How Credible Were the Book of Mormon's 8 Witnesses? | LDS Discussions 53 | Ep. 1895

What Did the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon Actually See?

The credibility of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon is one of the most underexamined questions in Mormon historical studies. While the Three Witnesses get most of the attention, the eight men who claimed to physically handle the golden plates represent a different and, in some ways, more consequential category of testimony. If their witness was genuine, it is among the most remarkable physical corroborations of any religious text in history. If it was not, the questions it raises about Joseph Smith's methods are just as significant.

The short answer, based on the documented historical record, is that the Eight Witnesses present serious credibility problems that believing members are rarely invited to examine closely.

Background: Who Were the Eight Witnesses?

The Eight Witnesses statement, printed in the 1830 first edition of the Book of Mormon, claims that Joseph Smith showed them the golden plates, that they "hefted" them, and that they handled them with their own hands. The language was deliberate. As Mormon Stories Podcast's LDS Discussions series (Episode 53) makes clear, that phrasing was almost certainly designed to preempt any later claim that the experience was purely spiritual or visionary, as the Three Witnesses' experience arguably was.

Six of the eight came from the Whitmer family. The remaining two were Hiram Page and Joseph Smith's father and brother. This is not a trivial detail.