Eight Witnesses
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The Eight Witnesses were the second of two sets of "special witnesses" to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates of which the first were the Three Witnesses.
The Eight Witnesses were all members of the Whitmer or Smith families: Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel Harrison Smith. Joseph Smith Sr. was Joseph's father, and Hyrum and Samuel H. Smith were his brothers. Christian, Jacob, Peter Jr. and John were David Whitmer's brothers, and Hiram Page was his brother-in-law.
The testimony of the Eight Witnesses, probably written by Joseph Smith, was printed at the end of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon:
Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That Joseph Smith, Jun., the Author and Proprietor of this work, has shewn unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shewn unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen. And we lie not, God bearing witness of it.
This statement has been printed in nearly every edition of the Book of Mormon since its initial publication in 1830. although most subsequent editions moved the statement to the front of the book, made minor grammatical corrections, and altered the phrase "Author and Proprietor" to read "translator."
In 1838, the Whitmer family became estranged from Joseph Smith Jr. during a leadership struggle in Far West, Missouri and all were excommunicated. None of the Eight Witnesses apparently denied his testimony in the Book of Mormon or the Golden Plates, although two died young, three were Smith's father and brothers, and the rest apostatized from Joseph Smith's church.
In addition to the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses, Mary Whitmer, who took care of the house where much of the translation took place, said that the Angel Moroni showed her the plates as well.
