As Joseph Smith finished the translation of the Book of Mormon, three of his closest supporters—Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer—were chosen by revelation as special witnesses of the Book of Mormon ( Doctrine and Covenants 17 ). An angel showed them the golden plates from which the book was translated ( Testimony of Three Witnesses ). In addition, eight others were permitted to...

The prophet Moroni indicated that he and his father Mormon wrote their abridgement of the Nephite records in a script called “reformed Egyptian” ( Mormon 9:32 ). Latter-day Saints are often fascinated (and sometimes perplexed) with figuring out what “reformed Egyptian” was or how it worked. Skeptics of the Book of Mormon, on the other hand, often dismiss “reformed Egyptian” as a fabrication by...

The first major biography about one of the most important men of the early Church is hot off the press from BYU Studies. Many years in the making, Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon , by Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, tells the life story of a man who was instrumental in getting the Book of Mormon translated, published, and distributed. Indeed, it is...