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Difference between revisions of "Detailed response to CES Letter, Witnesses"
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|claim=The author states, "The closest thing we have in existence to an original document of the testimonies of the witnesses is a printer’s manuscript written by Oliver Cowdery. Every witness name on that document is not signed; they are written in Oliver’s own handwriting. Further, there is no testimony from any of the witnesses directly attesting to the direct wording and claims of the manuscript or statements in the Book of Mormon." | |claim=The author states, "The closest thing we have in existence to an original document of the testimonies of the witnesses is a printer’s manuscript written by Oliver Cowdery. Every witness name on that document is not signed; they are written in Oliver’s own handwriting. Further, there is no testimony from any of the witnesses directly attesting to the direct wording and claims of the manuscript or statements in the Book of Mormon." | ||
|answer= | |answer= | ||
| − | *The author claims that "every witness name on that document is not signed; they are written in Oliver's own handwriting." The author fails to note that ''one'' of the witnesses signatures on the printer's manuscript is genuine: that of Oliver Cowdery himself. The author fails to note that David Whitmer, in fact, made a point of affirming that his testimony was true ''just as it was printed in the Book of Mormon''. | + | *The author claims that "every witness name on that document is not signed; they are written in Oliver's own handwriting." The author fails to note that ''one'' of the witnesses signatures on the printer's manuscript is genuine: that of Oliver Cowdery himself. |
| + | *The author fails to note that David Whitmer, in fact, made a point of affirming that his testimony was true ''just as it was printed in the Book of Mormon''. | ||
*The claim that the witnesses somehow didn't agree with their testimony as it was printed in the Book of Mormon is nonsense. We will let the Three Witnesses speak for themselves on this issue. In each case, they made statements confirming their testimonies near the end of their lives. | *The claim that the witnesses somehow didn't agree with their testimony as it was printed in the Book of Mormon is nonsense. We will let the Three Witnesses speak for themselves on this issue. In each case, they made statements confirming their testimonies near the end of their lives. | ||
*David Whitmer affirms his testimony in 1881 as it is printed in the Book of Mormon years after he left the Church: | *David Whitmer affirms his testimony in 1881 as it is printed in the Book of Mormon years after he left the Church: | ||
Revision as of 09:29, 15 July 2013
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| [[../Priesthood Restoration Concerns & Questions|Priesthood Restoration Concerns & Questions]] | A FAIR Analysis of:
[[../|Letter to a CES Director]] |
[[../Temples & Freemasonry Concerns & Questions|Temples & Freemasonry Concerns & Questions]] |
A FAIR Analysis of the online document Letter to a CES Director section "Witnesses Concerns & Questions"
Oliver Cowdery lived in a culture steeped in biblical ideas, language and practices. The revelation’s reference to Moses likely resonated with him. The Old Testament account of Moses and his brother Aaron recounted several instances of using rods to manifest God’s will (see Ex. 7:9-12; Num. 17:8). Many Christians in Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery's day similarly believed in divining rods as an instrument for revelation. Cowdery was among those who believed in and used a divining rod.
Jeffrey G. Cannon, "Oliver Cowdery's Gift," history.lds.org off-site
- Response to section: Magical Worldview
- Response to section: Witnesses [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: Martin Harris
- Response to section: David Whitmer
- Response to section: Oliver Cowdery
- Response to section: Second Sight [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: James Strang and the Voree Plates Witnesses [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: No Document of Actual Signatures
- Response to section: Conclusion [Work in Progress]
Response Section
Magical Worldview
Martin Harris
David Whitmer
David Whitmer's gravestone, upon which is engraved his testimony of the Book of Mormon: "The record of the Jews and the record of the Nephites are one."
Oliver Cowdery
No Document of Actual Signatures
References
- [note] "David Whitmer Proclamation, 19 March 1881," Early Mormon Documents 5:69.
- [note] Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901), 1:246.
- [note] George Godfrey, “Testimony of Martin Harris,” from an unpublished manuscript copy in the possession of his daughter, Florence (Godfrey) Munson of Fielding, Utah; quoted in Eldin Ricks, The Case of the Book of Mormon Witnesses (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1971), 65–66.