Title quote by Russell M. Nelson 1993
I believe Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thummim and by the power of the Lord translated the Book of Mormon. Even though I believe Joseph had a seer stone or two, I don’t believe he used them to translate the plates. In this article I show you many quotes from church leaders that say Joseph could have used various methods to translate including using a seer stone or the Urim and Thummim or both, and as it is said, if we pray with real intent we can know the truth of all things. I just feel the Urim and Thummim was prepared by the Lord during the time of the Brother of Jared and sealed up for Joseph to find with the plates. That’s why I feel strongly that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim to translate.
Joseph was not a money digger as they like to say and he was and is a Prophet of the Lord today. Much of the information about the translation process is written by people who didn’t have the best of intentions towards Joseph. (David Whitmer, Martin Harris etc). The story of being a money digger and only using a seer stone was started by Eber D. Howe in his book called Mormonism Unveiled in 1834, and I surely don’t take much stock in that anti-mormon book.
New Come Follow Me Podcast Here
Aas you see in this blog I have quoted many of our current Prophets and Apostles who have said Joseph could have used the Urim and Thummim and/or a seer stone to translate. (See Elder Uchtdorf and Pres Nelson etc). I know that both methods are a possibility but you must each form your own witness based on prayer and personal revelation just as I must. I love and support the Prophets and Apostles as they will not lead us astray.”
Russell M Nelson
“I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder.” (Isa. 29:14.)
The Hebrew text of the Old Testament from which that phrase was translated uses the word pele, meaning “miracle.” Thus one could also accurately interpret “a marvellous work and a wonder” as a “miraculous miracle.”
Truly, this latter-day work is precisely that. Think of the short time Joseph took to translate the Book of Mormon. Working from April to June of 1828, Joseph translated the 116 pages that Martin Harris later lost. Joseph began translating again on Tuesday, April 7, 1829, with Oliver Cowdery as scribe. The manuscript was completed eighty-five days later, on June 30 of that year. Of course, not all of that time was spent working on the translation. The Prophet and his scribes also took time to eat, to sleep, to seek employment, to receive the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, to make at least one (and possibly two) trips to Colesville thirty miles away, to receive and record thirteen revelations that are now sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, to move from Harmony to Fayette, to acquire the Book of Mormon copyright, and to begin making arrangements for the publication of the Book of Mormon. Conservatively estimated, this left sixty-five or fewer working days on which the prophet and his scribes translated this book, which contains 531 pages in its current edition. (See John W. Welch, Ensign, Jan. 1988, pp. 46–47.) That calculates to an average of eight pages per day. Consider this when you translate a book, or as you schedule your own reading of the Book of Mormon.
As Oliver Cowdery testified a few years later: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated … the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’” (JS—H 1:71)
Editor’s Note: The following is the complete quote found in our scriptures after JSH 1:75 with an asterisk. * Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ (Urim and Thummim and Interpreters here mean to me, the spectacles and the breastplate not a single seer stone).
Elder Nelson Continues, “The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights. David Whitmer wrote:
“Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.” (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Mo.: n.p., 1887, p. 12.)
Emma Smith, who acted as an earlier scribe for Joseph, gave this account in 1856:
“When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made any mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. Even the word Sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and I would pronounce it for him.
“When he stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin where he left off without any hesitation, and one time while he was translating he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, ‘Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?’ When I answered, ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘Oh! [I didn’t know.] I was afraid I had been deceived.’ He had such a limited knowledge of history at that time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls.” (Edmund C. Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” Journal of History, Jan. 1916, p. 454.)
On another occasion, Emma Smith recorded:
“The plates often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen tablecloth, which I had given him to fold them in. I once felt of the plates as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book.” (“Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, p. 290; spelling modernized.)
Although the Prophet would polish his skills over the years, Emma acknowledged that Joseph possessed only rudimentary literacy at the time he translated the gold plates:
“Joseph Smith … could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter; let alone dictating a book like the Book of Mormon. And, though I was an active participant in the scenes that transpired, it is marvelous to me, ‘a marvel and a wonder,’ as much so as to any one else.” (Ibid.) A Treasured Testament By Elder Russell M. Nelson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Elder Nelson quotes David Whitmer, Emma Smith, and Edmund Briggs above which very well could be accurate but they are all second and third hand quotes. I however feel the Words of Joseph Smith and the words of Oliver Cowdery who were first hand accounts ring most true to my heart as I have followed the council of Elder Benson below.
Ezra Taft Benson
“Suppose a leader of the Church were to tell you that you were supporting the wrong side of a particular issue. Some might immediately resist this leader and his counsel or ignore it, but I would suggest that you first apply the fourth great civic standard for the faithful Saints. That standard is to live for, to get, and then to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Said Brigham Young: “I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. … Let every man and woman know, by the whisperings of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not.” (JD, vol. 9, p. 150.)”
Witnesses of Joseph Smith
“With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rims of a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.” Joseph Smith Wentworth Letter
He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;
Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. …
Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it. Joseph Smith—History in the Pearl of Great Price or History of the Church, 1:2–79.
Joseph Fielding Smith Address 1944 Oliver Cowdery’s Return
“This testimony written while Oliver Cowdery was out of the Church is now in my keeping. It is a letter in his own handwriting. In October, 1848, he made his way from Tiffin, Ohio, his residence, to Kanesville, Iowa, to take up again his association with the Latter-day Saints. At a conference held there, October 21st, 1848, presided over by elder Orson Hyde, Oliver Cowdery asked for the privilege of speaking, and he said:
Oliver Cowdery’s Return
Friends and Brethren: My name is Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church, I stood identified with her, and one in her councils. True it is that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; not because I was better than the rest of mankind was I called, to fulfill the purposes of God. He called me to a high and holy calling. I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, “holy interpreters.” I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the “holy interpreters.” The book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it; Mr. Spaulding did not write it; I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet. It contains the everlasting gospel, and came forth to the children of men in fulfillment of the revelations of John, where he says he saw an angel come with the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. It contains principles of salvation; and if you, my hearers, will walk by its light and obey its precepts, you will be saved with an everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God on high. Brother Hyde has just said that it is very important that we keep and walk in the true channel, in order to avoid the sand-bars. The Holy Priesthood is here. I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred on us, or restored, the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, and said to us at the same time, that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by holy angels from on high. This Priesthood we then conferred on each other, by the will and commandment of God. This Priesthood, as was then declared, is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy Priesthood or authority, we then conferred upon many, and it is just as good and valid as though God had done it in person. I laid my hands upon that man, yes, I laid my right hand upon his head (pointing to Elder Hyde) and he holds that Priesthood now. He was also called through me, by the prayer of faith, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
One month later in November, 1848, at another meeting Oliver Cowdery said:
Brethren, for a number of years I have been separated from you. I now desire to come back. I wish to come humbly and to be one in your midst. I seek no station. I only wish to be identified with you. I am out of the Church. I am not a member of the Church, but I wish to become a member of it. I wish to come in at the door. I know the door. I have not come here to seek precedence. I come humbly and throw myself upon the decisions of this body, knowing, as I do, that its decisions are right, and should be obeyed.
His request was granted and he was baptized and again was received in full fellowship in the Church, and in this fellowship, he continued to witness to the day of his death.” Joseph Fielding Smith, Restoration of all things, Chapter 12, A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD Address delivered Sunday, August 20, 1944
In the October 1834 Messenger and Advocate [the Church newspaper in Kirtland, Ohio], Oliver Cowdery wrote: “These were days never to be forgotten to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon’” (Messenger and Advocate, 1:14; Also known as Letter I Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, 7 September 1834).
Joseph Fielding McConkie/Craig J. Ostler
“Explanations as to how the Book of Mormon was translated have become the source of considerable speculation and misinformation. There appears to be little interest on the part of some writers to distinguish between what might be called historical prattle and competent testimony. For instance, scripture, statements by the Prophet himself, and the collaborative testimony of Oliver Cowdery the only firsthand sources we have on the matter are not, among some, accorded the same attention or credence as things said by secondhand witnesses who in thought and spirit were clearly out of harmony with the Prophet and the Church. See my complete blog here:
The matter of how the Book of Mormon was translated has been of considerable interest and discussion virtually from the time the book became public. This is illustrated in an exchange that took place between the Prophet and his brother Hyrum in a conference of the Church held 25 October On that occasion Hyrum said “that he thought best that the information of the coming forth of the book of Mormon be related by Joseph himself to the Elders present that all might know for themselves.” In response, Joseph Smith said that “it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon, & also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things &c” (Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 23).
Yet, it was not intended that we be entirely ignorant of the process of translation; otherwise, the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 9 would not have been included in a compilation of revelations intended for the eyes of the entire world. There are principles involved here of which every faithful Latter- day Saint ought to be a competent witness. There are also counterfeit notions about how the Book of Mormon was translated that enhance neither our understanding of how revelation is received nor our appreciation for the labor and faith involved so that we might have the Book of Mormon.” “The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon” 2000 by Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“Not long ago, the Church published photos and background information on seer stones. People have asked me, “Do you really believe that Joseph Smith translated with seer stones? How would something like this be possible?” And I answer, “Yes! That is exactly what I believe.” This was done as Joseph said: by the gift and power of God.”
The Church’s recent “Book of Mormon Translation” essay makes these statements after having discussed the Urim and Thummim:
“The other instrument, which Joseph Smith discovered in the ground years before he retrieved the gold plates, was a small oval stone, or “seer stone.” As a young man during the 1820s, Joseph Smith, like others in his day, used a seer stone to look for lost objects and buried treasure. As Joseph grew to understand his prophetic calling, he learned that he could use this stone for the higher purpose of translating scripture.
“Apparently for convenience, Joseph often translated with the single seer stone rather than the two stones bound together to form the interpreters. These two instruments—the interpreters and the seer stone—were apparently interchangeable and worked in much the same way such that, in the course of time, Joseph Smith and his associates often used the term “Urim and Thummim” to refer to the single stone as well as the interpreters. In ancient times, Israelite priests used the Urim and Thummim to assist in receiving divine communications. Although commentators differ on the nature of the instrument, several ancient sources state that the instrument involved stones that lit up or were divinely illumined. Latter-day Saints later understood the term “Urim and Thummim” to refer exclusively to the interpreters. Joseph Smith and others, however, seem to have understood the term more as a descriptive category of instruments for obtaining divine revelations and less as the name of a specific instrument.” Dieter Uchtdorf Facebook page on June 21, 2016
Works of Joseph.com My Website and Opinion
I believe Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thummim and by the power of the Lord translated the Book of Mormon. Even though I believe Joseph had a seer stone or two, I don’t believe he necessarily used them to translate the plates.
I love Elder Uchtdorf’s comparison with seer stones and cell phones. I know the Lord can use any object He desires to share revelation with Prophets. I believe what Elder Uchtdorf’s wrote above is not necessary doctrine, but his words are very important about the translation that will have a great deal to do with my learning as I pray to know more.
Like I have said many times, if the Prophets and Apostles tell me it is doctrine that the main Book of Mormon Events happened in Mesoamerica, or if they tell me that at one time Adam was an ape, or that only a seer stone was used to translate the Book of Mormon, or that Joseph Smith never looked at the plates but he just read the words off of a rock, or that Noah’s flood was not real, I would have a very hard time believing it, but with much prayer I would follow the Living Prophet Russell M. Nelson who speaks the truth to us.
Book called, JOSEPH SMITH’S SEER STONES
This book by Mackay and Hubbard lays out a very thorough history of the seer stone narrative. The problem I have with the book, is they put too much emphasis on the second and third hand witnesses and not enough emphasis on Joseph and Oliver who are first hand witnesses. After reading this book I felt even stronger that the Urim and Thummim was the way Joseph translated the Book of Mormon. It doesn’t matter to me what opinion people take on this matter.
JOSEPH SMITH’S SEER STONES INTRODUCTION, MORMON PARADIGM SHIFTS, MICHAEL HUBBARD MACKAY SEER STONES IN THE LITERATURE
Below is an abbreviated version of the book titled Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones.
“It’s amazing that information can be so close yet so far away. But one could argue that these books, popular as they were, were not readily accessible to the worldwide Church. Let me just drive this point home with several examples more available to Latter-day Saints. In September 1974, the Friend magazine stated, “Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating called a seer stone.” Just three years later, Professor Richard Lloyd Anderson described the translation process and mentioned seer stones nearly ten times in the September 1977 Ensign. By June 1993, Elder Russell M. Nelson addressed the translation process in his article “A Treasured Testament” in the July issue of the Ensign (Portions seen above). And in 1994, the Church’s Ensign mentioned the seer stones again in “Highlights in the Prophet’s Life.” In January 1997, Elder Neal A. Maxwell delivered a message similar to Professor Anderson’s, including the testimonies of both Martin Harris and David Whitmer. Within the last five years, the Joseph Smith Papers Project has published numerous full accounts of the translation process and the history of Joseph Smith’s seer stones, including the introduction to Documents, Volume One; the introduction to Revelations and Translations, Volume 3; and the Gospel Topics essay on the translation of the Book of Mormon. Many Latter-day Saint scholars have mentioned the translation of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith’s seer stones. From Religious Education at Brigham Young University, Susan Easton Black, Joseph Fielding McConkie, Craig Ostler, Larry Porter, Richard Anderson, Alex Baugh, Andrew Hedges, and Gerrit Dirkmaat have all mentioned seer stones, some of whom have researched and written about them prolifically. Other Latter-day Saint scholars have also written about seer stones in their own research about the Book of Mormon. These include Richard Lyman Bushman, Terryl L. Givens, Leonard Arrington, Reid L. Neilson, Richard E. Turley Jr., Brant Gardner, Steven C. Harper, and especially John W. Welch and Royal Skousen.
This amount of documentation seems daunting and perhaps even befuddling. With so many Latter-day Saint scholars acknowledging and studying Joseph Smith’s use of seer stones, it is clear that the Church has not been hiding this information. And yet, as with many historically specific topics, without direct references provided in Church teaching materials and curriculum, the average Latter-day Saint would not necessarily encounter the seer stones in the course of his or her devotional study. This point is especially true in the context of a global Church—while many of these resources are available in English, the miraculous (and rapid!) growth of the Church across the world and the resulting urgent need for translation of even the most basic materials such as scriptures, manuals, and magazines makes it understandable how many members could have missed out on previous discussions of the seer stones. That is why the latest appearance of the topic in the October 2015 Ensign (and Liahona) was so important: it underscores how, even while keeping a sacred relic private, the Church continues to be open about the miraculous process of the translation of the Book of Mormon.
… With the variety of literature available on the topic of seer stones, one might wonder if we have chosen to forget or refused to understand. Ironically, the early Saints saw the seer stones differently than we do today. The witnesses of the translation process described Joseph Smith’s use of seer stones as a method of assuring that the Book of Mormon came from God..” MORMON PARADIGM SHIFTS, MICHAEL HUBBARD MACKAY SEER STONES (Added italics color and capitalization)
The Process of Translation
Joseph himself did not elaborate about the process of translation, but Oliver, David, and Emma provided some additional information. Oliver said: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from [Joseph’s] mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon’” (Joseph Smith—History 1:71, note*)
“The “interpreters” used by Joseph during the translation process included the “two stones in silver bows” that were deposited by Moroni with the plates (see Joseph Smith—History 1:35.) In addition to these two seer stones, Joseph used at least one other seer stone that the Lord had provided.7″ The Translation of the Book of Mormon: A Marvel and a Wonder By Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. General Authority Seventy and Church Historian and Recorder Ensign 2020
Editor’s note: I believe the quote of JSH above in red text. I’m not sure if I fully agree with the quote above in purple. As the quote under the title above says, “Joseph himself did not elaborate about the process of translation“.
The Urim and Thummim was Returned to Joseph
Many scholars I have mentioned above say that the Urim and Thummi was never returned to Joseph and that is why he used a single seer stone. The Urim and Thummim was returned to Joseph Smith. The quotes below are important.
“During this period Joseph made a short visit to his parents in Manchester, New York, and then returned again to Pennsylvania. “Immediately after my return home,” he recounted, “I was walking out a little distance, when, behold, the former heavenly messenger appeared and handed to me the Urim and Thummim again for it had been taken from me in consequence of my having wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings, which he lost by transgression and I inquired of the Lord through it, and obtained the following [section 3]” (Smith, History of the Church, 1:21-22).
“On the 22 of September I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the record Urim and Thummim; and have commenced translating again, and Emma writes for me; but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and <I> trust his promise will be verified. The angel He also seemed pleased with me, when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim; and he told me that the Lord loved me, for my faithfulness and humility.” https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/145 and History of Joseph Smith, p. 135 and quoted in “Thou Art Still Chosen” By Keith W. Perkins
John H. Gilbert Typesetter
“On the question of how the Book of Mormon was produced, a useful item shows up in the June 1, 1881, issue of the Saints’ Herald. The newspaper reported the efforts of William H. Kelley to interview people who lived in Palmyra. Kelley interviewed John H. Gilbert, who set the type for the Book of Mormon.
From page 165 of the 1881 Saints’ Herald we read:
“I would know that manuscript today if I should see it. The most of it was in Oliver Cowdery’s handwriting. Some in Joseph’s wife’s; a small part though. Hyrum Smith always brought the manuscript to the office; he would have it under his coat, and all buttoned up as carefully as though it was so much gold. He said at the time it was translated from plates by the power of God, and they were very particular about it. We had a great deal of trouble with it. It was not punctuated at all. They did not know anything about punctuation, and we had to do that ourselves.”
Well, did you change any part of it when you were setting the type?
“No, sir; we never changed it at all.”
Why did you not change it and correct it?
“Because they would not allow us to; they were very particular about that. We never changed it in the least. Oh, well; there might have been one or two words that I changed the spelling of; I believe I did change the spelling of one, and perhaps two, but no more.”*
Did you set all of the type, or did some one help you?
“I did the whole of it myself, and helped to read the proof, too; there was no one who worked at that but myself.
Did you ever see one of the first copies? I have one here that was never bound. Mr. Grandin, the printer, gave it to me. If you ever saw a Book of Mormon you will see that they changed it afterwards.”
They did! Well, let us see your copy; that is a good point,. How is it changed now? “I will show you,” (bringing out his copy). “Here on the title page it says,” (reading) “‘Joseph Smith, Jr., author and proprietor.’ Afterwards, in getting out other editions they left that out, and only claimed that Joseph Smith translated it.”
Well, did they claim anything else than that he was the translator when they brought the manuscript to you? “Oh, no; they claimed that he was translating it by means of some instruments he got at the same time he did the plates, and the Lord helped him.”
Gilbert remembered that Joseph translated with the instrument that came with the plates. This was not the seer stone that Joseph found in a well years earlier.” Jonathan Neville, A Man that can Translate 2020
As quoted from Hugh B. Brown, (BYU Speech 4 Oct 1955), “Any man in claiming (to be a prophet) would be a dignified man with a dignified message. No table jumping, no whisperings from the dead, no clairvoyance but an intelligent statement of truth”. Joseph Smith fits all qualifications particularly his method of translation using the Urium & Thummim.
Urim & Thummim Handed from the Brother of Jared to Mosiah to Joseph Smith. Not two stones in a hat.
“The Prophet Joseph Smith used the same Urim and Thummim that was “given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” (D&C 17:1). President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote a brief history regarding the Urim and Thummim: “King Mosiah possessed ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow,’ called by the Nephites Interpreters, with which he translated the Jaredite record [Mosiah 28:11–14], and these were handed down from generation to generation for the purposes of interpreting languages. How Mosiah came into possession of these two stones or Urim and Thummim the record does not tell us, more than to say that it was a ‘gift from God’ [Mosiah 21:28]. Mosiah had this gift or Urim and Thummim before the people of Limhi discovered the record of Ether. They may have been received when the ‘large stone’ was brought to Mosiah with engravings upon it, which he interpreted by the ‘gift and power of God’ [Omni 1:20–21]. They may have been given to him, or to some other prophet before his day, just as the Brother of Jared received them—from the Lord. “That the Urim and Thummim, or two stones, given to the Brother of Jared were those in the possession of Mosiah appears evident from Book of Mormon teachings. The Brother of Jared was commanded to seal up his writings of the vision he had when Christ appeared to him, so that they could not be read by his people. … The Urim and Thummim were also sealed up so that they could not be used for the purpose of interpreting those sacred writings of this vision, until such time as the Lord should grant to man to interpret them. When they were to be revealed, they were to be interpreted by the aid of the same Urim and Thummim [Ether 3:21–28]. …“Joseph Smith received with the breastplate and the plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, which were hid up by Moroni to come forth in the last days as a means by which the ancient record might be translated, which Urim and Thummim were given to the Brother of Jared [D&C 17:1]” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:223–25). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-50-ether-1-5?lang=eng
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation
“I attended sessions of meetings for the institute teachers, held in the assembly room on the fourth floor of the Church Office Building. I cannot say that I was very greatly edified. Too much philosophy of a worldly nature does not seem to mix well with the fundamentals of the gospel. In my opinion many of our teachers employed in the church school system have absorbed too much of the paganism of the world and have accepted too readily the views of uninspired educators without regard for the revealed word of the Lord. What to do about it I do not know. It is a problem for the Presidency to consider. It is a very apparent fact that we have traveled far and wide in the past 20 years [since his father’s death]. What the future will bring I do not know. But if we drift as far afield from fundamental things in the next 20 years, what will be left of the foundation laid by the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Are we not traveling the same road? The more I see of educated men—I mean those who are trained in the doctrines and philosophies now taught in the world, the less regard I have for them. Modern theories which are so popular today just do not harmonize with the gospel as revealed to the prophets, and it would be amusing if it were not a tragedy to see how some of our educated brethren attempt to harmonize the theories of men with the revealed word of the Lord. Thank the Lord, there is still some faith left and some members who still cherish the word of the Lord and accept the prophets. Surely the world is ripening rapidly for the destruction, and Satan has power and dominion over his own. If any are saved surely the Lord must soon come and have power over his Saints and reign in their midst, and execute ‘judgment upon Idumea, or the world.”
Joseph Fielding Smith The Life of Joseph Fielding Smith 212. Deseret Book Co., 1972
“It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teaching of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-1956], 3: 203.)
William Smith’s Amazing Description
William Smith’s description: “A silver bow ran over one stone, under the other, around [sic] over that one and under the first in the shape of a horizontal figure 8…[T]hey were much too large for Joseph and he could only see through one at a time using sometimes one and sometimes the other.” These stones, he continued, “were attached to the breastplate by a rod which was fastened at the outer shoulde[r] edge of the breastplate and to the edge of the silver bow.” (Tyrell Givens, By the Hand of Mormon, p.22)
Another account from William Smith: “Among other things we inquired minutely about the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate. We asked him what was meant by the expression “two rims of a bow,” which held the former. He said a double silver bow was twisted into the shape of the figure eight, and the two stones were placed literally between the two rims of a bow. At one end was attached a rod which was connected with the outer edge of the right shoulder of the breast-plate. By pressing the head a little forward, the rod held the Urim and Thummim before the eyes much like a pair of spectacles. A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate and his brother said Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.” (J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924), 6—7.)
Lucy Mack Smith Description:
“On the morning of September 22, after Joseph had returned from the hill, he placed the article [the Nephite interpreters] of which he spoke into my hands, and, upon examination, I found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows, which were connected with each other in much the same way as old fashioned spectacles. . . . He [Joseph Smith] handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could feel its proportions without any difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other, and extended from the neck downwards, as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material, for the purpose of fastening it to the breast.” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother Lucy Mack Smith)
I wonder how big some of those Jaredites actually were? It validates the many historical records about huge skeletons such as Zelph and similar to the example displayed in the Annotated Book of Mormon below.
page 460 Purchase Now!
In the 1800s, many discoveries of very large skeletal remains were found in burial mounds of North America. The skeletons were described as reaching upwards of seven to eight feet in length, with a lower frequency of discoveries spanning up to nine feet in length, all having very large skulls and gigantic lower jawbones.Historians often detailed these remains in early local records, such as the following from Cass County, Michigan:“It was a mound about thirteen feet high….the diameter of its base was about fifty feet…Portions of the skeletons were in a good state of preservation. The femur, or thigh bone,of one of the males, which Dr. Bonine has now in his possession, is of great size and indicates that its owner must have been at least seven feet in height” – Alfred Matthews, History of Cass County, Michigan [1882].” Annotated Book of Mormon page 460
