Martin Harris Tries to Deny His Testimony Under Wine — And Cannot

In Ohio, a group of men conspired to discredit Martin Harris' testimony about the Book of Mormon by getting him drunk on wine and then catching him in a denial. The plan failed spectacularly.

Martin Harris himself recounted the story publicly in Utah in 1870:

'He publicly said that many years ago, in Ohio, a number of persons combined and sought to get Martin to drink wine for the purpose of crossing him in his testimony. At the conclusion they asked him if he really believed the testimony that he had signed in the Book of Mormon to be true? He replied no, he did not believe it, but, much to their surprise, he said he knew it to be true!'

Even under the influence of wine, with every incentive to simply concede in the moment, Martin Harris could not bring himself to deny what he had seen and heard. His own reply drew the distinction between belief and knowledge — a distinction he had made to dozens of witnesses over four decades: 'I don't believe it. I KNOW it.'

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Edward Stevenson, 'One of the Three Witnesses: Incidents in the Life of Martin Harris,' Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star 44, no. 5 (Jan. 30, 1882): 78-79):

On one occasion several of his old acquaintances made an effort to get him tipsy by treating him to some wine. They thought that if they could get him in that condition, they could get him to deny his testimony. They plied him with wine, and then asked him: 'Now, Martin, do you really believe that you did see an angel, when you were awake?' 'No,' said Martin, 'I do not believe it.' The crowd were delighted, but soon a different feeling prevailed, as Martin true to his trust, said, 'Gentlemen, what I have said is true, from the fact that my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel, and it is just as true as any thing in this world.'

According to the expanded account recorded by Edward Stevenson, the men approached Martin under the guise of wanting to be 'frank and candid' with him. They stated, 'We have always taken you to be an honest good farmer and neighbor of ours but could not believe that you did see an angel.' Martin's concluding testimony specifically emphasized that the event happened 'in the brightness of day.'