The Witnesses

We haven't "officially" begun reading The Book of Mormon yet in the traditional sense of hitting the ground running with First Nephi.  We read the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses this evening... and by evening, I mean we got to bed, set our alarms, and then panic ensued because we didn't get any reading done and it was only day two!  My husband pulled up the audio for both testimonies on his phone and I read along on mine.

We reviewed both testimonies a few times to review the differences between the two, the most prominent being that the testimony of the eight bore witness to the physical aspects of the gold plates, while the testimony of the three bore witness to spiritual aspects of such as well.

The eight testified of the following:

• Joseph Smith was in possession of and showed them the plates / they saw the plates
• The plates had "the appearance of gold" 
• They physically touched all the pages or "leaves" that Joseph had translated / they "hefted" the plates
• They saw the engravings on the pages and acknowledged that they had "the appearance of ancient work, and [were] of curious workmanship"
• They "lie not" 
• Their testimony was given in a serious manner or "soberness" to all people 

The three testified of the following:

• "Through the grace of God" and Christ, they saw the plates
• The plates contain the "record of the people of Nephi," the Lamanites, and the people of Jared
• The plates were "translated by the gift and power of God" because they heard His voice "declare it unto" them, therefore they "know of a surety that the work is true"
• They saw the engravings on the pages by "the power of God, and not of man" / it was "an angel of God" who "came down from heaven" and showed them the plates
• Their testimony was given in a serious manner or "soberness" to all people 
• "The voice of the Lord commanded" them that they "should bear testimony of these things"
• "If we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgement-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens"***

I put the *** at the end there because this particular phrase brought up a question of what it meant.  My husband dozed off soon after vocalizing the curiosity, but I've stayed up and poked around for some information.  Keith H. Meservy, professor emeritus of ancient scripture at BYU, provided insights HERE that helped me with this.  It is now my understanding that the three witnesses were testifying that if they are faithful in Christ, they will share the truth that they know, which is what will "rid [their] garments of the blood of all men."  This applies to us, too.  We all have the responsibility of sharing the truth with others... our children, our families, our friends, our neighbors... if anyone is not taught the truth, the burden of their lack of knowledge ("the blood of men" or their spiritual death) is essentially on us.

That's heavy stuff there, eh?

I also would like to share some material below that I found valuable to our study from the first lesson in this new year's "Come Follow Me" curriculum for Sunday School.  The additional resources at the end of the lesson included the following two insights that I found quite powerful in their illustration of the humanity of all men (even those who have seen angels and heard God's voice) as well as the validity of one's testimony despite the paths one may take off the "straight and narrow."

The Importance of the Three Witnesses

The Testimony of John Whitmer