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Translation of the Book of Mormon; the Three Witnesses
(D&C sections 3, 5, 10, 17)
by Mike Parker
(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.)
Additional Reading
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Learn more about the Three Witnesses and their testimony at WitnessesOfTheBookOfMormon.org, a website created by the Interpreter Foundation.
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A complete list of all the witnesses who saw or handled the gold plates or saw or participated in the translation process is available in Royal Skousen, “The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon,” The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon, Part Seven: The Transmission of the Text, Vol. 3 of The Critical Text of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2021).
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Matthew McBride, “The Contributions of Martin Harris: D&C 3, 5, 10, 17, 19,” Church History: Revelations in Context.
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Elden J. Watson, “Approximate Book of Mormon Translation Timeline.”
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Robert F. Smith, Gordon C. Thomasson, and John W. Welch, “What Did Charles Anthon Really Say?”, in Reexploring the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book / Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 73–75.
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“Book of Mormon Translation,” Gospel Topics Essays. This article published by the Church explores how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon and what physical instruments he used in the translation process.
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Richard E. Turley Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee, “Joseph the Seer,” Ensign (October 2015): 45–55. Turley (who was Assistant Church Historian and Recorder) and Church historians Jensen and Ashurst-McGee examine what the historical record reveals about how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.
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Richard Lloyd Anderson, “‘By the Gift and Power of God’,” Ensign (September 1977): 79–91.
- From the Church History Department: Mason Allred and Mark Ashurst-McGee discuss the various historical accounts of the Book of Mormon translation process, including accounts of Joseph Smith using a seer stone to translate.
[The below is additional content not included in Mike Parker’s original lesson]
The Interpreter Foundation is offering free viewing of their “Undaunted” film about the 3 witnesses for a limited time.
Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.
Elder James E. Faust, from a general conference address:
As a young Aaronic Priesthood boy, I received a firsthand confirmation of the remarkable testimony of the Three Witnesses concerning the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. My stake president was President Henry D. Moyle, and his father was James H. Moyle. In the summertime Brother James H. Moyle would visit his family, and he would worship with us in our little ward in the southeast of the Salt Lake Valley.
One Sunday, Brother James H. Moyle shared with us a singular experience. As a young man he went to the University of Michigan to study law. As he was finishing his studies, his father told him that David Whitmer, one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, was still alive. The father suggested to his son that he stop on his way back to Salt Lake City to visit with David Whitmer face-to-face. Brother Moyle’s purpose was to ask him about his testimony concerning the golden plates and the Book of Mormon.
During that visit, Brother Moyle said to David Whitmer: “Sir, you are an old man, and I’m a young man. I have been studying about witnesses and testimonies. Please tell me the truth concerning your testimony as one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon.” David Whitmer then told this young man: “Yes, I held the golden plates in my hands, and they were shown to us by an angel. My testimony concerning the Book of Mormon is true.” David Whitmer was out of the Church, but he never denied his testimony of the angel’s visitation, of handling the golden plates, or of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Hearing with my own ears this remarkable experience directly from Brother Moyle’s lips had a powerful, confirming effect upon my growing testimony. Having heard it, I felt it was binding upon me.