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Question: Are there any Biblical parallels to Joseph Smith's understanding of the use of seer stones?: Difference between revisions
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==Question: Are there any Biblical parallels to Joseph's understanding of the use of seer stones?== | ==Question: Are there any Biblical parallels to Joseph Smith's understanding of the use of seer stones?== | ||
===The idea of sacred stones acting as revelators to believers is present in the Bible=== | ===The idea of sacred stones acting as revelators to believers is present in the Bible=== | ||
Revision as of 02:04, 3 October 2017
Question: Are there any Biblical parallels to Joseph Smith's understanding of the use of seer stones?
The idea of sacred stones acting as revelators to believers is present in the Bible
The idea of sacred stones acting as revelators to believers is present in the Bible, and Joseph Smith embraced a decidedly "non-magical" and "pro-religious" view of them:
- In Revelation, John incorporates past religious symbols into his message. Thus the most internally consistent interpretation of the "white stone" combines with the book's assurance that the faithful will become "kings and priests" to the Most High (Rev. 1:6). These eternal priests will be in tune with God's will, like the High Priest with the breastplate of shining stones and the Urim. In Hebrew that term means "light," corresponding to the "white" stone of John's Revelation. This correlation should be obvious, but Joseph Smith is virtually alone in confidence that John sees the redeemed as full High Priests: "Then the white stone mentioned in Rev. 2:17 is the Urim and Thummim, whereby all things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms, even all kingdoms, will be made know." As for genuine religion, Joseph Smith perceived the stone of John's vision not as a stone of chance but as a conduit of enlightenment and a reward of worthiness of character.[1]
Notes
- ↑ Richard L. Anderson, "The Mature Joseph Smith and Treasure Searching," Brigham Young University Studies 24 no. 4 (1984). PDF link
Caution: this article was published before Mark Hofmann's forgeries were discovered. It may treat fraudulent documents as genuine. Click for list of known forged documents.
Discusses money-digging; Salem treasure hunting episode; fraudulent 1838 Missouri treasure hunting revelation; Wood Scrape; “gift of Aaron”; “wand or rod”; Heber C. Kimball rod and prayer; magic; occult; divining lost objects; seerstone; parchments; talisman