Hello, welcome back to Scripture Central, where we build enduring faith in Christ by illuminating the restored scriptures and making them more accessible and defensible and comprehensible.

I am so happy to have Jack Welch back with me today. Welcome, Jack!

Well, thank you, Lynn. It's wonderful to be back with you.

Today we get to talk about the witnesses, and I think your work on these has been so

fabulous. I'm just thrilled to have you here in the middle of the translation process, but you've put in

so much research. We're back a little bit, Jack, in the Book of Mormon, just like last year.

Well, that's right, but the Book of Mormon is such an incredible part of the coming forth of the church.

They don't have a doctrine and covenants yet.

They won't have that for another six years.

So the Book of Mormon was the scripture to go with the Bible that was then adopted in 1830 when the church was organized.

Let's look at a few of our hard questions.

Why did the three witnesses leave the church?

And was nepotism at play in the eight witnesses?

And why are we only counting the 11 male witnesses?

They began the translation of the Book of Mormon that we know,

I hope you all have memorized by now, on April 7, 1829.

But there was so much persecution that on June 1st, they had to be transported up to Fayette, about over 100 miles north.

Now, Google Maps will show you one time, but remember, they're using these small little postal roads, and it took so much longer in a wagon to make this journey. But on June 1st, they are there, they're beginning

the process. And by between this month of June, we've got the Whitmer's also acting as scribes.

At least the Whitmer's sons are picking up the quill and helping Oliver a little bit.

In early June, Angel Moronai first visits Mary Whitmer, the mother of this large family and shows her the plates.

But on June 20th, when they are translating Second Def DeFi 27, verse 12, we have this reference again to the need for three witnesses.

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