If Joseph Smith had given no other testimony but his own, then he might justly have been condemned, for his testimony would not have been in keeping with the word of the Lord, but the testimony of three other men should be sufficient. Reinforced as that testimony is by the testimony of the eleven others, and by the witness which the book itself affords, the testimony given by Joseph Smith becomes binding on the world. All who reject it, the Lord said, shall be condemned, for the "testimony of two men is true," provide they are truthful witnesses. The Book of Mormon declares that in "the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record--and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day" (Ether 5:4). Validity of the Testimonies The witnesses of the Book of Mormon were true and faithful to their testimony throughout their lives. The time came, however, when all three of the special witnesses became estranged from Joseph Smith and departed from the Church. Because of their spirit of rebellion against the Prophet and the work, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were dealt with for their fellowship and excommunicated from the Church. Martin Harris simply drifted away without action being taken against him in an official way. While the Prophet lived, they retained their bitterness of spirit and remained aloof, but during all those years, and to the end of life, all three were steadfast in their testimony as found in the Book of Mormon. In the year 1848, after the Church had been driven from Nauvoo, Oliver Cowdery returned to the Church, at Kanesville and humbly begged to be re-admitted as a member. Martin Harris also sought again a place and standing in the Church and in the year 1870 he came to Utah to make his home. He died in 1875, at Clarkston, Utah, at the age of 92 years. David Whitmer never came back to the Church, but shortly before his death, in refutation of the statements that had gone forth that he had denied his testimony, he published it again to the world, in which he said: "It is recorded in the American Cyclopedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica, that I, David Whitmer, have denied my testimony as one of the Three Witnesses to the divinity of the Book of Mormon; and that the other two witnesses, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris, denied their testimony to that book. I will say once more to all mankind, that I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof. I also testify to the world, that neither Oliver Cowdery nor Martin Harris ever at any time denied their testimony. They both died reaffirming the truth of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon."[3] Impossibility of Collusion