Martin Harris

Photo of Martin Harris shortly before his death

Martin Harris (born May 18, 1783 in Eastown , New York ; † July 10, 1875 in Clarkston , Utah ) played an important role in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the financier of the Book of Mormon and as one of the " three witnesses ”.

Early years

Martin Harris was born on May 18, 1783 to Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham in Eastown in what was then Albany County . He and his parents moved to Swift's Landing in Ontario County , which was later called Palmyra . He married his cousin Lucy Harris in 1808 and served in the New York State Militia in the 1812 War . He became the owner of 320 acres (130 hectares) of land in Palmyra.

Connection with Mormonism

After studying multiple denominations as a religious seeker, he met Joseph Smith . He believed in the young man's prophetic mission and supported him financially and as a scribe in translating the Book of Mormon.

Harris had Joseph Smith copy some of the characters from the gold plates with which he, Harris, went to New York City to have them checked for authenticity by a specialist, the philologist Professor Charles Anthon. Harris reported that Anthon had given him confirmation that the characters were genuine Egyptian and that the translation was correct. But when he learned that the source of the signs, the gold plates, had miraculously come into the possession of Joseph Smith, he tore the confirmation apart. Anthon later claimed that he immediately realized it was a fake and never issued a confirmation.

Unwilling to see her husband's time and financial commitment to translate and publish the Book of Mormon, Lucy Harris tried to convince her by showing her the 116 pages that had been translated so far, to which Joseph Smith, after a long hesitation, consented. After Harris showed the pages to a few acquaintances, they suddenly disappeared. The response to the loss was reflected in a revelation that Joseph Smith received shortly afterwards and a prohibition on translating any further. Eventually work resumed, but Martin Harris was no longer the scribe.

In June 1829, Martin Harris was called to be one of the three Book of Mormon Witnesses whose testimony can be found in every copy of the book.

Publication of the Book of Mormon was only possible because Martin Harris paid the $ 3,000 cost to run 5,000 copies and sold 151 acres of his land in return.

Oliver Cowdery baptized Martin Harris on April 6, 1830, the foundation day of the Church, and was ordained a priest on June 9, 1830; thereafter he served in various management positions. In 1835, on the basis of an earlier revelation from Joseph Smith, he, along with the other two Witnesses Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, selected the first twelve modern apostles .

In December 1837, Martin Harris was expelled from the Church in connection with the Kirtland turmoil around the Kirtland Safety Society .

The late years

In 1842 Harris was baptized again, making him a member of the Church again. In the years following Joseph Smith's death in 1844, Harris joined various factions at times. Missionaries from Utah visited him several times on their way east, and Harris testified to the reality of the gold plates and reaffirmed his testimony as reproduced in the Book of Mormon. Martin Harris felt torn and, at the insistence of his second wife, Caroline, said he wanted to go to Utah but didn't. Eventually she persuaded him to move to Nebraska to be near her sister. Martin Harris himself separated from his wife in 1856 and returned to Kirtland. It was not until 1870 that he was persuaded to move to the Utah Territory and live in the home of his son-in-law and daughter in Clarkston, Cache County . In the same year he was again accepted into the Church through baptism. After repeatedly confirming that he had seen the gold plates and that the angel testified that the Book of Mormon was true, he died with his family on July 10, 1875.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Short biography of Martin Harris with references to sources; ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Church Historian's Press; Retrieved June 2, 2013. 
2. ↑ See Doctrine and Covenants , section 3
3. ↑ The Book of Mormon. Introduction: The Testimony of the Three Witnesses ; Retrieved June 2, 2013.
4. ^ Wayne Cutler Gunnell: Martin Harris — Witness and Benefactor to the Book of Mormon ; Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1955.
5. Jump up ↑ Doctrine and Covenants , 18:37
6. ^ Susan Easton Black, C. Porter, "Rest Assured, Martin Harris Will Be Here in Time" ; Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture: Volume 20, Issue 1, pages 5-27 Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 2011