When Joseph Smith began the Book of Mormon translation, he acted in his capacity as a treasure seer and used the tools of that trade. But beginning about 1827–28, Smith and his followers began to change how they talked about … Continue reading
The recently released images of Joseph Smith’s brown seer stone in the Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Volume 3: Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon and forthcoming article in the Ensign titled “Joseph the Seer” discussing Smith’s method … Continue reading
Joseph Smith initially told the story of the golden plates in the language of folk-magic and treasure-digging culture.[1] In the 1820s Joseph possessed at least three seer stones, which he used to locate buried treasures.[2] However, the treasures tended to … Continue reading
At a press conference yesterday the LDS Church released photographs of the chocolate-colored, egg-shaped seer stone that Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon. For decades the stone has resided in the restricted First Presidency vault, and visitors have rarely … Continue reading
Laura Compton at Rational Faiths has an enlightening and informative post on the origins of the Family Proclamation. She effectively demonstrates that the controversy surrounding Baehr v. Lewin–the first major victory for same-sex marriage proponents–gave birth to the quasi-canonical document. … Continue reading