Three Witnesses

The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement, who signed a statement to witness that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon. Their document also stated that they had heard God's voice, informing them that the book had been translated by divine power. The Three are part of a total twelve Book of Mormon witnesses, (along with Joseph Smith himself and the Eight Witnesses) who stated that they "saw and handled" the plates.

The Three Witnesses were Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer, whose joint testimony, in conjunction with a separate statement by Eight Witnesses, has been printed with nearly every edition of the Book of Mormon since its first publication in 1830. All three witnesses eventually broke with Smith and the church he had founded. Harris and Cowdery eventually rejoined, and to varying degrees, all three continued to testify to the divine origin of the Book of Mormon.