Everyone knows Martin Harris as one of the Three Witnesses. But few know how strange, conflicted, and revealing his story really is. Was he a man of unwavering faith in the Truth… or a man chasing every new revelation that came along? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we dig into the real Martin Harris; the devout farmer who financed the Book of Mormon, saw angels (and maybe more), then spent decades bouncing between movements, prophets, and visions. From his 1838 claim that he only saw the plates “in vision or imagination,” to his deep belief in the Shaker “Sacred Roll and Book,” to his eventual return to Utah under Brigham Young’s wing.

Every major twist in Harris’s life points to one central question:

Can we trust Martin Harris as a reliable witness for the Restoration? Whether you’re a believer who reveres his testimony or a skeptic who doubts every word, you’ll walk away seeing Harris, and the early Church, in a far more complicated light than ever before.

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Resources:
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/martin-harris-the-kirtland-years-1831-1870
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letterbook-2/69?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://fullerconsideration.com/images/Tiffany’s%20Monthly%20-%20Mormonism%20No.%202%20-%20Martin%20Harris.pdf
https://bhroberts.org/records/nvGFqb-0LWaIn/burnetts_letter_claims_witnesses_confessed_to_not_seeing_the_plates
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/martin-harris-mormonisms-early-convert/