http://josephantley.com/2009/10/27/the-seer-stones-cradle-western-new-york/

Snippets:

"...Sometimes called a “peep-stone” or a “glass,” seer-stones were usually a unique or peculiar-looking rock. The seer, sometimes derogatorily referred to as a “wizard,” would often place the stone in his or her hat in order to exclude the light. In the stone, they could then see the location of buried treasure (the same technique was also used to find lost objects, see far away places, tell fortunes, etc., just like the different forms of scrying in England). Seers were often youth, and could be either male or female."

"The earliest account of the use of a seer-stone comes from Hartwick, New York, in 1806, when a seer led treasure-hunts “by looking into his dark hat, having [his] stone in the crown. Chronologically the next two earliest accounts both come from western New York from c. 1812-1815. In one case, a girl possessed a “magic stone” which, when she “put [the] stone into a hat, and placing her face in front so as entirely to exclude the light…she could see the whole world and what was there going on. The second from Rochester, NY, was a seer named Smith (unrelated to Joseph Smith) who used a seer-stone to locate buried treasure and predict enemy movements in the War of 1812."

"Obviously the most famous treasure-seer from western New York was Joseph Smith. Joseph obtained his first seer-stone in the vicinity of Palmyra, New York, around 1820, shortly after the family moved there from Vermont. Many of the Smiths’ neighbors used seer-stones as well. In fact, most of our documentation of seer-stones is from the area around Palmyra, which demonstrate their enormous popularity in that region during the 1820s. It was so common-place that, according to one resident, Lucy Mack Smith actually came to her house and asked if she could borrow their “peep-stone,” as if asking for a cup of sugar...."

"...Many decades later in 1888, Wilford Woodruff consecrated Joseph Smith’s seer-stone on the altar of the Manti, Utah temple. That same reverence for Joseph Smith’s use of seer-stones would then be shared by Mormons around the world well into the twenty-first century."

Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn

covers this well, too.

disqualify anyone in running for the President. Just as the articles say, a peep stone would come in very handy to a president. He could "seer" things like movements of our enemies (i.e. Taliban), see the whole world, and get us out of our deficit by finding buried treasure. Why, I think it's must for a president. Don't you?

...and yet I'm guessing that the Mormon church frowns on the use of Tarot cards and Ouija Boards. Because those items are obviously Satan's work.

Gosh how did I get involved with this mess?

Uhh ... haven't you heard of polygamy?

ha ha ha ha ha!

Goodness I didn't even think of that!

Goodness this is a hot mess worthy of a reality TV show!

There was acceptable white magic at the time (black magic was still frowned upon). Some of the early women in the church read palms and I think tea leaves (have to look it up for that one). White magic was widely accepted.

Really white magick was hailed and black magick frowned upon.

What is the likely hood that white and delightsome sprang from this?


NUCKING FUTS!

They believed in all kinds of stuff, seer stones, rods, talismans, enchanted scrolls (I thought that was interesting, one JS carried around with him said Holiness to the Lord, exactly what is printed on our temples). All white magic stuff, Quinn's book is really good, I highly recommend it.

White magic has a different meaning than white/black skin color--white magic was used for good to help people, while black was used to harm others. I don't know where the white and delightsome came from but I think based on culture at the time it was meant more for Native Americans than it was Blacks. JS gave the priesthood to a black man, it was BY that was the racist.

I know that!

it was a joke...play on words!

Funny bone ha ha ha ha ha!

From the Doctrines of Salvation, the 10th president of the church, Joseph Fielding Smith said the following:


While the statement has been made by some writers that the Propher JS used a seerstone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that the stone was used for this purpose.
...
It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the prophet would substitute something evidently inferior [to the U&T] under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the prophet did possess a seerstone, which he may have used for some other purposes.

Doctrines of Salvation vol.3 pg 225-226


So apparently even the 10th president of the church thinks that using a stone to translate the Book of Mormon with "hardly seems reasonable". That's the same view any reasonable, intelligent person should have. President Joseph Fielding Smith makes a good point here when he says "It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the prophet would substitute something evidently inferior [to the U&T] under these circumstances".

This is further evidence showing that it doesn't appear reasonable for Joseph to translate the BOM using a common stone he found with his brother Hyrum on Willard Chase's property years before the gold plates were given to him when the stone box had an instrument referred to as the urim & thummim, which was kept and preserved with the plates for some 2,000 years, for the very purpose of translating the plates.

http://www.mormonthink.com/transbomweb.htm

I wish they would print this article in the ensign, very good.

Does Tommy sleep with the Seer Stone? Where is it now? He needs to use it from time to time so we can be aware of earthquakes, wars, etc.

It brings a smile to my face to imagine the Hinckster or Tommy Monson going to the big underground vault and taking the seer stone in hand, sadly thinking "Why won't it work for me??"

Interesting that they treat all the church history sites like sacred relics...and they keep these stones tucked away...hmmmmm

The question is cn the prophet, seer, and revelator use them? Maybe it's because hats have gone out of style.

And yes, Quinn's book is absolutely the best.

Anyone interested can google "New England magic 1820" and you'll see a bunch of works about magic and folklore in early 19th century New England.

I find most interesting the connection between religion and magic in the culture of the day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2011 10:47PM by jw the inquizzinator.

Well if I were the prophet, I'd try putting it in a baseball cap and see if I could see anything. Maybe a Dodger baseball cap.

http://www.rickgrunder.com/HistoricalArchive/belchersmithdibble.htm

From the site:
"SEER STONE OF JOSEPH SMITH, handed down through private hands to the present day (1991). Apparently acquired by Joseph Smith in the 1820s before translating the Book of Mormon in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

Greyish-ivory-colored stone of irregular oval shape, approximately 5 cm. in length by 4 cm. thick. Marked with small irregular dark grey indentations and green deposits. With a large hole extending through the stone, terminating in three small apertures created by embedded stone particles. The apertures function like primitive lenses when held close to the eye.

SOLD (1993):: $75,000::

THE FAMOUS BELCHER-SMITH-DIBBLE-PIERCE STONE, said originally to have been found at Salina, New York, taken to Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, and there purchased from the owner by Joseph Smith before he translated the Book of Mormon. Near the time of the martyrdom, this stone was acquired by a survivor of the Missouri mobs, Philo Dibble, who also made the death masks of Joseph and Hyrum. Dibble later exhibited the stone, death masks and other historical objects on lecture tours which he conducted in Utah Territory.

Early Mormon seer stones are of the greatest rarity and importance. The lure and lore of "magic stones" have of course fascinated people throughout history. According to Brigham Young, Joseph Smith had three seer stones during the early part of his life. Judging from numerous other accounts, these would have been the white, opaque stone, of which nothing has been heard since 1900, the present "green" stone now offered here, and the brown stone which, according to David Whitmer and other friends of the Prophet, was used to translate much of the Book of Mormon and which is kept in the First Presidency's vault in Salt Lake City. Modern studies based on writings by faithful early members of the Church suggest that Joseph Smith took his seer stones very seriously, and sometimes used them to receive revelations. For documentation and analysis of the above, see Quinn (below, citing statements by Brigham Young and others in the Church Archives), and David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ . . . (Richmond, Missouri, 1887), p.12."

Here's some other pic's http://www.realmormonhistory.com/pixof.htm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2011 11:00PM by jw the inquizzinator.

I was at a science museum recently and for fun I stared into a huge crystal to see if I could see anything goofy. nada. I guess I'm not a seer or I don't do drugs.

(I'm sure people passing me by thought I was a nutcase ... which is why you will never see a picture of Joe staring into a hat featured in the ensign)