Восемь свидетелей Книги Мормона: История и свидетельства

Early members of the Latter Day Saint movement

The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who made statements stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith said was his source material for the Book of Mormon. An earlier group of witnesses who said they had seen the plates were called the Three Witnesses.

Toward the end of June 1829, at the Peter Whitmer Sr. home in Fayette, New York, Joseph Smith (with Oliver Cowdery as scribe) finished the translation of the Book of Mormon. Near the end of translation process, a prophecy was translated from the Second Book of Nephi that three, and "a few" others, might see the golden plates. Subsequently, on June 28, 1829, near the Whitmer farm, the Three Witnesses had their experience. Thereafter, the Smith and Whitmer families traveled to the Joseph Smith, Sr. home in Palmyra, New York. On July 2, 1829, near the Smith home, the Eight Witnesses said that they saw and handled the golden plates. Noting the familiar relationship among the witnesses, satirist Mark Twain wrote, "I could not feel more satisfied and at rest if the entire Whitmer family had testified."

In 1838, the living members of Whitmer family (Christian Whitmer and Peter Whitmer Jr. died in 1835 and 1836, respectively) became estranged from Smith during a leadership struggle in Far West, Missouri, and all were excommunicated along with other dissenters and fled Caldwell County after receiving an ultimatum from the Danites. Following the death of Smith, none of the Whitmers joined the group that was led by Brigham Young and would become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Yet despite the estrangement of the Whitmer family, there is little evidence that any of the Eight Witnesses denied his testimony to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon or the gold plates.