DIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES.  
THE TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES.
 
In the mouth of two or three Witnesses shall every word be established.—Paul.
 
Of the external evidences to the truth of the Book of Mormon, the testimony of the Three Witnesses is of first importance. Speaking in the way of prophecy the first Nephi says:
 
At that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken,[1] the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that Three Witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered;[2] and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein. And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said, that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God![3]
 
Moroni, who had in his care the Book of Mormon, who was God's messenger to Joseph Smith, and gave into his possession the gold plates from which the book was translated, says, in his abridgment of the book of Ether, addressing the one who should be commissioned to translate the Nephite Record:
 
And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work; and unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true. And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.[4]
 
From these passages in the Book of Mormon itself, it appears that there are to be two classes of special Witnesses to its truth, besides the one who shall bring forth the book:
 
I. Three Witnesses who shall behold the plates of the record "by the power of God."
 
II. A "Few" others, according to the will of God, shall behold them, that they may bear testimony to the word of God unto the children of men.
 
There seems to be indicated this distinction between the first and second class of these Witnesses—between the "Three" and the other "Few:" the first are to see the plates under some circumstance attended by a demonstration of the power of God; while no promise of such a demonstration is given to the second class.
 
As these special Witnesses, according to the prophecy, were to be chosen from among those who would assist in bringing forth the work, meaning the Book of Mormon, it is not surprising that Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris desired to be the Three Special Witnesses, as they were most prominent in assisting to bring forth the work. They besought the Prophet Joseph Smith, therefore, to inquire of the Lord if they might attain unto this honor, and for an answer the following revelation was received for them:
 
Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breast plate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared[5] upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors[6] which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea. And it is by your faith that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that faith which was had by the prophets of old.
 
And after that you have obtained faith, and have seen them with your eyes, you shall testify of them, by the power of God; and this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., may not be destroyed, that I may bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of men in this work. And ye shall testify that you have seen them, even as my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., has seen them; for it is by my power that he has seen them, and it is because he had faith. And he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true.
 
Wherefore, you have received the same power, and the same faith, and the same gift like unto him; and if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; for my grace is sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day. And I, Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it unto you, that I might bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of men.[7]
 
As soon as the translation of the book was completed the Prophet Joseph dispatched a messenger from the home of the Whitmers, at Fayette, near Waterloo, in Seneca country, to his parents, still living at Manchester, with the pleasing intelligence that the work of translation was completed, and asked them to come to him. This information they conveyed to Martin Harris, who determined to accompany the Prophet's parents to the home of the Whitmers. Accordingly the little party started the next morning, and before sunset met with the Prophet and Oliver at the residence of Peter Whitmer, the father of David.[8] According to the statement of Lucy Smith, mother of the Prophet, it was the day following the arrival of the above party from Manchester that the Three Witnesses obtained their view of the plates, but neither in her work nor in any of our annals is the date of the occurrence given.[9] Lucy Smith, however, relates the following circumstance connected with Martin Harris becoming one of the Three Witnesses:
 
The next morning (i. e. following the arrival of the party from Manchester township), after attending to the usual services, namely, reading, singing, and praying, Joseph arose from his knees, and approaching Martin Harris with a solemnity that thrills through my veins to this day, when it occurs to my recollection, said: "Martin Harris, you have got to humble yourself before your God this day, that you may obtain a forgiveness of your sins. If you do, it is the will of God that you should look upon the plates, in company with Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer."[10]
 
When the pride, egotism, and stubbornness of Martin Harris is taken into account, this preliminary admonition of the Prophet to him is eminently fitting and necessary and in harmony with all the circumstances of Martin's character and the subsequent facts to be related.
 
Lucy Smith, continuing her narrative, says:
 
In a few minutes after this, Joseph, Martin, Oliver, and David, repaired to a grove, a short distance from the house, where they commenced calling upon the Lord, and continued in earnest supplication, until he permitted an angel to come down from his presence, and declare to them, that all which Joseph had testified of concerning the plates was true. When they returned to the house, it was between three and four o'clock p. m. Mrs. Whitmer, Mr. Smith and myself, were sitting in a bedroom at the time. On coming in Joseph threw himself down beside me, and exclaimed: "Father, mother, you do not know how happy I am; the Lord has now caused the plates to be shown to three more besides myself. They have seen an angel, who has testified to them, and they will have to bear witness to the truth of what I have said, for now they know for themselves that I do not go about to deceive the people, and I feel as if I was relieved of a burden which was almost too heavy for me to bear, and it rejoices my soul, that I am no longer to be entirely alone in the work. Upon this, Martin Harris came in: he seemed almost overcome with joy, and testified boldly to what he had both seen and heard. And so did David and Oliver, adding, that no tongue could express the joy of their hearts, and the greatness of the things which they had both seen and heard.[11]
 
From this statement it will be seen that the Prophet and the Three Witnesses were from some time in the morning until three or four o'clock in the afternoon in obtaining the testimonies.
 
The Prophet's own account of the circumstances attendant upon the revelation to the Three Witnesses, is both interesting and important. After making reference to the revelation already quoted, which promised the three men named, Cowdery, Whitmer and Harris, that they should view the plates of the Book of Mormon, and the other sacred things named the Prophet in his history says:
 
Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfilment of the promises given in the revelation—that they should have a view of the plates. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt down we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of these promises. According to previous arrangements, I commenced by vocal prayer to our heavenly Father, and was followed by each of............