{"id":67110,"date":"2018-11-07T10:37:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T17:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=67110"},"modified":"2018-11-07T10:37:53","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T17:37:53","slug":"confirmed-in-its-very-origin-by-so-many-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/confirmed-in-its-very-origin-by-so-many-witnesses.html","title":{"rendered":"“Confirmed, in its very origin, by so many witnesses”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Orson<\/a>
Elder Orson Pratt of the Council of the Twelve (ca. 1850)
Wikimedia Commons public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

While hosting me for my little fireside up in American Fork last Saturday, Ben Pack kindly gave me (among other things) a copy of David Hammer, comp., The Pamphlets of Orson Pratt: The Complete Collection<\/em> (Salt Lake City: Eborn Publishing, 2017)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the essays contained in the volume is \u201cEvidences of the Book of Mormon and Bible Compared,\u201d which was published as Number 4 in the series Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon<\/em>. \u00a0This particular essay appeared at Liverpool, England, on 15 December 1850. \u00a0Here is a passage from it that occurs on page 344 of the book:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here, then, are twelve witnesses of the existence of the plates. \u00a0Neither of these witnesses has ever denied his testimony to this day. \u00a0Some of these witnesses have died \u2014 some have been martyred for their testimony; and one is still living. \u00a0Is there a person on the earth, that can prove that these witnesses did not see the plates? \u00a0No, there is not. \u00a0The existence of the plates, filled with engravings, is proved by twelve eye witnesses; while the correctness of their translation is proved by four eye witnesses, not only of the plates, but of the angel. \u00a0Therefore, the evidences which this generation have of the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, and of the existence of the plates, are far greater than the evidences which they have for the truth of any of the books of the Bible. \u00a0Hence, if they would be condemned for rejecting the Bible, how much more will they be condemned for rejecting the Book of Mormon which was confirmed, in its very origin, by so many witnesses?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was struck by Elder Pratt\u2019s comment. \u00a0(He was including Joseph Smith among the \u201cFour\u201d and the \u201cTwelve.\u201d) \u00a0He knew all of the witnesses personally and well, although most of them were dead by 1850 and he had pretty much lost touch with the rest of them by then.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, though, several of them \u2014 not just one \u2014 still lived in 1850. \u00a0Oliver Cowdery had died earlier that year, at the tragically young age of 43. \u00a0But David Whitmer and Martin Harris were still very much alive, as were Jacob Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Hiram Page.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I find the witnesses to the Book of Mormon \u2014 including the unofficial ones not mentioned by Elder Pratt \u2014 extraordinarily persuasive. \u00a0That\u2019s why we\u2019ve undertaken the creation of a major dramatic documentary about them (\u201cCreating a Witness to the Witnesses\u201d<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, speaking of those witnesses, here\u2019s a new book:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMartin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 While hosting me for my little fireside up in American Fork last Saturday, Ben Pack kindly gave me (among other things) a copy of David Hammer, comp., The Pamphlets of Orson Pratt: The Complete Collection (Salt Lake City: Eborn Publishing, 2017) \u00a0 One of the essays contained in the volume is \u201cEvidences of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"Confirmed, in its very origin, by so many witnesses"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    While hosting me for my little fireside up in American Fork last Saturday, Ben Pack kindly gave me (among other things) a copy of David\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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