In a similar way, the testimonies of the eleven witnesses corroborate the story of the first glorious vision of the Father and the Son. It was in that vision that the boy-prophet first received his call. It was then that he learned that the religious world had gone astray, and that the God of heaven had a great work for him to do. That work was to restore the fulness of the Gospel. But the restoration of the Gospel involved the revelation of the "Book of Mormon," and the translation of the sacred record. Neither the revelation of the book nor the translation of it, could have been accomplished had the first vision been a delusion. In fact, the full subsequent history of the restoration depends upon the authenticity of that vision. It is not too much to say again then, that in the case of the first vision also, the assertion is establised, that, not a single important step in the progress of the restoration was taken without corroborative testimony or the presence of witnesses. Great weight is thus laid upon the testimonies of the three and the eight. Their solemn declarations confirm the words of the Prophet concerning the opening acts of the restoration. Now, there are those who question the value of the testimonies of these eleven men. They assert that the witnesses were under the influence of the young Prophet--hypnotized by him; or that they were themselves parties to a tremendous fraud. It will be interesting to consider briefly what became of each one of these eleven men, and to learn how they viewed in later life the testimonies they had published to the world. Oliver Cowdery was born at Wells, Rutland County, Vermont, in October, 1805. He met the Prophet, Joseph Smith, April 5th, 1829, became his scribe during the translation of the Book of Mormon, and was baptized with the Prophet in June, 1829. Oliver Cowdery rose to great prominence in the new Church. It appears, however, that he was possessed of serious weaknesses. In 1838, certain charges were preferred against him before the High Council at Far West. Some of the charges were sustained, and since he did not make satisfactory amends, Oliver Cowdery was excommunicated from the Church. He went thereupon to Michigan to practice law. Once, a fellow practitioner said to him, "Mr. Cowdery, I see your name is attached to this book [the 'Book of Mormon']. If you believe it to be true, why are you in Michigan?" After reading the names of the witnesses, he continued, "Mr. Cowdery, do you believe this book?" "No, sir," responded Mr. Cowdery, quickly. "But your name is attached to it," protested his fellow-lawyer, "and you declare here that you saw an angel, and also the plates from which the book purports to be translated; and now you say you don't believe it. Which time did you tell the truth?"