All three
witness fall away from the church but never deny their testimony regarding the
plates.
3) Martin Harris
Much less is
known about the circumstances surrounding the excommunication of Martin Harris.
Martin had always been a staunch supporter of Joseph Smith and it is unlikely
that he considered Joseph a fallen prophet as did the other witnesses. For
whatever reason, Martin was excommunicated in Kirtland, Ohio in Dec. 1837.
After his
departure from the church, Martin followed several unorthodox sects of his day.
For a while he was affiliated with the Shakers and even went on a mission to
England on behalf of the Strangites. Although he was rebaptized in 1842, he
never went West with the saints. He was considered a dissenter since then. He
lived for years in Kirtland and acted as a self appointed custodian of the
Kirtland Temple. An interesting interview took place between Martin and William
H. Homer who stopped at the Kirtland Temple on the way home from his
mission:
¡°Homer was
returning from a mission for the Church in 1869 and decided to visit the
Kirtland Temple. He seems to have been unaware of the fact that the custodian
was Martin Harris, his sister's father-in-law¡¦
¡°¡¯I first
saw Martin Harris in Kirtland, Ohio, about the last of December, 1869. On my
return from a mission in England I stopped to visit some of my relatives in
Pennsylvannia. On resuming my journey, one of my cousins, James A. Crockett, who
was not a member of the Church, came as far as Kirtland, Ohio, with me. We
remained in Kirtland over night and the next morning after breakfast, we asked
the landlord who was custodian of the Mormon Temple at Kirtland and he informed
us that Martin Harris was custodian, and pointed out to us where we could find
the old gentleman. Accordingly we went to the door and knocked. In answer to our knock there came to
the door of the cottage a poorly clad, emaciated little man, on whom the winter
of life was weighing heavily. It was Martin Harris¡¦
¡°¡¯In his
face might be read the story of his life. There were the marks of spiritual
upliftment. There were the marks of keen disappointment. There was the hunger
strain for the peace, the contentment, the divine calm that it seemed could come
no more into his life. It was a pathetic figure, and yet it was a figure of
strength. For with it all there was something about the little man which
revealed the fact that he had lived richly, that into his life had entered such
noble experiences as come to the lives of but few¡¦
¡°¡¯I
introduced myself modestly as a brother-in-law of Martin Harris, Jr.-as he had
married my eldest sister-and as an Elder of the Church who was returning from a
foreign mission¡¦.
¡°¡¯The effect
of the introduction was electric[al]. The fact of relationship was overwhelmed
by the fact of Utah citizenship. The old man bristled with vindictiveness. 'One
of those Brighamite Mormons, are you?' he snapped. Then he railed impatiently
against Utah and the founder of the 'Mormon' commonwealth. It was in vain that I
tried to turn the old man's attention to his family. Martin Harris seemed to be
obsessed. He would not understand that there stood before him a man who knew his
wife and children, who had followed the Church to Utah¡¦
¡°¡¯After some
time, however, the old man said, 'You want to see the Temple, do you?' 'Yes,
indeed,' I exclaimed, 'if we may.' 'Well, I'll get the key.' From that moment,
Martin Harris, in spite of occasional outbursts, radiated with interest. He led
us through the rooms of the Temple and explained how they were used. He pointed
out the place of the School of Prophets. He showed where the Temple curtain had
at one time hung. He related thrilling experiences in connection with the
history of the sacred building¡¦
¡°¡¯Harris was
moved to speak against the Utah 'Mormons'. An injustice, a gross injustice had
been done to him. He should have been chosen President of the
Church¡¦.
¡°¡¯What about
your testimony to the Book of Mormon? Do you still believe that the Book of
Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet?' Again the effect was
electric[al]. A changed old man stood before me. It was no longer a man with an
imagined grievance. It was a man with a message, a man with a noble conviction
in his heart, a man inspired of God and endowed with divine knowledge. Through
the broken window of the Temple shone the winter sun, clear and
radiant.
¡°¡¯Young
man,¡¯ answered Martin Harris with impressiveness, 'Do I believe it! Do I see the
sun shining! Just as surely as the sun is shining on us and gives us light, and
the ¡¦ [moon] and stars give us light by night, just as surely as the breath of
life sustains us, so surely do I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of
God, chosen of God to open the last dispensation of the fulness of times; so
surely do I know that the Book of Mormon was divinely translated. I saw the
plates; I saw the Angel; I heard the voice of God. I know that the Book of
Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God. I might as well
doubt my own existence as to doubt the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon
or the divine calling of Joseph Smith.' It was a sublime moment. It was a
wonderful testimony. We were thrilled to the very roots of our hair. The shabby,
emaciated little man before us was transformed as he stood with hand
outstretched toward the sun of heaven. A halo seemed to encircle him. A divine
fire glowed in his eyes. His voice throbbed with the sincerity and the
conviction of his message. It was the real Martin Harris whose burning testimony
no power on earth could quench. It was the most thrilling moment of my
life."
¡°¡¯I asked
Martin Harris how he could bear so wonderful a testimony after having left the
Church. He said, ¡®Young man, I never did leave the Church the Church left me.¡¯¡±
(selected excerpts from The Case of the Book of Mormon Witnesses by Eldin
Ricks, pp. 17-18)
As a result
of this interview, Martin agreed to visit his relatives in Utah. However, he did
not have the means and the church had to assist in his transportation. An Edward
Stevenson was asked to go to Kirtland in order to accompany Mr. Harris to Salt
Lake City. Our narrative continues:
¡°¡¯When
Martin reached Salt Lake City, he visited Brigham Young at his home. They became
reconciled, and Martin Harris was invited to speak in the Tabernacle, and he
bore a faithful testimony. He went to Smithfield, and later to Clarkston and
made his home with his son, Martin Harris, Jr., and in course of time he
returned to full fellowship and communion with the
Saints¡¦.¡¯¡±
¡°Martin
Harris spent the last five years of his long life-a time when a man usually
seeks to make peace with his maker-visiting congregations of the Saints and
bearing testimony to what he had seen and heard. I have personally talked to a
woman who heard him give his testimony at a Church service when she was a very
young girl. She told how impressed everyone was with his story about seeing the
angel and the Book of Mormon plates; and I must admit that to me it was moving
even to hear her second hand account of his experience. This matter of the
impressiveness of Martin Harris's testimony, by the way, calls to mind the fact
that even after he reached his nineties and in the face of imminent death he
still went on testifying that he had seen the angel and the book. It seems to me
that this very zeal, that failed to dim with the passing years, is a point that
should not be overlooked¡¦
¡°A few hours
before his death and when he was so weak and enfeebled that he was unable to
recognize me or anyone, and knew not to whom he was speaking, I asked him if he
did not feel that there was an element at least, of fraudulence and deception in
the things that were written and told of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon,
and he replied as he had always done so many, many times in my hearing and with
the same spirit he always manifested when enjoying health and vigor and said:
¡®The Book of Mormon is no fake. I know what I know. I have seen what I have seen
and I have heard what I have heard. I have seen the gold plates from which the
Book of Mormon is written. An angel appeared to me and others and testified to
the truthfulness of the record, and had I been willing to have perjured myself
and sworn falsely to the testimony I now bear I could have been a rich man, but
I could not have testified other than I have done and am now doing for these
things are true.¡¯¡± (selected excerpts from The Case of the Book of Mormon
Witnesses by Eldin Ricks, pp. 20-21)