Joseph Smith read that the gold plates were to be hidden from the world and seen by no one except “three witnesses.” Those three witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—would see the record “by the power of God” (their view came at the hands of the angel Moroni himself; see Ether 5:2–4). They were to “testify to the truth of the book and the things therein,” which they did (see also D&C 17:1–3). 79 “The Testimony of Three Witnesses” now prefaces every copy of the Book of Mormon.
Another exception to the general rule of showing the ancient record to no one was the “few according to the will of God” (compare 2 Nephi 11:3). The testimony of eight other witnesses is also printed in the front of every copy of the Book of Mormon “to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men.” The three, plus the eight, as well as the Prophet himself, constitute twelve special witnesses of the words of God preserved from ancient America.