FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 4
Response to claims made in "Chapter 4: Joseph Smith and Money-Digging"
| Chapter 3 | A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Jerald and Sandra Tanner
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Chapter 5 |
67-70
Claim
- Joseph Smith was convicted of "glass looking" in 1826.
Author's source(s) - Fraser's Magazine, February, 1873, pp.229-30
72
Claim
- Regarding Joseph's "glass looking trial," Hugh Nibley is claimed to have said that "...if this court record is authentic it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith," and that ""the most devastating blow to Smith ever delivered."
Author's source(s) - Nibley, The Myth Makers, p. 142
75
Claim
- Joseph Smith was "deeply involved in money-digging" during the years that he was preparing to received the gold plates.
Author's source(s) - No source provided.
77
Claim
- Martin Harris reported stories of treasures "sinking into the earth," and other "strange sights."
Author's source(s) - An interview with Martin Harris, published in Tiffany's Monthly, 1859, p.165
78-79
Claim
- Joseph found a seer stone while helping to dig a well.
Author's source(s) - Comprehensive History of the Church 1:129;
79
Claim
- Joseph said that the angel told him to "quit the company of the money-diggers."
Author's source(s) - Tiffany's Monthly, 1859, pp. 163-164, 167, 169
- The source here is not Joseph; it is second hand.
- Joseph Smith/Money digging
80
Claim
- The author proposed that Joseph fastened two of his seer stones together to make his "Urim and Thummim."
Author's source(s) - Author's opinion
- Book of Mormon/Translation/Method
- History unclear or in error: Joseph removed a stone from the Urim and Thummim to use by itself, since the two joined together were two large for him to look through comfortably.
80
Claim
- Joseph's father-in-law Isaac Hale claimed that Jospeh's occupation was "pretending to see by means of a stone placed in his hat."
Author's source(s) - Affidavit of Isaac Hale, as printed in the Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834
82
The author(s) make(s) the following claim:
*Bruce R. McConkie said: "The Prophet also had a seer stone which was separate and distinct from the Urim and Thummim, and which (speaking loosely) has been called by some a Urim and Thummim."
- The authors claim that Joseph Fielding Smith "admitted" that the "seer stone" was sometimes called the Urim and Thummim.
Author's sources: *Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 818
- Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 225.
FAIR's Response
Gospel Topics: "Joseph Smith and his associates often used the term 'Urim and Thummim' to refer to the single stone as well as the interpreters"
"These two instruments—the interpreters and the seer stone—were apparently interchangeable"
Gospel Topics on LDS.org:
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 illumin[at]ed. 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. [1]
Ensign (Jan. 2013): "He...referred to it using an Old Testament term, Urim and Thummim...He also sometimes applied the term to other stones he possessed"
Gerrit Dirkmaat (Church History Department - January 2013 Ensign):
Those who believed that Joseph Smith’s revelations contained the voice of the Lord speaking to them also accepted the miraculous ways in which the revelations were received. Some of the Prophet Joseph’s earliest revelations came through the same means by which he translated the Book of Mormon from the gold plates. In the stone box containing the gold plates, Joseph found what Book of Mormon prophets referred to as “interpreters,” or a “stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light” (Alma 37:23–24). He described the instrument as “spectacles” and referred to it using an Old Testament term, Urim and Thummim (see Exodus 28:30).2
He also sometimes applied the term to other stones he possessed, called “seer stones” because they aided him in receiving revelations as a seer. The Prophet received some early revelations through the use of these seer stones. For example, shortly after Oliver Cowdery came to serve as a scribe for Joseph Smith as he translated the plates, Oliver and Joseph debated the meaning of a biblical passage and sought an answer through revelation. Joseph explained: “A difference of opinion arising between us about the account of John the Apostle … whether he died, or whether he continued; we mutually agreed to settle it by the Urim and Thummim.”3 In response, Joseph Smith received the revelation now known as section 7 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which informed them that Jesus had told the Apostle John, “Thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory” (D&C 7:3).
Records indicate that soon after the founding of the Church in 1830, the Prophet stopped using the seer stones as a regular means of receiving revelations. Instead, he dictated the revelations after inquiring of the Lord without employing an external instrument. One of his scribes explained that process: “The scribe seats himself at a desk or table, with pen, ink, and paper. The subject of inquiry being understood, the Prophet and Revelator inquires of God. He spiritually sees, hears, and feels, and then speaks as he is moved upon by the Holy Ghost.”[2]
W.W. Phelps (1833): "through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles—(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)"
W.W. Phelps wrote the following in the January 1833 edition of The Evening and The Morning Star:
The book of Mormon, as a revelation from God, possesses some advantage over the old scripture: it has not been tinctured by the wisdom of man, with here and there an Italic word to supply deficiencies.-It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles-(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim) and while it unfolds the history of the first inhabitants that settled this continent, it, at the same time, brings a oneness to scripture, like the days of the apostles; and opens and explains the prophecies, that a child may understand the meaning of many of them; and shows how the Lord will gather his saints, even the children of Israel, that have been scattered over the face of the earth, more than two thousand years, in these last days, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion. [3]
It appears that the seer stone was also referred to as the "Urim and Thummim" after 1833, indicating that the name could be assigned to any device that was used for the purpose of translation.[4]
83
Claim
- Mormon apologists have difficulty explaining Joseph's use of seer stones.
Author's source(s) - Authors' opinion.
- The author's claim is false No, apologists have no difficulty explaining this issue.
- Mormon apologists explain Joseph's use of seer stones
83
Claim
- Mormons aren't sure how to deal with Joseph Smith's "peeping" activities.
Author's source(s) - Authors opinion.
84
Claim
- The plates didn't even have to be present while Joseph was translating.
Author's source(s) - Arch S. Reynolds, How Did Joseph Smith Translate?, p. 21.
84
Claim
- Joseph Smith originally wanted to obtain the plates in order to get rich, and he was rebuked by the angel.
Author's source(s) - Paul R. Cheesman, "An Analysis of the Accounts Relating Joseph Smith's Early Visions," Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1965, pp.130-31
- Joseph's intent was to follow the command of the angel to get the plates. He reported that Moroni "added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me, (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father's family) to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them." [5]
- However, when he saw them for the first time, Oliver Cowdery says that "a thought would start across the mind on the prospects of obtaining so desirable a treasure--one in all human probability sufficient to raise him above the level of the common earthly fortunes of his fellow men, and relieve his family from want, in which by misfortune and sickness they were placed....his mind would be carried back to its former reflections of poverty, abuse, wealth, grandeur and ease, until before arriving at the place described, this wholly occupied his desire; and when he thought upon the fact of what was previously shown him, it was only with an assurance that he should obtain, and accomplish his desire in relieving himself and friends from want....do not understand me to attach blame to our brother; he was young, and his mind easily turned from correct principles, unless he could be favored with a certain round of experience." [6]
85
Claim
- The authors say that Brigham Young claimed that a chest of money "moved by itself" into the bank.
Author's source(s) - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 19:37.
- Brigham said:
I will tell you a story which will be marvelous to most of you. It was told me by Porter, whom I would believe just as quickly as any man that lives. When he tells a thing he understands, he will tell it just as he knows it; he is a man that does not lie. He said that on this night, when they were engaged hunting for this old treasure, they dug around the end of a chest for some twenty inches. The chest was about three feet square. One man who was determined to have the contents of that chest, took his pick and struck into the lid of it, and split through into the chest. The blow took off a piece of the lid, which a certain lady kept in her possession until she died. That chest of money went into the bank. Porter describes it so [making a rumbling sound]; he says this is just as true as the heavens are. I have heard others tell the same story.
86
The author(s) make(s) the following claim:
*Joseph is claimed to have attempted to "cover up" Oliver Cowdery's alleged work with a divining rod by changing a revelation.
Author's sources: *Book of Commandments 7:3
FAIR's Response
Revelations in Context on history.lds.org: "Cowdery was among those who believed in and used a divining rod"
Revelations in Context on history.lds.org:
Oliver Cowdery lived in a culture steeped in biblical ideas, language and practices. The revelation’s reference to Moses likely resonated with him. The Old Testament account of Moses and his brother Aaron recounted several instances of using rods to manifest God’s will (see Ex. 7:9-12; Num. 17:8). Many Christians in Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery's day similarly believed in divining rods as an instrument for revelation. Cowdery was among those who believed in and used a divining rod.[7]
Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to "cover up" Oliver Cowdery's work with a divining rod by changing the wording of the revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 8:6–8?
The edits to this portion of the revelation were actually performed by Sidney Rigdon, likely with Joseph's approval
A revelation received by Joseph praised Oliver Cowdery's gift of using divining talents. The revelation was published in the Book of Commandments in its original form, then subsequently modified in the Doctrine and Covenants. We do not know why Sidney Rigdon chose to alter the wording of the revelation, but he is the one that actually changed the wording to "rod of nature."
We know based upon the text of the revelation that Oliver possessed a gift of working with something alternately referred to as a "sprout," "thing of nature," or "rod of nature." We also know that the Lord approved of Oliver's use of this gift. The reference was later changed to the "gift of Aaron," but we can only speculate as to the exact reason why. According to the Church History website, the "rod" referred to by Sidney Rigdon when he edited the revelation was likely a divining rod. It is possible that "gift of Aaron" was substituted as the revelatory device because if carried fewer negative connotations than "divining rod." However, a "cover up" is not usually done by committee, and it is clear that multiple individuals assisted in editing the revelations before they were to be published in the Doctrine and Covenants. It is also difficult to claim a "cover up" since "rod of nature" was to be published in the Book of Commandments in 1833, only two years before change to "gift of Aaron" was published in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants.
We do know that Oliver's gift had to do with receiving revelation, and that Oliver attempted to employ it during the period in which the Book of Mormon was being translated. We also know that Oliver's experience in attempting to translate produced one of the lasting lessons which continues to be taught in Church even today—the knowledge that one must study things out in their mind in order to know the truth of something.
87
Author's source(s)
- D&C 111:1-2, 4, 9, 10
- Comprehensive History of the Church 1:412
89
Claim
- Joseph Smith is claimed to have had a "Jupiter Talisman" in his possession at the time of his death.
Author's source(s) - Reed C. Durham.
- Mormon Miscellaneous, published by David C. Martin, vol. 1, no. 1, October 1975, pp.14-15
Notes
- ↑ "Book of Mormon Translation," Gospel Topics on LDS.org (2013).
- ↑ Gerrit Dirkmaat (Church History Department), "Great and Marvelous Are the Revelations of God," Ensign (January 2013).
- ↑ W.W. Phelps, "The Book of Mormon," The Evening and The Morning Star 1:58 .
- ↑ Stephen D. Ricks, The Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, Featured Papers, Maxwell Institute, Provo UT. off-site
- ↑ Joseph Smith, Jr., "History of Joseph Smith (cont.)," Times and Seasons 3 no. 12 (15 April 1842), 754. off-site GospeLink
- ↑ Oliver Cowdery to W.W. Phelps, "Letter VIII, Dear Brother," Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate 2 no. 1 (October 1835), 197.
- ↑ Jeffrey G. Cannon, "Oliver Cowdery's Gift," Revelations in Context on history.lds.org