Eye Witnesses to the Restoration
Eye-Witnesses
“By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” (Matthew 18:16)
As in a court of law, if other people witnessed the divine visions and manifestations Joseph claimed to experience, his claims would be a lot more credible than if he were the only person to witness them.
Eyewitnesses to the gold plates and an angel
Martin Harris
Homer asked Martin Harris, "'Do you still believe that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet?" Martin Harris, standing in the Kirtland Temple on a bright, winter day, pointed to one of the arched Gothic windows where the sun was streaming through it and said, "Do I see the sun shining? Just as surely as the sun is shining on us . . . I saw the plates; I saw the angel."
On Martin’s deathbed, his neighbor, George Godfrey questioned Martin’s testimony, and Godfrey recorded Martin’s vigorous response: “The Book of Mormon is no fake. I know what I know. I have seen what I have seen and I heard what I have heard. I have seen the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon is written. An angel appeared to me and others and testified to the truthfulness of the the record, and had I been willing to have perjured myself and sworn falsely to the testimony I now bear I could have been a rich man.” (significant that even when hostile towards the church, he didn’t deny his testimony)
David Witmer
David Witmer printed a “proclamation,” in response to an anti-Mormon article published earlier that had claimed David denied his testimony:
“It is recorded in the American Cyclopedia that I have denied my testimony as one of the three witnesses to the divinity of the Book of Mormon. I will say once more to all mankind, that I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof.”
Lucy recorded what happened when Joseph returned to the house after the Three Witnesses had been shown the gold plates:
“When they [Joseph and the Three Witnesses] returned to the house it was between three and four o’clock P.M. Mrs. Whitmer, Mr. Smith and myself, were sitting in a bedroom at the time. On coming in, Joseph threw himself down beside me, and exclaimed, ‘Father, mother, you do not know how happy I am: the Lord has now caused the plates to be shown to three more besides myself. … They will have to bear witness to the truth of what I have said … I feel as if I was relieved of a burden which was almost too heavy for me to bear’” (Lucy Mack Smith,History of Joseph Smith, ed. Preston Nibley [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1958], p. 152).
The translation process of the Book of Mormon
One of the most amazing facts about the Book of Mormon is that it took Joseph only about sixty-five working days to translate a book that, in the current edition, is 531 pages long.
This impressive feat becomes more impressive considering the following details provided by Emma Smith, Joseph’s wife:
Joseph’s wife Emma insisted that, at the time of translation, Joseph “could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictat[e] a book like the Book of Mormon.”
When asked if Joseph had dictated from the Bible or from a manuscript he had prepared earlier, Emma flatly denied those possibilities: “He had neither manuscript nor book to read from.”
Emma told her son Joseph Smith III, “The Book of Mormon is of divine authenticity—I have not the slightest doubt of it. I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his scribe, your father would dictate to me for hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him.”
Oliver Cowdery
“These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day, I continued uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated … the Book of Mormon.”
Kirtland temple dedication
George Smith recorded, “A noise was heard like the sound of a rushing, mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; others saw glorious visions.”
Outside the temple, Church members and nonmembers sensed something sacred was happening. Even little children. Prescindia Hunington recalled: “On one occasion I saw angels clothed in white walking upon the temple. It was during one of our monthly fast meetings, when the saints were in the temple worshiping. A little girl came to my door and in wonder called me out, exclaiming, 'The meeting is on the top of the meeting house!' I went to the door, and there I saw on the temple angels clothed in white covering the roof from end to end. They seemed to be walking to and fro; they appeared and disappeared. The third time they appeared and disappeared before I realized that they were not mortal men. Each time in a moment they vanished, and their reappearance was the same. This was in broad daylight, in the afternoon. A number of the children in Kirtland saw the same.”
Spiritual power Joseph received from the Lord
Power in Teaching
Emmeline Wells wrote, “The power of God rested upon him to such a degree that on many occasions he seemed transfigured. His expression was mild and almost childlike in repose; and when addressing the people, who loved him it seemed to adoration, the glory of his countenance was beyond description. At other times the great power of his manner...seemed to shake the place on which we stood and penetrate the inmost soul of his hearers, and I am sure that then they would have laid down their lives to defend him.”
Mary Winters: “I stood close to the Prophet while he was preaching to the Indians in the Grove by the Temple. The Holy Spirit lighted up his countenance till it glowed like a halo around him, and his words penetrated the hearts of all who heard him and the Indians looked as solemn as Eternity”
Power to Heal
Soon after the saints moved to Nauvoo, dozens lay on the verge of death on the banks of the Mississippi river when there was a malaria outbreak.
Below is an account from Wilford Woodruff about what Joseph did one day while hundreds of saints lie sick and dying. This day is now referred to in church history as “The Day of God’s Power.”
Wilford Woodruff (paraphrase)
On the morning of the 22nd of July, 1839, he arose reflecting upon the situation of the Saints of God in their persecutions and afflictions, and he called upon the Lord in prayer, and the power of God rested upon him mightily, and as Jesus healed the sick around Him in His day, so Joseph, the Prophet of God, healed all around on this occasion. He healed all in his house and dooryard, then, in company with Sidney Rigdon and several of the Twelve, he went through among the sick lying on the bank of the river, and he commanded them in a loud voice, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come up and be made whole, and they were all healed.”
Joseph stayed loyal to the cause even despite severe and consistent persecution
If Joseph was a fraud, it’s not likely he would endure so much. For example, the early Christians of the apostolic age made huge sacrifices and endured much persecution. Why? Because they knew Christ was divine, and resurrected. Joseph also knew this work was divine.
Transfiguration of Brigham Young
This is a crucial event, because there are many splinter groups of the church the Lord restored through Joseph. If Mormonism is true, which group of those stemming from Joseph is the right one? The following event I will describe is very well attested, and convincingly establishes that after Joseph’s death, God chose Brigham Young to be the next leader of the church.
In the controversy surrounding who was to succeed Joseph after his death, over 100 people witnessed and wrote down that while preaching one day, Brigham Young's countenance and voice was changed to look and sound like Joseph Smith, causing all to feel that God was signifying that Brigham was to be Joseph's successor. Here are 2 of over 100 independent eye-witness accounts of this event: (see Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations by John Welch)
“On this day it was plainly manifest that the mantle of Joseph had rested upon President Young. The voice of the same spirit by which he, Joseph, spake was this day sounded in our ears, so much so that I once, unthoughtedly, raised my head to see if it was not actually Joseph addressing the assembly.” (James A. Little)
“There were so many opinions as who would be the leader of the Saints at that time. Sidney Rigdon was sure he was the man. He stood up and declared that he was the one, but he was called down and Brigham Young stood up and spoke with the power and voice of Joseph. He surely had the Prophet Joseph's mantle on. There seemed to be no doubt of Brigham Young being the one to lead the saints at that time.”- Eunice Billings
No one eyewitness account is very compelling by itself, but the combination of accounts make for a compelling cumulative case
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