Three Nephites Stories | 3 Documented Encounters, Including the Whitmer Farm (LDS)

Send us Fan MailAre the three Nephites real, and what do their reported appearances look like? In this LDS (Latter-day Saint) story episode, Tia Smith reads three accounts of encounters attributed to the three Nephites — angelic strangers who appear, help, and vanish without a trace. The first is documented in Church history: as the Book of Mormon translation moved to the Whitmer farm in Fayette, New York, David Whitmer's field of plaster was mysteriously sown overnight by three strangers his sister watched work with remarkable speed. The second, recorded by N.B. Lundwall, tells of a stranger who spent an evening opening the scriptures to the Huntington family; years later the Prophet Joseph Smith identified him as one of the three Nephites sent to prepare them to receive the restored gospel. The third, from a Utah State Historical Society manuscript, recounts a hungry missionary in Germany and his wife back home in Paragonah, Utah, both visited the same day before Christmas by an elderly stranger and a half loaf of bread wrapped in the same cloth. Framed by Hebrews 13:2 — that some have entertained angels unawares — the episode's through-line is that miracles and help from both sides of the veil come to those engaged in the Lord's work and the gathering of Israel.Q: Are the three Nephites real, and are there documented accounts of them?A: In LDS belief the three Nephites are three disciples given power to remain on earth to bring souls to Christ (3 Nephi 28), and many appearances have been attributed to them. This episode shares three accounts, including one documented in Church history at the Whitmer farm during the Book of Mormon translation, and another the Prophet Joseph Smith personally identified as a visit from one of the three Nephites.Q: What happened at the Whitmer farm during the translation of the Book of Mormon?A: As told in this episode, David Whitmer had been counseled to plow and sow his fields before fetching Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and he finished two days' plowing in one; the next morning his plaster of Paris was found already sown by three strangers his sister had watched work. The family took these small miracles as evidence of the Lord's hand in bringing forth the Book of Mormon.Q: How would someone recognize a visit from one of the three Nephites?A: These accounts share common features: a stranger appears, is fed or offers help, teaches or serves, then vanishes — sometimes leaving no footprints in the snow. Tia Smith notes that many such stories involve only one of the three rather than all three, and frames them with Hebrews 13:2, that some "have entertained angels unawares."Q: Why do the three Nephites appear to help with the Lord's work?A: This episode teaches that the encounters cluster around moments of sacred labor — the translation of the Book of Mormon, preparing a family for the restored gospel, sustaining a missionary — and that the three Nephites' whole purpose is the gathering of Israel. Tia Smith's message is that those engaged in the Lord's work, especially in the last days, can expect miracles and help from both sides of the veil.▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? Email [email protected] — your testimony may be exactly what someone needs to hear.#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelationCITATIONS:My Life in Zion Blog, "Three Nephites and a Little Miracle", October 15, 2012: https://mylifeinzion.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/three-nephites-and-a-little-miracle/Assorted Gems of Priceless Value, by N.B. Lundwall, pp. 20-22Taken from an anonymous manuscript in the files of the WPA Writers’ Project, Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, UtahSupport the show