martys

Semantic range

1. 1one who testifies to what he has seen or knows
2. 2a legal witness
3. 3later: a martyr, one whose testimony cost his life

The drift from witness to martyr happened because so many early witnesses died for the testimony. The word itself is legal: a martys reports what he has personally seen.

The New Testament takes the requirement seriously — "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1, citing Deuteronomy 19:15) — and so does the Restoration. The Three and the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon are printed in every copy; D&C 6:28 and Ether 5:4 both invoke the law of witnesses. It is one of the more striking structural continuities between ancient and modern scripture.

See also

• ἀπόστολοςapostolos
• πίστιςpistis
• λόγοςlogos