Mormonism and Wikipedia/Three Witnesses/The Three Witnesses

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An analysis of the Wikipedia article "Three Witnesses"

Testimony of the Three Witnesses

A FairMormon Analysis of Wikipedia: Mormonism and Wikipedia/Three Witnesses A work by a collaboration of authors (Link to Wikipedia article here)

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 Updated 9/28/2011

Reviews of previous revisions of this section

December 2009

Summary: A review of this section as it appeared in Wikipedia in December 2009.

From the Wikipedia article:
Without doubt the Three Witnesses were closely associated with Joseph Smith, and Martin Harris also made a significant financial contribution to the movement.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Richard Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 80-82.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
In addition, some modern interpreters of Mormonism have argued (as did some contemporaries) that the Witnesses had a similar magical worldview. One of these, Grant Palmer, a former director of LDS Institutes of Religion who was disfellowshipped by the LDS Church in 2004 after writing An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, argued that moderns "tend to read into [the Witnesses'] testimonies a rationalist perspective rather than a nineteenth-century magical mindset....They shared a common world view, and this is what drew them together in 1829."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Grant H. Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 175-76.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Oliver Cowdery was a school teacher and an early convert to Mormonism who served as scribe while Joseph Smith dictated what he said was a translation of the Book of Mormon. Like Smith, who was a distant relative, Cowdery was also a treasure hunter who had used a divining rod in his youth. Cowdery asked questions of the rod; if it moved, the answer was yes, if not, no.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Palmer, 179: "Oliver Cowdery came from a similar background. He was a treasure hunter and 'rodsman' before he met Joseph Smith in 1829. William Cowdery, his father, was associated with a treasure-seeking group in Vermont, and it is from them, one assumes that Oliver learned the art of working with a divining rod. Joseph told Oliver that he knew the 'rod of nature' Oliver used 'has told you many things.'" See Vogel EMD, 1: 599-621.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Cowdery also told Smith that he had seen the Golden Plates in a vision before the two ever met.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Palmer, 179; Dean C. Jessee, ed., The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1989), I: 10.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Before Cowdery served as one of the Three Witnesses, he had already experienced two other important visions. Cowdery said that he and Smith had received the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist in May 1829 after which they had baptized each other in the Susquehanna River.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Messenger and Advocate (October 1834), 14-16; Bushman, 74-75.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Cowdery said that he and Smith had later gone into the forest and prayed "until a glorious light encircled us, and as we arose on account of the light, three persons stood before us dressed in white, their faces beaming with glory." One of the three announced that he was the Apostle Peter and named the others as the Apostles James and John.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Charles M. Nielsen to Heber Grant, February 10, 1898, in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 2: 476.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
By 1838, Cowdery and Smith had engaged in a number of disagreements that included doctrinal differences about the role of faith and works,

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Cowdery and Smith publicly argued about the wording of what is now Doctrine & Covenants Section 20:37. The dispute arose partially in part because as Second Elder in the Church of Christ, Cowdery had received parts of the revelation and was part author of the D&C 20. (see Articles of the Church of Christ). Cowdery's version of the revelation was worded differently than the version that was prepared for publication in 1835. Smith's version reads: "All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church." Cowdery's version reads: "Now therefore whosoever repenteth & humbleth himself before me & desireth to be baptized in my name shall ye baptize them...if it so be that he repenteth & is baptized in my name then shall ye receive him & shall minister unto him of my flesh & blood but if he repenteth not he shall not be numbered among my people that he may not destroy my people." The discussion of how works and faith are intertwined in the repentance process proved to be a dividing factor between Smith and Cowdery during the printing of the Book of Commandments and later the Doctrine and Covenants. Bushman, 323, 347-48.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
the Kirtland Safety Society,

Wikipedia footnotes:

• See excommunication charges against Cowdery in History of the Church, 3: 16

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
and what Cowdery called Smith's "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" with Fanny Alger.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Brodie, 182. The Cowdery quotation is from a letter to his brother. "B.H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God, 2: 308-9; Encyclopedia of Mormonism "Book of Mormon Witnesses"; Oliver Cowdery and History of the Church, 3: 14-17

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Smith's growing reliance on Sidney Rigdon as his first counselor,

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Although Rigdon was Smith's counselor in the First Presidency, Cowdery was still an "associate president" or "assistant president" of the Church and had more authority than Rigdon. However, David Whitmer was President of the Church in Zion, and Smith led the First Presidency and was president of the Church outside of Zion. It is apparent that Cowdery had a difficult time with the rising influence of Rigdon, and authority of Whitmer. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, "Cowdery, Oliver"; D. Michael Quinn, BYU Studies, 16: 193

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
differences over the management of finances during the gathering of the Latter-day Saints in Jackson County and Kirtland

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Encyclopedia of Mormonism, "Cowdery, Oliver"

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
ultimately led to Cowdery's excommunication in April.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• History of the Church3: 16: "Wednesday, April 11, [1838]--Elder Seymour Brunson preferred the following charges against Oliver Cowdery, to the High Council at Far West: To the Bishop and Council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I prefer the following charges against President Oliver Cowdery. "First--For persecuting the brethren by urging on vexatious law suits against them, and thus distressing the innocent. Second--For seeking to destroy the character of President Joseph Smith, Jun., by falsely insinuating that he was guilty of adultery. "Third--For treating the Church with contempt by not attending meetings. "Fourth--For virtually denying the faith by declaring that he would not be governed by any ecclesiastical authority or revelations whatever, in his temporal affairs. "Fifth--For selling his lands in Jackson county, contrary to the revelations. "Sixth--For writing and sending an insulting letter to President Thomas B. Marsh, while the latter was on the High Council, attending to the duties of his office as President of the Council, and by insulting the High Council with the contents of said letter. "Seventh--For leaving his calling to which God had appointed him by revelation, for the sake of filthy lucre, and turning to the practice of law. "Eighth--For disgracing the Church by being connected in the bogus business, as common report says. "Ninth--For dishonestly retaining notes after they had been paid; and finally, for leaving and forsaking the cause of God, and returning to the beggarly elements of the world, and neglecting his high and holy calling, according to his profession."

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Cowdery also refused to obey a high council decision not to sell lands on which he hoped to make a profit, "[D]eclaring that he would not be governed by any ecclesiastical authority nor Revelation whatever in his temporal affairs."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Bushman, 323, 347-48.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
After Cowdery's excommunication on April 12, 1838, he taught school, practiced law, and became involved in Ohio political affairs. Until 1848, Cowdery put the Latter Day Saint church behind him. He joined the Methodist church in Tiffin, Ohio, and, according to a lay leader of that church, publicly declared that he was "ashamed of his connection with Mormonism."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• The following verse was published in Times and Seasons (1841), 2: 482:"Or does it prove there is no time,/Because some watches will not go?/...Or prove that Christ was not the Lord/Because that Peter cursed and swore?/Or Book of Mormon not His word/Because denied, by Oliver?" In 1881 both Cowdery’s law partner and his adopted daughter testified that Cowdery had joined the Methodist Church in Tiffin, Ohio in 1841 or 1842. In 1844, Cowdery was chosen secretary of “a meeting of Male Members of the Methodist Protestant Church of Tiffin, Ohio.” One G. J. Keen, a lay leader in that church, said that when joining the Methodist Church, Cowdery “arose and addressed the audience present, admitted his error and implored forgiveness, and said he was sorry and ashamed of his connection with Mormonism. He continued his membership while he resided in Tiffin and became superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and led an exemplary life while he resided with us.” Charles Augustus Shook, The True Origin of the Book of Mormon (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Co., 1914), 54-61.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Later Cowdery reaffirmed his role in the establishment of Mormonism even though that confession cost him the editorship of a newspaper. In 1848, after Joseph Smith's assassination, Cowdery reaffirmed his witness to the Golden Plates and asked to be readmitted to the church. He never held another high office in the church, in part because he died sixteen months after his rebaptism.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Randall Cluff, "Cowdery, Oliver" American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Martin Harris was a respected farmer in the Palmyra area who had changed his religion at least five times before he became a Mormon.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Harris had been a Quaker, a Universalist, a Restorationist, a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and perhaps a Methodist. Ronald W. Walker, "Martin Harris: Mormonism's Early Convert," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 19 (Winter 1986):30-33).

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
A biographer wrote that his "imagination was excitable and fecund." One letter says that Harris thought that a candle sputtering was the work of the devil

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Walker, 34: "Once while reading scripture, he reportedly mistook a candle's sputtering as a sign that the devil desired to stop him."

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
and that he had met Jesus in the shape of a deer and walked and talked with him for two or three miles.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• John A. Clark letter, August 31, 1840 in EMD, 2: 271.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
The local Presbyterian minister called him "a visionary fanatic."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Walker, 34-35.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:

• A friend, who praised Harris as "universally esteemed as an honest man" but disagreed with his religious affiliation, declared that Harris' mind "was overbalanced by 'marvellousness'" and that his belief in earthly visitations of angels and ghosts gave him the local reputation of being crazy.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Pomroy Tucker Reminiscence, 1858 in Early Mormon Documents 3: 71.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Another friend said, "Martin was a good citizen. Martin was a man that would do just as he agreed with you. But, he was a great man for seeing spooks."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Lorenzo Saunders Interview, November 12, 1884, Early Mormon Documents 2: 149.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
During the early years, Harris "seems to have repeatedly admitted the internal, subjective nature of his visionary experience."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Vogel, EMD, 2: 255.

FAIR's analysis:

Edward Stevenson (1870): Martin Harris said "my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel"

Elder Edward Stevenson reported in 1870:

On one occasion several of his old acquaintances made an effort to get him tipsy by treating him to some wine. When they thought he was in a good mood for talk they put the question very carefully to him, ‘Well, now, Martin, we want you to be frank and candid with us in regard to this story of your seeing an angel and the golden plates of the Book of Mormon that are so much talked about. We have always taken you to be an honest good farmer and neighbor of ours but could not believe that you did see an angel. Now, Martin, do you really believe that you did see an angel, when you were awake?’ ‘No,’ said Martin, ‘I do not believe it.’ The crowd were delighted, but soon a different feeling prevailed, as Martin true to his trust, said, ‘Gentlemen, what I have said is true, from the fact that my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel, and it was the brightness of day.”

From the Wikipedia article:
The foreman in the Palmyra printing office that produced the first Book of Mormon said that Harris "used to practice a good deal of his characteristic jargon and 'seeing with the spiritual eye,' and the like."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Pomeroy Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1867), 71 in EMD, 3: 122.

FAIR's analysis:

Martin Harris: "The Book of Mormon is no fake. I know what I know. I have seen what I have seen and I have heard what I have heard"

George Godfrey, and Martin Harris's response to him, after Godfrey suggested that Harris had been deceived:

A few hours before his death and when he was so weak and enfeebled that he was unable to recognize me or anyone, and knew not to whom he was speaking, I asked him if he did not feel that there was an element at least, of fraudulence and deception in the things that were written and told of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and he replied as he had always done so many, many times in my hearing the same spirit he always manifested when enjoying health and vigor and said: ‘The Book of Mormon is no fake. I know what I know. I have seen what I have seen and I have heard what I have heard. I have seen the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon is written. An angel appeared to me and others and testified to the truthfulness of the record, and had I been willing to have perjured myself and sworn falsely to the testimony I now bear I could have been a rich man, but I could not have testified other than I have done and am now doing for these things are true.

From the Wikipedia article:
John H. Gilbert, the typesetter for most of the book, said that he had asked Harris, "Martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes?" According to Gilbert, Harris "looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, 'No, I saw them with a spiritual eye."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• John H. Gilbert, "Memorandum," 8 September 1892, in EMD, 2: 548.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Two other Palmyra residents said that Harris told them that he had seen the plates with "the eye of faith" or "spiritual eyes."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Martin Harris interviews with John A. Clark, 1827 & 1828 in EMD, 2: 270; Jesse Townsend to Phineas Stiles, 24 December 1833, in EMD, 3: 22.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
In 1838, Harris is said to have told an Ohio congregation that "he never saw the plates with his natural eyes, only in vision or imagination."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Stephen Burnett to Lyman E. Johnson, 15 April 1838 in EMD, 2: 291.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
A neighbor of Harris in Kirtland, Ohio, said that Harris "never claimed to have seen [the plates] with his natural eyes, only spiritual vision."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Reuben P. Harmon statement, c. 1885, in EMD, 2: 385.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
One account states that in March 1838, Martin Harris publicly denied that either he or the other Witnesses to the Book of Mormon had literally seen the golden plates—although, of course, he had not been present when Whitmer and Cowdery first claimed to have viewed them. This account says that Harris's recantation, made during a period of crisis in early Mormonism, induced five influential members, including three Apostles, to leave the Church.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Stephen Burnett to Luke S. Johnson, 15 April 1838, in Joseph Smith's Letterbook, Early Mormon Documents 2: 290-92.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Later in life, Harris strongly denied that he ever made this statement.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Letter of Martin Harris, Sr., to Hanna B. Emerson, January 1871, Smithfield, Utah Territory, in EMD, 2: 338. See also Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1981), 118. Nevertheless, some years later, even Brigham Young referred to "witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of God, [but who] were afterward left to doubt and to disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel." Journal of Discourses (1860), 7:164

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
In 1837, Harris joined dissenters, led by Warren Parrish, in an attempt to reform the church. But Parrish rejected the Book of Mormon, and Harris continued to believe in it. By 1840, Harris had returned to Smith's church. Following Smith's assassination, Harris accepted James J. Strang as a new prophet, and Strang also claimed to have been divinely led to an ancient record engraved upon metal plates. By 1847, Harris had broken with Strang and had accepted the leadership of fellow Book of Mormon witness, David Whitmer. Harris then left Whitmer for another Mormon factional leader, Gladden Bishop. In 1855, Harris joined with the last surviving brother of Joseph Smith Jr., William Smith, and declared that William was Joseph's true successor.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• EMD, 2: 258.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
"In 1856 Harris's wife left him to gather with the Mormons in Utah. Harris remained in Kirtland and, as caretaker of the temple, gave tours to interested visitors."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• EMD, 2: 258

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Despite his earlier statements regarding the spiritual nature of his experience, in 1853, Harris told one David Dille that he had held the forty- to sixty-pound plates on his knee for "an hour-and-a-half" and handled them "plate after plate."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Martin Harris interview with David B. Dille, 15 September 1853 in EMD 2: 296-97.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Even later, Harris affirmed that he had seen the plates and the angel with his natural eyes: "Gentlemen," holding out his hand, "do you see that hand? Are you sure you see it? Or are your eyes playing you a trick or something? No. Well, as sure as you see my hand so sure did I see the Angel and the plates."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Martin Harris interview with Robert Barter, c. 1870 in EMD, 2: 390.

FAIR's analysis:

Martin Harris: "I saw the plates and the inscriptions thereon. I saw the angel, and he showed them unto me"

Martin Harris told Robert Aveson,

It is not a mere belief, but is a matter of knowledge. I saw the plates and the inscriptions thereon. I saw the angel, and he showed them unto me.

From the Wikipedia article:
In 1870, at the age of 87, Harris accepted an invitation to live in Utah, where he was rebaptized and spent his remaining years with relatives in Cache County. In his last years Harris continued to bear fervent testimony to the authenticity of the plates, but a contemporary critic of the Church noted that Harris rejected some important LDS doctrines and that his sympathy for the Utah church was tenuous.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• In an interview with ex-Mormon Anthony Metcalf, Metcalf asked him why, if he did not believe that polygamy, baptism for the dead, or temple endowments were part of Mormonism, he had taken the endowment when he arrived in Salt Lake City. Harris replied "to see what was going on in there." Martin Harris interview with Anthony Metcalf, c. 1873-74 in EMD, 2: 348.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
In a letter of 1870, Harris swore, "[N]o man ever heard me in any way deny the truth of the Book of Mormon, the administration of the angel that showed me the plates, nor the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints under the administration of Joseph Smith, Jun., the prophet whom the Lord raised up for that purpose in these the latter days, that he may show forth his power and glory."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Letter of Martin Harris, Sr., to Hanna B. Emerson, January 1871, Smithfield, Utah Territory, in EMD, 2: 338. See also Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1981), 118.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
David Whitmer first became involved with Joseph Smith and the Golden Plates through his friend Oliver Cowdery; and because of his longevity, Whitmer became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses. Whitmer gave various versions of his experience in viewing the Golden Plates. Although less credulous than Harris, Whitmer had his own visionary predilections and owned a seer stone.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Palmer, 180-81, 193-94, 197-99.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
In 1829, before testifying to the truth of the Golden Plates, Whitmer reported that when traveling with Smith to his father's farm in Fayette, New York, they had seen a Nephite on the road who suddenly disappeared. Then when they arrived at his father's house, they were "impressed" that the same Nephite was under the shed.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• EMD, 5: 10-11, Whitmer interview with Edward Stevenson, December 1877, EMD 5: 30-31.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Recounting the vision to Orson Pratt in 1878, Whitmer claimed to have seen not only the Golden Plates but the "Brass Plates, the plates containing the record of the wickedness of the people of the world....the sword of Laban, the Directors (i.e. the ball which Lehi had) and the Interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed...."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• David Whitmer interview with Orson Pratt, September 1878, in EMD, 5: 43.

FAIR's analysis:

David Whitmer (1878): "I saw them just as plain as I see this bed"

In an 1878 interview with Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, for example, he gave dramatic and emphatic testimony of his experience as a witness:

It was in June 1829, the very last part of the month, and the eight witnesses, I think the next day. Joseph showed them the plates himself. We (the Three Witnesses) not only saw the plates of the Book of Mormon, but the Brass Plates, the plates containing the record of the wickedness of the people of the world, and many other plates. The fact is, it was just as though Joseph, Oliver and i were sitting right here on a log, when we were overshadowed by a light. It was not like the light of the sun, nor like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful. It extended away round us, I cannot tell how far, bu in the midst of this light, immediately before us, about as far off as he sits (pointing to John C. Whitmer who was sitting 2 or 3 feet from him) there appeared, as it were, a table, with many records on it, besides the plates of the Book of Mormon; also the sword of Laban, the Directors (i.e. the ball which Lehi had) and the Interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed (striking his hand upon the bed beside him), and I heard the voice of the Lord, as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life, declaring that the records of the plates of the Book of Mormon were translated by the gift and power of God.

From the Wikipedia article:
On other occasions, Whitmer's vision of the plates seemed far less corporeal. When asked in 1880 for a description of the angel who showed him the plates, Whitmer replied that the angel "had no appearance or shape." Asked by the interviewer how he then could bear testimony that he had seen and heard an angel, Whitmer replied, "Have you never had impressions?" To which the interviewer responded, "Then you had impressions as the Quaker when the spirit moves, or as a good Methodist in giving a happy experience, a feeling?" "Just so," replied Whitmer.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Whitmer interview with John Murphy, June 1880, in EMD 5: 63.

FAIR's analysis:

David Whitmer (1881): "I have never at any time, denied that testimony...which has so long since been published with that book...It was no Delusion"

The following is a portion of John Murphy's interview with David Whitmer, written from Murphy's perspective.:

[Murphy]: "First of all, I heard you saw an angel. I never saw one. I want your description of [the] shape, voice, brogue and the construction of his language. I mean as to his style of speaking. You know that we can often determine the class a man belongs to by his language."
[Whitmer]: "It had no appearance or shape."
[Murphy]: "Then you saw nothing nor heard nothing?"
[Whitmer]: "Nothing, in the way you understand it."
[Murphy]: "How, then, could you have borne testimony that you saw and heard an angel?"
[Whitmer]: "Have you never had impressions?"
[Murphy]: "Then you had impressions as the quaker when the spirit moves, or as a good Methodist in giving a happy experience, a feeling?"
[Whitmer]: "Just so."

When David Whitmer saw this account published, he published his own rebuttal to John Murphy's portrayal of his witness experience on 19 March 1881. Whitmer vigorously refuted Murphy's account :

Unto all Nations, Kindreds, tongues and people unto whom this present Shall come.
It having been represented by one John Murphy of Polo Mo. that I in a conversation with him last Summer, denied my testimony as one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon.
To the end therefore, that he may understand me now if he did not then, and that the world may know the truth, I wish now standing as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make this public Statement;
That I have never at any time, denied that testimony or any part thereof, which has so long since been published with that book as one of the three witnesses.
Those who know me best, well know that I have adhered to that testimony.—
And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do now again affirm the truth of all my statement[s], as then made and published.
He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear; It was no Delusion. What is written is written, and he that readeth let him understand.

From the Wikipedia article:
A young Mormon lawyer, James Henry Moyle, who interviewed Whitmer in 1885, asked if there was any possibility that Whitmer had been deceived. "His answer was unequivocal....that he saw the plates and heard the angel with unmistakable clearness." But Moyle went away "not fully satisfied....It was more spiritual than I anticipated."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Moyle diary, June 28, 1885 in EMD 5: 141.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
In 1831, Whitmer moved with early Mormon believers to Kirtland, Ohio; and then in 1832, he followed the church to Jackson County, Missouri, and was named Smith's successor even though he had criticized Smith's more recent innovations. By December 1837, a movement led by Warren Parrish plotted to overthrow Smith and replace him with Whitmer. After the collapse of the Kirtland Bank, confrontation grew between the dissenters and those loyal to Joseph Smith. Whitmer, his brother John, Oliver Cowdery, and others were harassed by the Danites, a secret group of Mormon vigilantes, and were warned to leave the county. Whitmer was formally excommunicated on April 13, 1838 and never rejoined the church.

Wikipedia footnotes:

• Michael J. Latzer, "Whitmer, David" American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Whitmer then moved to Richmond, Missouri, where he ran a livery stable and became a civic leader. After Smith's assassination, Whitmer, like Martin Harris, briefly followed James Strang, who had his own set of supernatural metal plates. Later Whitmer organized his own splinter group based on his authority as one of the Three Witnesses and even later supported another group headed by his brother John. In his pamphlet, "An Address to All Believers in Christ" (1887), Whitmer reaffirmed his witness to the Golden Plates,

Wikipedia footnotes:

• "I wish now, standing as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make this public statement: 'That I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof, which has so long since been published with that Book, as one of the three witnesses. Those who know me best, will know that I have always adhered to that testimony. And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do again affirm the truth of all of my statements, as then made and published." ThreeWitness.org website.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
but he also criticized what he viewed as the errors of Joseph Smith, including his introduction of plural marriage. "If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon, if you believe that God spake to us three witnesses by his own voice," wrote Whitmer,"then I tell you that in June, 1838, God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to 'separate myself from among the Latter Day Saints....'"

Wikipedia footnotes:

• "An Address," 27, in EMD, 5: 194.

FAIR's analysis:

From the Wikipedia article:
Nevertheless, Whitmer is regarded by Mormons as an "enduring witness to the genuineness of the prophet Joseph Smith and his message."

Wikipedia footnotes:

• "Michael J. Latzer, "Whitmer, David" American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.

FAIR's analysis:

Further reading

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