July, 1829, that Joseph Smith showed the plates to the eight whose names are attached to the following certificate.

=30. The Testimony of Eight Witnesses.=--Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this work, has shown 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 shown 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, JUN.,
JOHN WHITMER,
HIRAM PAGE,
JOSEPH SMITH, SEN.,
HYRUM SMITH,
SAMUEL H. SMITH.

[789] See Note 3.

[790] II Nephi xi, 3.

=31.= Three of the eight witnesses died out of the Church, yet not one of the whole number ever was known to deny his testimony concerning the Book of Mormon.[791] Here, then, are proofs of varied kinds regarding the reliability of this volume. Learned linguists pronounce the characters genuine; eleven men of honest report make solemn oath of the appearance of the plates; and the nature of the book itself sustains the claim that it is nothing more nor less than a translation of ancient records.

[791] See Note 4.

NOTES.

=1. Book of Mormon Title Page.=--"I wish to mention here that the
title page of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken
from the very last leaf on the left hand side of the collection
or book of plates, which contained the record which has been
translated, the language of the whole running the same as all
Hebrew writing in general; and that said title page is not by any
means a modern composition, either of mine or any other man who
has lived or does live in this generation."--_Joseph Smith_, "Ch.
Hist.," Vol. I, p. 71.

=2. Theories concerning the Origin of the Book of Mormon. The
Spaulding Story.=--The true account of the origin of the Book of
Mormon was rejected by the public in general, who thus assumed
the responsibility of explaining in some plausible way the source
of the record. Many vague theories, based on the incredible
assumption that the book was the work of a single author, were
put forward; of these the most famous, and, indeed, the only one
that lived long enough in public favor to be discussed, is the so
called "Spaulding Story." Solomon Spaulding, a clergyman of
Amity, Pa., wrote a romance to which no title other than
"Manuscript Story" was prefixed. Twenty years after the author's
death, one Hurlburt, an apostate from the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, announced a resemblance between the story
and the Book of Mormon, and expressed his conviction that the
work presented to the world by Joseph Smith was nothing but
Spaulding's romance revised and amplified. The manuscript was
lost for a time, and, in the absence of proof to the contrary,
stories of the parallelism between the two works multiplied. But,
by a fortunate circumstance, in 1884 President James H. Fairchild
of Oberlin College, Ohio, and a literary friend, one Mr. Rice, in
examining a heterogeneous collection of old papers that had been
purchased by Mr. Rice, found the original story. The gentlemen
made a careful comparison of the manuscript and the Book of
Mormon; and, with the sole desire of subserving the purposes of
truth, made public their results. Pres. Fairchild published an
article in the _New York Observer_, Feb. 5, 1885, in which he
said:--"The theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon in the
traditional manuscript of Solomon Spaulding will probably have to
be relinquished.... Mr. Rice, myself, and others compared it [the
Spaulding manuscript] with the Book of Mormon and could detect no
resemblance between the two.... Some other explanation of the
Book of Mormon must be found, if any explanation is required."

The manuscript was deposited in the library of Oberlin College,
where it now reposes. Still, the theory of the "Manuscript
Found," as Spaulding's story has come to be known, is
occasionally pressed into service in the cause of anti-"Mormon"
zeal, by some whom we will charitably believe to be ignorant of
the facts set forth by Pres. Fairchild. A letter of more recent
date, written by that honorable gentleman in reply to an
enquiring correspondent, was published in the _Millennial Star_,
Liverpool, Nov. 3, 1898, and is as follows:

OBERLIN COLLEGE, OHIO,
October 17, 1895.

_J. R. Hindley, Esq._,

DEAR SIR:--We have in our College Library an original manuscript
of Solomon Spaulding--unquestionably genuine.

I found it in 1884 in the hands of Hon. L. L. Rice of Honolulu,
Hawaiian Islands. He was formerly State Printer at Columbus, O.,
and before that, publisher of a paper in Painesville, whose
preceding publisher had visited Mrs. Spaulding and obtained the
manuscript from her. It had lain among his old papers forty years
or more, and was brought out by my asking him to look up
anti-slavery documents among his papers.

The manuscript has upon it the signatures of several men of
Conneaut, O., who had heard Spaulding read it and knew it to be
his. No one can see it and question its genuineness. The
manuscript has been printed twice at least--once by the Mormons
of Salt Lake City, and once by the Josephite Mormons of Iowa. The
Utah Mormons obtained the copy of Mr. Rice at Honolulu, and the
Josephites got it of me after it came into my possession.

This manuscript is not the original of the Book of Mormon.

Yours very truly,
JAS. H. FAIRCHILD.

Printed copies of the "Manuscript Found" are obtainable, and any
enquirer may examine for himself. For further information see
_The Myth of the Manuscript Found_, by Elder George Reynolds,
Salt Lake City; Whitney's _History of Utah_, Vol. I, pp. 46-56;
Elder George Reynolds' preface to the story as issued by the
Deseret News Company, Salt Lake City, 1886; and the story itself.
See also three articles by Pres. Joseph F. Smith in "Improvement
Era," Vol. III, pp. 241, 377, 451.

=3. The Three Witnesses.=--Oliver Cowdery.--Born at Wells,
Rutland Co., Vermont, October, 1805; baptized May 15, 1829; died
at Richmond, Mo., March 3, 1850.

David Whitmer.--Born near Harrisburg, Pa., January 7, 1805;
baptized June, 1829; excommunicated from the Church, April 13,
1838; died at Richmond, Mo., January 25, 1888.

Martin Harris.--Born at East-town, Saratoga Co., New York, May
18, 1783; baptized 1830; removed to Utah, August, 1870, and died
at Clarkston, Cache Co., Utah, July 10, 1875.

=4. The Eight Witnesses.=--Christian Whitmer.--Born January 18,
1798; baptized April 11, 1830; died in full fellowship in the
Church, Clay County, Missouri, November 27, 1835. He was the
eldest son of Peter Whitmer.

Jacob Whitmer.--Second son of Peter Whitmer; born in
Pennsylvania, January 27, 1800; baptized April 11, 1830; died
April 21, 1856, having previously withdrawn from the Church.

Peter Whitmer, Jr.--Born September 27, 1809; fifth son of Peter
Whitmer; baptized June, 1829; died a faithful member of the
Church, at or near Liberty, Clay Co., Missouri, September 22,
1836.

John Whitmer.--Third son of Peter Whitmer; born August 27, 1802;
baptized June, 1829; excommunicated from the Church March 10,
1838; died at Far West, Missouri, July 11, 1878.

Hiram Page.--Born in Vermont, 1800; baptized April 11, 1830;
withdrew from the Church, 1838; died in Ray Co., Missouri, August
12, 1852.

Joseph Smith, Sen.--The Prophet Joseph's father; born at
Topsfield, Essex Co., Mass., July 12, 1771; baptized April 6,
1830; ordained Patriarch to the Church, December 18, 1833; died
in full fellowship in the Church at Nauvoo, Ill., Sept. 14, 1840.

Hyrum Smith.--Second son of Joseph Smith, Sen., born at
Tunbridge, Vt., February 9, 1800; baptized June, 1829; appointed
one of the First Presidency of the Church November 7, 1837;
Patriarch to the Church January 19, 1841; martyred with his
brother, the Prophet, at Carthage, Ill., June 27, 1844.

Samuel Harrison Smith.--Born Tunbridge, Vt., March 13, 1808;
fourth son of Joseph Smith, Sen., baptized May 15, 1829; died
July 30, 1844.

=5. Consistency of the Book of Mormon.=--"If the historical parts
of the Book of Mormon be compared with what little is known from
other sources, concerning the history of ancient America, there
will be found much evidence to substantiate its truth; but there
cannot be found one truth among all the gleanings of antiquity
that clashes with the historical truths of the Book of Mormon. If
the prophetical part of this wonderful book be compared with the
prophetical declarations of the Bible, there will be found much
evidence in the latter to establish the truth of the former. But
though there are many predictions in the Book of Mormon, relating
to the great events of the last days, which the Bible gives us no
information about, yet there is nothing in the predictions of the
Bible that contradicts in the least the predictions of the Book
of Mormon. If the doctrinal part of the Book of Mormon be
compared with the doctrines of the Bible, there will be found the
same perfect harmony which we find on the comparison of the
prophetical parts of the two books. Although there are many
points of the doctrine of Christ that are far more plain and
definite in the Book of Mormon than in the Bible, and many things
revealed in relation to doctrine that never could be fully
learned from the Bible, yet there are not any items of doctrine
in the two sacred books that contradict each other or clash in
the least. If the various books which enter into the collection
called the Book of Mormon be carefully compared with each other,
there will be found nothing contradictory in history, in
prophecy, or in doctrine.... If we compare the historical,
prophetical, and doctrinal parts of the Book of Mormon with the
great truths of science and nature, we find no contradictions--no
absurdities--nothing unreasonable. The most perfect harmony
therefore exists between the great truths revealed in the Book of
Mormon and all other known truths, whether religious, historical,
or scientific."--Apostle Orson Pratt in _Divine Authenticity of
the Book of Mormon_, p. 56.

LECTURE XV.

THE BOOK OF MORMON.--Continued.

=Article 8.=--... We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the
word of God.

AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

=1. The Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon= constitutes our most important consideration of the work. This subject is one of vital interest to every earnest investigator of the ways of God, to every sincere searcher after truth. Claiming to be, as far as the present dispensation is concerned, a new scripture, presenting prophecies and revelations not heretofore recognized in modern theology, announcing to the world the message of a departed people, written by way of commandment, and by the spirit of prophecy and revelation--this volume is entitled to the most thorough and impartial examination. Nay, more, not alone does the Book of Mormon merit such consideration, it claims, even demands the same; for surely no one professing the most cursory belief in the power and authority of God can receive with unconcern the announcement of a new revelation, having the seal of Divine authority upon it. The question of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon is therefore one in which the world is interested.

=2.= The Latter-day Saints base their belief in the authenticity and genuineness of the book on the following proofs:--

I. The general agreement of the Book of Mormon with the Bible.

II. The fulfillment of ancient prophecies accomplished by the
bringing forth of the Book of Mormon.

III. The strict agreement and consistency of the Book of Mormon
with itself.

IV. The evident truth of its contained prophecies.

To these may be added certain external, or extra-scriptural evidences, amongst which are:--

V. The strongly corroborative evidence furnished by modern
discoveries in the field of archeological and ethnological
science.