Witnesses Related to Smith, Whitmer
Why were all of the witnesses (except Martin Harris) related to Joseph Smith or David Whitmer?
Why Not? They were among the earliest believers and the Lord allowed Joseph to show the plates only to believers. But let’s note that, at the time he saw the plates, Oliver Cowdery was not connected to the Smiths or Whitmers, though he later married one of the Whitmer sisters (December 1832). Hiram Page had married another of the Whitmer sisters in 1825.
Jesus’ first four apostles were two pairs of brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew and James and John (Matthew 10:2), who were partners in the fishing business (Luke 5:10). Philip was from the same Galilean town as Peter and he it was who brought Nathanael into the company (John 1:43-49). Matthew (also called Levi) was from Capernaum, where the fishermen lived. Levi is said to have been the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14), as is one of the apostles (not the brother of John) named James (Matthew 10:3), so they, too, may have been brothers. Judas (not Iscariot) is said to have been the brother of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). Are these the two half-brothers of Jesus of those names (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3)? Paul later called “James the Lord’s brother” an apostle (Galatians 1:19).