Hey, I’m Hannah and this is Firm Foundations.
Thanks for watching.
In this series we are learning how to discern
the truth about LDS history and doctrine.
In this episode, we’re going to start exploring
the stories of the three witnesses of the
Book of Mormon.
So, who and what are the three witnesses?
“The Three Witnesses” is a common title
given to Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and
David Whitmer.
They are known as the three witnesses because
their statement and testimony of the validity
of the Book of Mormon is included as a preface
to the book in almost every print since it’s
original publication.
Interestingly, these three men, who were all
integral to the founding of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, all left
the church at one point or another because
of various disagreements or disciplinary actions.
So, what are their stories?
Well, first we’ll talk about Oliver Cowdery.
Oliver Cowdery was a school teacher when he
first met Joseph Smith in 1829.
He assisted Joseph Smith with the translation
of the Gold plates into the Book of Mormon
and is one of the few eyewitnesses of the
plates and Joseph Smith’s translation process.
In fact, Cowdery tried his hand at translation
himself but was unsuccessful.
With Oliver Cowdery as his scribe, Joseph
Smith completed what is now the book of Mormon
in about 3 months.
In the early stages of church development,
a time known by members as “The Restoration,”
Oliver Cowdery was by Joseph Smith’s side
almost every step of the way.
In May of 1829, the two men received the Aaronic
or preparatory Priesthood together.
According to Oliver the two men prayed “until
a glorious light encircled us, and as we arose
on account of the light, three persons stood
before us dressed in white, their faces beaming
with glory.”
Those three persons were Apostles Peter, James,
and John, who descended to restore the Priesthood
to the earth.
Later that same year, Oliver, along with Joseph
Smith and David Whitmer, experienced a vision
in which the Angel Moroni showed them the
gold plates and testified of their origin
and truth.
Oliver went on to become the Assistant President,
or Second Elder, of the Church throughout
its foundational years.
Oliver married David Whitmer’s sister, Elizabeth,
and Elizabeth had five children with Oliver,
only one of whom, a daughter, survived to
adulthood.
About a decade later, in 1838, cracks in Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery’s relationship
began to form.
Oliver had three main issues with Joseph’s
leadership.
First, Oliver and Joseph disagreed on how
to define a separation of Church and state.
Oliver, rightly so, was concerned about the
constitutionality of Joseph Smith’s implementation
of the Law of Consecration.
Second, Oliver lost his life savings when
he invested it in The Kirtland Safety Society
Bank.
This must have created a great deal of stress
for Oliver as he had a family to provide for.
This likely caused him to feel resentment
towards Joseph Smith, who, while a prophet,
was not an economist, and was not skilled
enough to oversee the creation of a bank or
a new form of currency.
Third, Oliver was one of the first people
who knew of Joseph Smith’s revelation to
reinstitute - for a temporary time - polygamy.
Oliver was understandably repulsed by the
idea, and called Joseph Smith’s relationship
to his first plural wife, Fanny Alger, “a
dirty, nasty, and filthy affair.”
After a great deal of tension, a disciplinary
counsel was organized against Oliver by other
church leaders.
The counsel planned to leavy 9 charges against
Oliver, but he opted out of the confrontation,
instead writing a letter of resignation from
the church who, upon receipt of the letter,
excommunicated him.
A few months after his excommunication, an
extremist group of LDS members, know as the
Danites, wrote a letter to Oliver and other
dissenting members, telling them to leave
the county in three days or be forced out
by any means necessary.
Oliver fled the county, and kept his distance
from the church for many years.
So, while some church members idolize Oliver
and others vilify him, he was a complex, intelligent,
imperfect man, who, like everyone else, was
trying to figure out life and how to be happy
and true to what he believed to be right.
He faced a great deal of hardship, including
the loss of four children, and a great deal
of cognitive dissonance as he struggled to
confront a reality in which his prophet, the
man he baptized and who baptized him, was
a polygamist and contributed to his financial
ruin.
Oliver joined the Methodist church for a time,
became a lawyer, and was heavily involved
in politics.
He was a successful orator, and was asked
to run for democratic office, but when people
in the area discovered he was one of the three
witnesses to the Book of Mormon, he lost popularity
and subsequently lost the election.
Despite the hardship he was still enduring
due to his association with the LDS church,
there have been no records discovered in which
Oliver ever spoke or wrote a retraction of
his testimony as a witness to the truth of
the Book of Mormon.
In 1848 Oliver returned to the church, traveling
to Winter Quarters Nebraska, to meet with
the new prophet, Brigham Young.
When the Saints began emigrating west to present
day Utah, Oliver expressed a desire to go,
but was unable to due to financial duress
and illness.
In 1849, Oliver reiterated his testimony of
The Book of Mormon to visiting church leader
Jacob Gates.
Oliver stated “Jacob, I want you to remember
what I say to you.
I am a dying man, and what would it profit
me to tell you a lie?
I know, that this Book of Mormon was translated
by the gift and power of God.
My eyes saw, my ears heard, and my understanding
was touched, and I know that whereof I testified
is true.
It was no dream, no vain imagination of the
mind—it was real.”
Oliver died the next year, in David Whitmer’s
home in Richmond, Missouri.
Thanks for joining us!
Firm Foundations is created by me, Hannah.
We are produced and funded by the More Good
Foundation, with special thanks in this episode
to Rachel Grant.
Be sure to subscribe, and we’ll catch you
next time, when we discuss the next witness,
Martin Harris.
