I have a chicken.

What did the �Three Witnesses �see and hear?� �What did the �Eight Witnesses �see and touch?

Why do you think the Lord might have provided these two different kinds of experiences for these witnesses of the Book of Mormon? �

If critics of the Church accused the Three Witnesses of imagining their vision, that would not explain the ordinary experience the Eight Witnesses had with the plates. On the other hand, if critics accused Joseph Smith of simply forging the golden plates to deceive the Eight Witnesses, that would not explain the divine manifestations the Three Witnesses experienced.

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Witness: Oliver Cowdery

• “I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God. … That book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it; Mr. Spaulding did not write it; I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet” (“The Three Witnesses,” The Historical Record, ed. Andrew Jenson, vol. 6, nos. 3–5 [May 1887], 201; see also George Reynolds, “History of the Book of Mormon,” The Contributor, vol. 5, no. 12 [Sept. 1884], 446).

Witness: David Whitmer

• “On Sunday evening, at 5:30 (Jan. 22, 1888), Mr. Whitmer called his family and some friends to his bedside. … He then addressed himself to all around his bedside in these words: ‘Now you must all be faithful in Christ. I want to say to you all, the Bible and the record of the Nephites [Book of Mormon] is true, so you can say that you have heard me bear my testimony on my death-bed. All be faithful in Christ, and your reward will be according to your works. God bless you all. My trust is in Christ forever, worlds without end. Amen.’ [Richmond Democrat, Feb. 2, 1888, quoted in Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4 vols. (1901), 1:270]” (in Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2001], 33).

Witness: Martin Harris

• “Yes, I did see the plates on which the Book of Mormon was written; I did see the angel; I did hear the voice of God; and I do know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, holding the keys of the Holy Priesthood. [“The Last Testimony of Martin Harris,” recorded by William H. Homer in a statement sworn before J. W. Robinson, Apr. 9, 1927, quoted in Francis W. Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in America, 2 vols. (1960), 1:254.]” (In Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 33.)

I know the Book of Mormon is true.�I believe the Book of Mormon is true.�I assume the Book of Mormon is true.�I don’t know if the Book of Mormon is true.�

• Why is it important to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon?
• Who wrote the title page?
• What does Moroni say that the Book of Mormon is for?

“The keystone of our religion.”

President Nelson’s Invitation from last October (7:20)

• Now I would like to turn to another topic: plans for the coming year. In the springtime of the year 2020, it will be exactly 200 years since Joseph Smith experienced the theophany that we know as the First Vision. God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph, a 14-year-old youth. That event marked the onset of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness, precisely as foretold in the Holy Bible.²
• Then came a succession of visits from heavenly messengers, including Moroni, John the Baptist, and the early Apostles Peter, James, and John. Others followed, including Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Each brought divine authority to bless God’s children on the earth once again.
• Miraculously, we have also received the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, a companion scripture to the Holy Bible. The revelations published in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price have also greatly enriched our understanding of God’s commandments and eternal truth.
• The keys and offices of the priesthood have been restored, including the offices of Apostle, Seventy, patriarch, high priest, elder, bishop, priest, teacher, and deacon. And women who love the Lord serve valiantly in the Relief Society, Primary, Young Women, Sunday School, and other Church callings—all vital parts of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness.
• Thus, the year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.
• You may wish to begin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price. Our course of study for next year in Come, Follow Me is the Book of Mormon. You may wish to ponder important questions such as, “How would my life be different if my knowledge gained from the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away?” or “How have the events that followed the First Vision made a difference for me and my loved ones?” Also, with the Book of Mormon videos now becoming available, you may wish to incorporate them in your individual and family study.
• Select your own questions. Design your own plan. Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration. As you do, general conference next April will be not only memorable; it will be unforgettable.

• If the Book of Mormon is true, what other aspects of the restored gospel must also be true?

President Joseph F. Smith:

• “We may see a great many things with our natural sight, but that may be deceived. We may hear with our ears, but they may be deceived. Our natural senses are susceptible to deception. … But let me tell you when the Almighty reveals Himself unto man, He does it by the power of the Holy Ghost, and not through the natural eye or the natural ear. He speaks to man as if He were speaking to him independent of his body; He speaks to the spirit. Therefore, if God Almighty speaks to you and bears record of His truth by the power of the Holy Ghost, … you will know as God knows. It will not be something that you believe only; something that has been communicated to you through your natural senses, in which you may be mistaken or deceived; but it will be that which God has spoken to the heart, to the living soul, to the eternal being of man, which, like God, is indestructible and eternal” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 6).

President Gordon B. Hinckley:

• “The evidence for its truth, for its validity in a world that is prone to demand evidence, lies not in archaeology or anthropology, though these may be helpful to some. It lies not in word research or historical analysis, though these may be confirmatory. The evidence for its truth and validity lies within the covers of the book itself. The test of its truth lies in reading it. It is a book of God. Reasonable people may sincerely question its origin; but those who have read it prayerfully have come to know by a power beyond their natural senses that it is true, that it contains the word of God, that it outlines saving truths of the everlasting gospel, that it ‘came forth by the gift and power of God … to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ’ (Book of Mormon title page)” (“Four Cornerstones of Faith,” Ensign, Feb. 2004, 6).

President Benson said, “We each need to get our own testimony of the Book of Mormon through the Holy Ghost. Then our testimony, coupled with the Book of Mormon, should be shared with others so that they, too, can know through the Holy Ghost of its truthfulness” (Ensign, May 1987, 84)�

• Respond to one of these in your journal:
• 1. What experience have you had that has strengthened your testimony of the Book of Mormon?
• 2. What can you do to gain or strengthen your testimony of the Book of Mormon?