When it is said that these men never denied the authenticity of the plates it is true. For many years I had also understood that to mean that they believed in the restoration of the Gospel and the return of prophets. After ready their testimonies again and reading some of their accounts, it is clear that they simply testified that they had seen the plates. The three witnesses were commanded to bear testimony that it had in fact been translated by the power of God, that the work that was produced through the translation was true. As I read these words again it was clear to me that the record had been found, translated and send forth to convince us that Jesus is the the Christ.
To believe these men is a choice. Not to diminish the sanctity of the work, but it is like the testimonies in a court of law, in which the jury and judge were not present at the events submitted to the court, but they only hear and see testimony of the events from witnesses. The judge and jury make a choice to believe one party or the other. As for me, I believe these men, and it is a choice I made.
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