TERRY - What exactly is our "as a church" believe to be the definition of "Special Witness"? I have heard members of my own ward and some (not all)throughout my life that it meant "literal".

JOEL - The term "special witness" is reserved for those who are called to ba an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the world. They know of the reality of Christ and his redemption with a certainty born of the Spirit. As a special witness it is their solemn responsibility to proclaim to the world the existance of and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In one general conference, Elder Boyd K. Packer explained this responsibility:

"We do not talk of those sacred interviews that qualify the servants of the Lord to bear a special witness of Him, for we have been commanded not to do so. But we are free, indeed, we are obliged, to bear that special witness." (In Conference Report, April 1980, p. 86.)

Harold B. Lee also described what is means to be a special witness:

"Jesus lives! I bear my witness to you this morning. There are some witnesses I cannot give now, perhaps sometime later.
Many things are too sacred to share at this time. I have received a witness that I cannot or dare not deny. When I see Jesus, I cannot mistake His identity. I know that He lives!
I came away from some of these experiences never to feel the same again about the mission of our Lord and Savior. I had impressed upon me, as I have never had it impressed before, what it means to be a special witness. I say, with all the conviction of my soul, I know that Jesus lives. I know that He was the very Son of God. And I know that in this church and in the gospel of Jesus Christ is to be found the way to salvation." (Teachings of Harold B. Lee Harold B. Lee pp. 337-38)

So each Apostle has some convincing moment of communication, visitation, vision, or revelation from Christ in a way that they cannot deny nor doubt His existance nor their calling to be His witness. Because of this one could call them "literal witnesses".