Witness and testimony

As I read the witness of the three I am comforted and know that the hand of God is key to the bringing of the plates to this time. On the contrary, the witness of the eight only mentions God once! The eight seem more reluctant to admit it is of God and say that the plates have "the appearance of ancient work." Wow really guys? Obviously they didn't have a testimony of the importance of the book at this time.

I do remember from seminary and institute that some of these key members of the church fell away and this makes me curious as to which if these left the church. The title of each is "The Testimony of [3 or 8] Witnesses" which implies they should be bearing their testimony. If these are the testimonies I notice the three do a better job at baring it. They "know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of men."

Now we compare these to the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith. The difference in length is impressive for sure. Joseph tells in great detail his account of receiving the plates which is can also be found amount his history. Roughly verses 29-54,59-60. Although this is an account of what has happened in Joseph's life, it is also his testimony that this book was brought to his knowledge by the hand of God and it is worth protecting.

I'll share more specific insights about Joseph Smith's testimony tomorrow when I read through it for real. This time through the Book of Mormon I'm going to take it slow and really dive deep into the knowledge and insights I gain.