Mormon Dilemma 89

29 October

Seer Stones (Crystal Gazing)

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 1293; Joseph Smith wrote that in 1823 an angel told him about “two stones in silver bows…fastened to a breastplate…the possession and use of [which] constituted “seers’ in ancient or former times” (JS-H 1:35). Joseph used these and other seer stones that he found in various ways (occasionally referred to by the biblical term Urim and Thummim) for several purposes, primarily in translating the Book of Mormon and receiving revelations (see HC 1:21-23, 33, 36, 45, 49; 3:28; 5:xxxii; CHC 6:230-31).

D&C 130:8; The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.

Deuteronomy 18:9-13; When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.  10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.  13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

Jeremiah 29:8-9; For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.  9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

God resides in a crystal?

Why would you ever believe in a fortune-teller?

Also think about this…Joseph used those same stones to look for buried treasure and those crystal gazers proved him wrong.  They didn’t produce any buried treasure in the fields of the farmers who hired him.

Why would you believe the Book of Mormon was true if Joseph Smith used these same stones to translate the gold plates?  See sworn affidavit of Isaac Hale (Emma’s father) in Mormonism Unvailed, pg. 262-265 http://www.solomonspalding.com/docs/1834howf.htm#pg265

If he was wrong about something like buried treasure, wouldn’t it make you think twice before believing his story about another gospel?

And why was Smith unwilling to share how he translated the plates?  See D&C 5:7; Far West Record 1:23.

We’ll be doing a series on the translation process of the Book of Mormon in 2012.  If you’d like a sneak peek of one of our resources see Times and Seasons, Truth will Prevail; http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v2n13.htm#392

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_gazing; Crystal gazing may be used by practitioners—sometimes called “readers” or “seers”—for a variety of purposes, including to predict distant or future events, to give character analyses, to tell fortunes, or to help a client make choices about current situations and problems.

www.britanica.com; Crystal gazing – divination of distant or future events based on visions seen in a ball of rock crystal. Divination based on an analysis of reflections in water, on polished metal, or on precious stones was practiced by early humans, who probably interpreted these phenomena as a vision of the spirit world. Scrying became widespread by the 5th century ad and was condemned by the medieval Christian church as the work of the devil.

Working in the ministry for Mormons I’ve found there is a different level of concern, if you will, towards different subject matters within that parameter.  For instance, when I think back to the time of when I was LDS the feelings of total devotion to my heritage seems to always be right near the surface of my emotions.  It pulls at my heartstrings even today.  I believe God allows me to recall this so I can minister effectively and still have a heart for my people.

I recall how totally sold out I was in defending the Book of Mormon even though I didn’t understand it completely and couldn’t give a good defense in explaining away the inaccuracies.

This subject matter is one of those times my heart strings are being tugged at…strongly.  Little did I know as a Mormon, Joseph Smith was using his “seer stones” and “urim and thummim” to both look for buried treasured in addition to translating the plates.  If he was publicly repenting for his mistakes and follies (Joseph Smith History in Pearl of Great Price, 1:28), then why was he using these same tools to translate something righteous and holy?

All these years later and as a Christian now, I look upon this scenario with sadness.  Sadness that I once believed wholeheartedly in Joseph Smith and sadness that people like my mother still do.

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