**#ComeFollowMe nugget**
πΌπππ’ πππππππ: πππ πππππ π ππππππ ππ πππ π±πππ ππ πΌπππππ ππππππ?
Mary was personally visited by Moroni, who showed her the plates, before either the three witnesses or the eight witnesses received their manifestations.
John C. Whitmer, her grandson, told of her experience:
βThe translation was going on at the house of the Elder Peter Whitmer, her husband. Joseph Smith with his wife and Oliver Cowdery, whom David Whitmer a short time previous had brought up from Harmony, Pennsylvania, were all boarding with the Whitmers, and my grandmother in having so many extra persons to care for, besides her own large household was often overloaded with work to such an extent that she felt it to be quite a burden. One evening, when (after having done her usual dayβs work in the house) she went to the barn to milk the cows, she met a stranger carrying something on his back that looked like a knapsack. At first she was a little afraid of him, but when he spoke to her in a kind, friendly tone and began to explain to her the nature of the work which was going on in her house, she was filled with inexpressible joy and satisfaction. He then untied his knapsack and showed her a bundle of plates, which in size and appearance corresponded with the description subsequently given by the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. This strange person turned the leaves of the book of plates over, leaf after leaf, and also showed her the engravings upon them; after which he told her to be patient and faithful in bearing her burden a little longer, promising that if she would do so, she should be blessed; and her reward would be sure, if she proved faithful to the end. The personage then suddenly vanished with the plates, and where he went, she could not tell. From that moment my grandmother was enabled to perform her household duties with comparative ease, and she felt no more inclination to murmur because her lot was hard.β
It is interesting to note that while the very public contributions of leaders such as Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Brigham Young, and others are often celebrated, those men often relied upon others, like Emma Smith and Mary Whitmer, to accomplish the work of the restoration.
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π¨ πΌ: βMary Whitmer and Moroniβ by Robert T. Pack