Three witnesses
(Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris) claimed to have also seen
the angel, the plates, and other relics of special religious significance; they
also claimed to have heard the voice of Jesus, proclaiming the authenticity of
the work. Subsequently, there was a falling-out between these three and Joseph
Smith, and they left the Mormon community. Nevertheless, they renewed their
claims on several occasions, including on their death bed. (A. Chris Eccel,
"The Role of the Mormon Apologist in the Reduction of Cognitive
Dissonance," n.d., p. 14, emphasis in bold added)
Of course, Eccel has to try to explain this away:
This event must have caused
considerable cognitive dissonance for the Mormon community. The three principal
witnesses, having experienced the ultimate proof of Joseph Smith's divine
calling, according to their claim, had now placed themselves in opposition to
the prophet. The implications must have been painfully obvious.
A common technique in Mormon
apologetics (and perhaps apologetics in general) is to meet an attack by
affirming the direct opposite. Thus Nibley's response to Fawn McKay Brodie's
biography of Joseph Smith was that, contrary to her intentions, she had unwittingly
confirmed the authenticity of Smith's divine calling.
Today, the witnesses' abandonment
of the Mormon Church has been converted into the principal buttress for the
faith: "They may have left the Church, but they never denied their
testimony!"
Some readers may find it puzzling
that such a transition could be made. Whereas the non-Mormon may well have
expected a falling-out among the founders of Mormonism, as the struggle for
power developed, he probably would not have expected the three losers to plead
guilty to a fraud and conspiracy that had already resulted in considerable
disruption of public order, including loss of life and property. Joseph
Smith's Trial (People v. Joseph Smith, the Glass Looker, 1826, four
years before the Book of Mormon was published) is an example of
society's active interest in such activity. (A. Chris Eccel, "The Role of
the Mormon Apologist in the Reduction of Cognitive Dissonance," n.d., pp.
14-15)
