Posted by:
idahotortfeasor
(
)
Date: September 22, 2010 01:17PM
My parents are currently serving their 3rd mission. This mission is in Palmyra. For the past year, we've received emails every 3 or 4 days about various facts on Palmyra, Cumorah, etc. They send them out to all the family, including us. We know much of their emails are focused on my wife and I, since we are ex-mormons. They hope to somehow convince us to come back with their reports on church history.
I normally just ignore what they say, because I've heard it all before, and there isn't any reason I need to get into it with them.
But, their latest email bugged me enough, that I had to respond. Here is the relevant portion of their email:
" We want to share some information I have found. I have been reading in various places how the Book of Mormon was translated and sometimes these stories vary. All start with Joseph Smith using the Urim and Thummim. Oliver Cowdery was told he could also translate and he did so with the Urim and Thummim. He did do a little translating before he got scared, sort of like Peter walking on the water, getting scared and starting to sink, and calling on Christ to help him. Oliver was then told he was to continue helping Joseph as a scribe, and not to translate for awhile.
Then comes the story of the seer stone which was supposed to have been put in a hat which showed the various characters and their word-for-word translation and even correct spellings given.
There have been many ideas given as to what is correct, and finally I found one writing that did what I often say is necessary to do - go to the original source. When we do, we find that Joseph and Oliver and Emma Smith who had direct involvement with the translating say that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim. Joseph said that it is not necessary for man to know exactly how the translation took place, but that it was of God.
The only original place that comes up with the seer stone in a hat is from David Whitmer. David Whitmer left the Church. He never denied his testimony of seeing the golden plates presented by the Angel Moroni. He testified of that often through his life and on his death bed. However, he did feel that though Joseph was a prophet at one time, that he had fallen.
David wanted things to be exact. When Joseph translated, the characters came as thoughts, not exactly word for word as David wanted to have happened.
David had an interview with one newsman and told him Joseph used the Urim and Thummim. Later, David told that reporter that Joseph had used a seer stone. The reporter wrote that he remembered clearly that David had said Urim and Thummim.
If David had been present at any time of the translation, he might have seen Joseph using a hat because Joseph's brother William said that sometimes Joseph would wear a hat to protect his eyes from outside glare. This was changed by David to having Joseph put his head in a hat to translate. I think we can therefore realize when we read something about a seer stone used in the translation, that we can realize it came from an apostate who wanted to change the character of how the Book of Mormon was translated, and dismiss it. The Urim and Thummim, an ancient interpreter, was used.
The Urim and Thummim was first called an "interpreter" until it was realized that an interpreter of a very similar making was used by the prophets in the Bible and they called it a Urim and Thummim.
The Book of Mormon really is a second witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior; and the Book of Mormon is written about in the Bible. You probably already know the chapters and verses, but if not let us know and we'll send them on."
I love the part how my mom states that "we can realize it came from apostate" of why the seer stone theory exists.
I wrote one scathing email first, but decided not to send it. Then I wrote a very sarcastic one, but decided not to send that one. Finally, I wrote back:
"It's been a long time since I've responded to your attempts to defend your faith, but when you get something absolutely wrong, I need to correct you, so you don't embarrass yourself later on. Go to the LDS source on this:
http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Seer_stonesSo, please forward this link to everyone you sent the email to. They need to know it wasn't "an apostate" that started the rock in the hat rumor. But, I'll let the FAIR article speak for itself."
I just kept it short and sweet. By the way, if you haven't read that FAIR article, its great. Its rare I say a FAIR article is great, but this one actually is.