“These Stones” not This Stone
The words about translation, “By the Gift and Power of God”, are, in my opinion scripturally proven below, to mean Joseph Smith used the spectacles fastened to a breastplate that were found in Cumorah in 1827, to aid Joseph in translation. The Lord calls them “these stones.” Where did the two stones come from? Moroni? Brother of Jared? Christ Himself? The Lord speaking to the Brother of Jared said, “these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:23. Yes “these stones” came from the Lord, and a single stone found by Joseph in a well, was not used in a hat to translate! Before you judge, study, read, and pray about this information.
A stone in a hat is not anywhere found in scripture, just in second-hand witnesses who never saw the translation instruments. Why would historians and intellectuals disagree? They haven’t studied the scriptures, or it is pride in group think, and those are the only reasons I can think of. I am not any smarter and I don’t have a higher educational degree, but I have common sense, and the Lord’s witness in Scripture. Read and pray for your own answer as President Nelson said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” Russell M. Nelson Hope of Israel.
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Scriptural Confirmation of Using the Interpreters or Urim and Thummim
1- ” 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.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34–35)
2- I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.: JSH 1:52
3- “With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.” (Joseph Smith quote, Wentworth Letter).
4- “I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife’s father, in the month of December, and the February following.” JSH 1:62
5- “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.’ JSH 1:75*
6- “And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow…” Mosiah 28:13 “And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times.” Mosiah 28:16. “And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.” Mosiah 28:20
7- “And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plundering’s, and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these interpreters…“And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying: I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works and their abominations; and except they repent I will destroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the land.” Alma 37:21, 24-25 (The word “Directors” was changed to “Interpreters” in the 1920 version & forward of the Book of Mormon)
8- “He [Moroni] then proceeded and gave a general account of the promises made to the fathers, and also gave a history of the aborigenes of this country, and said they were literal descendants of Abraham. He represented them as once being an enlightened and intelligent people, possessing a correct knowledge of the gospel, and the plan of restoration and redemption. He said this history was written and deposited not far from that place, and that it was our brother’s privilege, if obedient to the commandments of the Lord, to obtain and translate the same by the means of the Urim and Thummim, which were deposited for that purpose with the record.” Letter IV Oliver Cowdery
9- “And behold, these two stones [different than the previous 16 stones] will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones [2 stones] shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:23:24 (Parenthesis Added)
10- Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.” Ether 4:5
11 “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.” Restoration of All Things by Joseph Fielding Smith CHAPTER TWELVE, A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD Address delivered Sunday, August 20, 1944
Emma, Martin and David did not Witness the Translation.
Did Joseph fine a hat and a seer stone in the hill Cumorah? No! He found plates and two items to assist him in the translation. Breastplate and Spectacles that attached to that breastplate.
Only Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw the three instruments that were found by Joseph in Cumorah, and all three artifacts were used for the miraculous translation by the “Gift and Power of God.” Lucy Mack Smith saw, held, and handled the Spectacles and Breastplate under a thin linen that Joseph showed her. That is only 3 people that saw all three items at Cumorah. The Plates, The Breastplate and the Two Stones in the rims of a bow. (3 people, that is it). Many people claim to have seen a seer stone in a hat during translation, but I don’t believe that. They either misunderstood, lied or repeated hearsay from others.
There is no scriptural quote that Joseph translated using a seer stone in a hat. Joseph may have owned a few seer stones, but he only used the two stones in a silver bow like spectacles to translate, according to scripture. Anything else that Emma, David Whitmer or Martin Harris said about the stone in the hat is conjecture and second-hand, as they never saw Joseph translate as Oliver Cowdery said, “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.” Oliver Cowdery
Lucy Mack Smith said, “The thing which spoke of it had that Joseph termed a Key was indeed nothing more nor less than the Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision, by the which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger either to himself or the record and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.”
It is reasonable that Joseph wore the breastplate under his shirt [constantly] and the spectacles were stored in a pocket on the inner side of the breastplate as William Smith said. “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.” J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924)
Also, Lucy said, “he [Joseph Smith] seemed to think more of the glasses or the Urim and Thummim than he did of the plates, for, says he, “I can see anything; they are marvelous.” Lucy also said, “I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith
I personally believe Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as eye witnesses to the translation, and I believe Lucy Mack Smith as an eyewitness of the three items, and I don’t believe the conjecture of David Whitmer, Martin Harris or Emma Smith, who are all loved by me, but none of them saw the “interpreters”, and only David and Martin saw the plates after the translation. Further blogs here and here!
Why is this important to me? All truth is important as Moroni said, “we may know the truth of all things.” This knowledge won’t get me into the Temple, but scripture says, “Whatever principle of we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the . And if a person gains more and intelligence in this life through his and obedience than another, he will have so much the in the world to come. D&C 130:8-9
Send this blog to a friend and share what you believe. Be bold and courageous if you believe things that are not necessarily doctrine. This is how you grow and learn by utilizing your personal revelation from the Lord Himself. Be willing to stand up for something. Of course sharing your witness of the Savior and the truth of the Book of Mormon are more important, but why not practice sharing other truths you may gain by personal revelation if the spirit indicates?
Remember what Pres Nelson said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” “Hope of Israel. Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that” Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,
