Eight Witnesses

[2] Toward the end of June 1829, at the Peter Whitmer Sr. home in Fayette, New York, Joseph Smith (with Oliver Cowdery as scribe) finished the translation of the Book of Mormon.

Christian, Jacob, Peter Jr. and John were David Whitmer's brothers, and Hiram Page was his brother-in-law.

[4] Noting the familiar relationship among the witnesses, satirist Mark Twain wrote, "I could not feel more satisfied and at rest if the entire Whitmer family had testified.

[6] Following the death of Smith, none of the Whitmers joined the group that was led by Brigham Young and would become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Yet despite the estrangement of the Whitmer family, there is little evidence that any of the Eight Witnesses denied his testimony to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon or the gold plates.