The Three Witnesses’ Vision of the Angel and the Plates
Published March 26, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
In late June 1829 near the Whitmer home in Fayette, New York, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris prayed in a wooded area or grove, seeking the promised manifestation of the Book of Mormon plates. Martin Harris temporarily withdrew. The angel Moroni then appeared to the three witnesses and showed them the plates, displaying or turning the leaves and engravings. Accounts also describe the breastplate, Urim and Thummim, sword of Laban, and Liahona being shown. A voice from heaven testified that the plates had been revealed and translated by the power of God, affirmed the translation, and commanded the witnesses to bear record of what they had seen and heard. Martin Harris was subsequently shown the plates separately and rejoined the others, exclaiming that he had seen the plates and had seen the angel as surely as he had seen anything. David Whitmer later gave a detailed firsthand account of the manifestation to President Joseph F. Smith and Apostle Orson Pratt, describing the light as more glorious and beautiful than the sun or fire, and seeing the plates as plainly as he saw the bed beside him.
In Their Own Words
“It was just as though Joseph, Oliver and I were sitting right here on a log, when we were overshadowed by a light. It was not like the light of the sun, nor like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful. It extended away round us, I cannot tell how far, but in the midst of this light, immediately before us, about as far off as he sits (pointing to John C. Whitmer who was sitting 2 or 3 feet from him) there appeared, as it were, a table, with many records on it, besides the plates of the Book of Mormon; also the sword of Laban, the Directors (i. e. the ball which Lehi had) and the Interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed (striking his hand upon the bed beside him), and I heard the voice of the Lord as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life declaring that they (the plates) were translated by the gift and power of God. I saw the Angel at this time. He stood before us. He was dressed in his robes, and I should think he was about 5 feet 8 or 10 inches tall, and very well proportioned. He was clothed in white raiment, and I could see his hands, arms, shoulders, neck and head, and he was glorious to look upon. He was not a large man, but he was well proportioned. I saw the plates, the sword of Laban, the Directors, the Interpreters, and the miraculous breastplate. The angel stood before us, and he took the plates and turned them over, leaf after leaf, and we could see the engravings on them, and he showed them to us, and we could see them as plain as I see you. I was very young at the time, and I was very much astonished.”
— David Whitmer, interview with Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, September 7, 1878
Sources & References
David Whitmer, interview with President Joseph F. Smith and Apostle Orson Pratt, September 17, 1878 — first published in the Deseret News and in the Millennial Star 40 (December 1878), p. 772; reprinted in Elders' Journal, vol. 4, no. 16, May 15, 1907 LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Deseret Book The Testimony of Three Witnesses (Book of Mormon) Joseph Smith—History 1:62–65 Additional sources (periodical research): Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith interview David Whitmer about his experience as a Book of Mormon witness, September 7, 1878, in Lyndon W. Cook, ed., David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness (Orem, UT: Grandin Book, 1991), 25–29. https://bhroberts.org/records/HcTowb-0cELkd/orson_pratt_and_joseph_f_smith_interview_david_whitmer_about_his_experience_as_a_book_of_mormon_witness David Whitmer Statements as One of the Three Witnesses, compiled by Neal Rappleye, published on Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/three-witnesses/david-whitmer/statements Full first-person account: Lyndon W. Cook, ed., David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness (Orem, UT: Grandin Book, 1991), 25–29 https://bhroberts.org/records/HcTowb-0cELkd/orson_pratt_and_joseph_f_smith_interview_david_whitmer_about_his_experience_as_a_book_of_mormon_witness
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1820s.
Miracle of the Week
One remarkable, documented account in your inbox every Monday, drawn from the full archive.