2 Ne. 27:12-13; 2 Cor. 13:21
“I am suggesting here that Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah are three early types and shadows of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, if you will—witnesses positioned right at the front of the book where Oliver, David, and Martin would be positioned—that Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah are the three great ancient witnesses of the Book of Mormon—or more particularly, the first three great witnesses in the Book of Mormon testifying to the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, he who will be the central, commanding, presiding figure throughout the Book of Mormon. Nephi stresses this idea himself when he writes in the eleventh chapter of 2 Nephi: [verses 2-3].” (Jeffrey R. Holland, CES Symposium, BYU, Aug. 9, 1994, pp. 13-14)