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EspañolSEER STONE (LATTER DAY SAINTS)
(Redirected from Seer stones and the Latter Day Saint movement)
In the early Latter Day Saint movement, 'seer stones' were used as method of divination and played a significant role in its history and theology. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, owned several seer stones from his earlier career as a "money digger."[1] Other early Mormons such as Hiram Page, David Whitmer and Jacob Whitmer also owned seer stones.[2] Seer stones are mentioned in the ''Book of Mormon'' and in other Latter Day Saint scriptures. James Strang, who claimed to be Joseph Smith's designated successor, also unearthed what he said were ancient metal plates and translated them using seer stones.
Some early nineteenth-century Americans used seer stones in attempt to gain a revelation from God or to find buried treasure.[3] Beginning in the early 1820s, Joseph Smith was paid to act as a "seer" in (mostly unsuccessful) attempts to locate lost items and find precious metals hidden in the earth.[4] Smith's procedure was to place the stone in a white stovepipe hat, put his face over the hat to block the light, and then "see" the necessary information in the stone's reflections.[5] His favored stone, chocolate-colored and about the size of an egg,[6] was found in a deep well he helped dig for one of his neighbors.[7] In the words of Richard Bushman, there is ample evidence that Smith never "repudiated the stones or denied their power to find treasure. Remnants of the magical culture stayed with him to the end."[8]
Main articles: Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)
In translating the Book of Mormon from the Golden Plates, Smith said he used "Interpreters", a pair of crystals joined in the form of a large pair of spectacles, to which he later referred as the "Urim and Thummim." In 1823, Smith said that an angel told him of the existence of Golden Plates along with which would be found "two stones in silver bows" fastened to a breastplate, which the angel called the Urim and Thummim and which he said God had prepared for translating the plates.[9] (His mother, Lucy Mack Smith, described them as crystal-like: "two smooth three-cornered diamonds.") [10] Smith and his early Mormon contemporaries seem to have used the terms "seer stone" and "Urim and Thummim" interchangeably. Although Smith always referred to the Book of Mormon "interpreters" as the Urim and Thummim, he may or may not have intended to make a distinction between that device and the seer stones that he used in scrying.[11]
In 1827, Smith was revisited by the angel who revealed the location of these objects buried in a hillside. After translating the Book of Mormon, Smith returned the plates and the Urim and Thummim to the angel, whom he identified as the resurrected Moroni. Joseph Smith reportedly told Orson Pratt that the Lord gave him the Urim and Thummim when he was an inexperienced translator but that as he grew in experience, he no longer needed such assistance.[12]
The LDS Bible Dictionary defines the ''Urim and Thummim'' as "an instrument prepared of God to assist man in obtaining revelation from the Lord and in translating languages." In the Book of Mormon, the prophets the Brother of Jared and Mosiah both used devices called "interpreters" to receive revelation for their people, and the Doctrine and Covenants declares that these "interpreters" were Urim and Thummim.[13]
Mormons believe that the Urim and Thummim of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon were the functional equivalent of the Urim and Thummim mentioned in the Old Testament, but there is no indication in the Old Testament that the Urim and Thummin were used to translate documents.[14] Some Mormons believe that there were three different Urim and Thummims: the one of the Old Testament and two mentioned in the Book of Mormon, one used by the Jaredites and the other by King Mosiah.[15] (LDS members believe that the one used by Smith is the one originally possessed by the Jaredites.)[16]
One of the official titles of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator". The LDS church still owns one of Joseph Smith's seer stones, but since the nineteenth century, no President of the Church has openly used such a stone in his role as "seer and revelator." [17]
★ Book of Abraham
★ Crystal gazing
1. For a good survey of Smith's use of seer stones by a respected scholar and LDS patriarch, see Richard Lyman Bushman, ''Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 45-52.
2. Jessee, ''Papers of Joseph Smith'', 1: 322-23; D. Michael Quinn, ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View'' (Salt Lake City: Signature, 1998), 239-40, 247-48.
3. See Ronald W. Walker, "The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting," ''BYU Studies'', 24 (1984),: 429-59.
4. Martin Harris did say that Smith once found a pin in a pile of shavings with the aid of a stone. Harris interview with Joel Tiffany, 1859, in ''EMD'', 2: 303.
5. ; ; ; ;.
6. .
7. . The stone was found in either 1819 (; ), 1820 , or 1822 in a well he was helping to dig.
8. Bushman, 51.
9. Joseph Smith-History.
10. Biographical sketches of Joseph Smith the prophet, and his progenitors for many generations.
11. Richard Van Wagoner and Steven Walker, "Joseph Smith: 'The Gift of Seeing," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15:2 (Summer 1982): 59–63
12. "Two Days´ Meeting at Brigham City," ''Millennial Star'' 36 [1874]:498–99).
13. D&C 17.
14. There are seven references to the Urim and Thummim in the Old Testament: Exodus 28. 30; Lev. 8.8; Numbers 27. 21; Deut. 33. 8; I Samuel 28. 6; Ezra 2. 63; Nehemiah 7. 65.
15. ''Mosiah 8: 13, 15-17''
+ :'13' Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.
+ :'15' And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet.
+ :'16' And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
+ :'17' But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.
16. D&C 10:1; see Bruce R. McConkie,''Mormon Doctrine''(Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 818-819.
17. Joseph Fielding Smith (a former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints): “The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the Manti Temple when that building was dedicated. The Urim and Thummim so spoken of, however, was the seer stone which was in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith in early days. This seer stone is currently in the possession of the Church.”''Doctrines of Salvation'' 3: 225.
#.
In the early Latter Day Saint movement, 'seer stones' were used as method of divination and played a significant role in its history and theology. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, owned several seer stones from his earlier career as a "money digger."[1] Other early Mormons such as Hiram Page, David Whitmer and Jacob Whitmer also owned seer stones.[2] Seer stones are mentioned in the ''Book of Mormon'' and in other Latter Day Saint scriptures. James Strang, who claimed to be Joseph Smith's designated successor, also unearthed what he said were ancient metal plates and translated them using seer stones.
| Contents |
| History |
| Seer Stones and the Urim and Thummim |
| Seer Stones and the contemporary LDS Church |
| See also |
| Notes |
| References |
History
Some early nineteenth-century Americans used seer stones in attempt to gain a revelation from God or to find buried treasure.[3] Beginning in the early 1820s, Joseph Smith was paid to act as a "seer" in (mostly unsuccessful) attempts to locate lost items and find precious metals hidden in the earth.[4] Smith's procedure was to place the stone in a white stovepipe hat, put his face over the hat to block the light, and then "see" the necessary information in the stone's reflections.[5] His favored stone, chocolate-colored and about the size of an egg,[6] was found in a deep well he helped dig for one of his neighbors.[7] In the words of Richard Bushman, there is ample evidence that Smith never "repudiated the stones or denied their power to find treasure. Remnants of the magical culture stayed with him to the end."[8]
Seer Stones and the Urim and Thummim
Main articles: Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)
In translating the Book of Mormon from the Golden Plates, Smith said he used "Interpreters", a pair of crystals joined in the form of a large pair of spectacles, to which he later referred as the "Urim and Thummim." In 1823, Smith said that an angel told him of the existence of Golden Plates along with which would be found "two stones in silver bows" fastened to a breastplate, which the angel called the Urim and Thummim and which he said God had prepared for translating the plates.[9] (His mother, Lucy Mack Smith, described them as crystal-like: "two smooth three-cornered diamonds.") [10] Smith and his early Mormon contemporaries seem to have used the terms "seer stone" and "Urim and Thummim" interchangeably. Although Smith always referred to the Book of Mormon "interpreters" as the Urim and Thummim, he may or may not have intended to make a distinction between that device and the seer stones that he used in scrying.[11]
In 1827, Smith was revisited by the angel who revealed the location of these objects buried in a hillside. After translating the Book of Mormon, Smith returned the plates and the Urim and Thummim to the angel, whom he identified as the resurrected Moroni. Joseph Smith reportedly told Orson Pratt that the Lord gave him the Urim and Thummim when he was an inexperienced translator but that as he grew in experience, he no longer needed such assistance.[12]
Seer Stones and the contemporary LDS Church
The LDS Bible Dictionary defines the ''Urim and Thummim'' as "an instrument prepared of God to assist man in obtaining revelation from the Lord and in translating languages." In the Book of Mormon, the prophets the Brother of Jared and Mosiah both used devices called "interpreters" to receive revelation for their people, and the Doctrine and Covenants declares that these "interpreters" were Urim and Thummim.[13]
Mormons believe that the Urim and Thummim of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon were the functional equivalent of the Urim and Thummim mentioned in the Old Testament, but there is no indication in the Old Testament that the Urim and Thummin were used to translate documents.[14] Some Mormons believe that there were three different Urim and Thummims: the one of the Old Testament and two mentioned in the Book of Mormon, one used by the Jaredites and the other by King Mosiah.[15] (LDS members believe that the one used by Smith is the one originally possessed by the Jaredites.)[16]
One of the official titles of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator". The LDS church still owns one of Joseph Smith's seer stones, but since the nineteenth century, no President of the Church has openly used such a stone in his role as "seer and revelator." [17]
See also
★ Book of Abraham
★ Crystal gazing
Notes
1. For a good survey of Smith's use of seer stones by a respected scholar and LDS patriarch, see Richard Lyman Bushman, ''Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 45-52.
2. Jessee, ''Papers of Joseph Smith'', 1: 322-23; D. Michael Quinn, ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View'' (Salt Lake City: Signature, 1998), 239-40, 247-48.
3. See Ronald W. Walker, "The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting," ''BYU Studies'', 24 (1984),: 429-59.
4. Martin Harris did say that Smith once found a pin in a pile of shavings with the aid of a stone. Harris interview with Joel Tiffany, 1859, in ''EMD'', 2: 303.
5. ; ; ; ;.
6. .
7. . The stone was found in either 1819 (; ), 1820 , or 1822 in a well he was helping to dig.
8. Bushman, 51.
9. Joseph Smith-History.
10. Biographical sketches of Joseph Smith the prophet, and his progenitors for many generations.
11. Richard Van Wagoner and Steven Walker, "Joseph Smith: 'The Gift of Seeing," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15:2 (Summer 1982): 59–63
12. "Two Days´ Meeting at Brigham City," ''Millennial Star'' 36 [1874]:498–99).
13. D&C 17.
14. There are seven references to the Urim and Thummim in the Old Testament: Exodus 28. 30; Lev. 8.8; Numbers 27. 21; Deut. 33. 8; I Samuel 28. 6; Ezra 2. 63; Nehemiah 7. 65.
15. ''Mosiah 8: 13, 15-17''
+ :'13' Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.
+ :'15' And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet.
+ :'16' And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
+ :'17' But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.
16. D&C 10:1; see Bruce R. McConkie,''Mormon Doctrine''(Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 818-819.
17. Joseph Fielding Smith (a former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints): “The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the Manti Temple when that building was dedicated. The Urim and Thummim so spoken of, however, was the seer stone which was in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith in early days. This seer stone is currently in the possession of the Church.”''Doctrines of Salvation'' 3: 225.
References
#.
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