Praise the Lord on High!! The truth that I have been taught by you and the Spirit has strength my testimony of Joseph Smith being a chosen Prophet of this dispensation and the divine record of The Book of Mormon. God bless you brother, I'm very grateful for you putting this course on UA-cam. Love you Brother keep up your amazing gift to all of us. Your brother Asa Jensen
I greatly appreciate and value your collection of these statements showing Oliver Cowdery's important role as a key witness to the translation of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Priesthood through angelic messengers in these latter days. I would add, however, that Oliver Cowdery's terminology regarding the term "Urim and Thummim" was not intended to convey an omission of Joseph's usage of a seer stone as part of the Book of Mormon's translation process. It is a known fact that Joseph Smith gave his seer stone to Oliver Cowdery after he finished the BoM translation, and that Oliver's widow delivered it to his brother-in-law Phineas Young, after Oliver's death, who subsequently brought it to Utah. After Phineas brought it to President Brigham Young, it was said by Heber C. Kimball that President Young had obtained "the Urim and Thummim" (JD 2:111)-obviously not referring to the Nephite interpreters. Early Latter-day Saints typically referred to seer stones as a "Urim and Thummim." One example of such interchangeable phraseology occurs in Wandle Mace's autobiography, wherein he recalls Joseph Smith himself having "pronounced [the Sameazer stones] to be a Urim and Thummim-as good as ever was upon the earth-but he said, 'They have been consecrated to devils.'" This shows that Joseph considered seer stones as being legitimate seeric instruments, but that notwithstanding their innate powers, they could have a good or evil use. Brigham Young's Manuscript History recounts Joseph Smith teaching him that very principle, saying: "every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness, and most of those who do find one make an evil use of it; *he showed us his seer stone."* Wilford Woodruff's diary entry under the same date (December 27, 1841) corroborates President Young's account, except that Woodruff refers to Joseph's stone as the Urim and Thummim: "The Twelve or a part of them spent the day with Joseph the Seer & he unfolded unto them many glorious things of the kingdom of God[,] the privileges & blessings of the priesthood &c. *I had the privilege of seeing for the first time in my day the URIM & THUMMIM."* President Woodruff later consecrated Joseph's seer stone at the Manti Temple altar in 1888. Joseph Fielding Smith later acknowledged in his book "Doctrines of Salvation" that "the Urim and Thummim" which President Woodruff consecrated was none other than Joseph Smith's seer stone, which was "now in the possession of the Church." This was the very stone that Phineas Young delivered to Brigham Young after Oliver Cowdery's death, which he had obtained from Oliver's widow. David Whitmer's eyewitness testimony regarding this stone is far from being the only evidence that historians take as indicative that Joseph Smith used a seer stone during the translation process. Martin Harris testified likewise, and his testimony was published in faithful publications such as The Millennial Star and The Historical Record. These testimonies were vetted and published by Edward Stevenson and Andrew Jenson; Stevenson having been a personal friend to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and Andrew Jenson a very knowledgable Church Historian. Emma Smith was another firsthand eyewitness to the translation process, in fact acting as Joseph's scribe for a time. As such, her testimony regarding how these events took place cannot be easily dismissed by any serious historian. Many critics of the seer stone focus solely on Emma's 1879 interview, but in actuality, she wrote a private letter 9 years earlier, corroborating that after losing the 116 pages, Joseph "used a small stone, not exactly, black, but [it] was rather a dark color." We moreover have faithful recollections from Oliver B. Huntington's diary, together with corroboratory statements published in the Juvenile Instructor, affirming that David Whitmer's and Martin Harris' testimonies were credible: "During the latter part of March, 1906, Father Lorin Farr of Ogden visited the Logan First Ward Sunday School and in the hearing of the writer [Joel Ricks] stated to the theological class that he had been a member of the Prophet's household between 1835 and 1840, and that during that time the subject of *the manner of translating was often discussed in the family circle, and that it was always understood to be substantially as described above by [David] Whitmer and [Martin] Harris."* (Juvenile Instructor, July 1, 1906) "On the 6th of Feb. [1906] Elder Lorin Farr came to see me, as he usualy does whenever he is in Springville [...] Elder Farr stated then in the presence of my son Oliver and my son Dimick that *he heard the Prophet say in substance what David Whitmer said upon the subject,* as written in his life time. *I heard the father of the Prophet relate substancialy the same particulars of the manner of translating, by Joseph, the Book of Mormon."* (Oliver B. Huntington Diary, 1906-1907) Lucy Mack Smith similarly testified regarding Joseph's mode of translating the Book of Abraham: "She [Lucy Mack Smith] said, that when Joseph was reading the papyrus, he closed his eyes, and *held a hat over his face, and that the revelation came to him;* and that where the papyrus was torn, he could read the parts that were destroyed equally as well as those that were there; and that scribes sat by him writing, as he expounded." (Friends' Weekly Intelligencer, October 3, 1846) We need not wonder what Joseph placed in the hat, for Wilford Woodruff told us in his journal: "Truly the Lord has raised up Joseph the Seer of the seed of Abraham out of the loins of ancient Joseph, & is now clothing him with mighty power & wisdom & knowledge which is more clearly manifest & felt in the midst of his intimate friends than any other class of mankind. The Lord is Blessing Joseph with Power to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God; *to translate through the urim & Thummim Ancient records & Hyeroglyphics as old as Abraham or Adam,* which causes our hearts to burn within us while we behold their glorious truths opened unto us." (Wilford Woodruff's Journal, February 19, 1842) Clearly, Elder Woodruff did not have the Nephite interpreters in mind here, for Joseph certainly no longer had them in his possession by 1842. If one compares this with the statement Woodruff made about Joseph's seer stone, just a few months earlier in his diary, we can see that Woodruff clearly was in the habit of referring to the Prophet's seer stone interchangeably as a Urim and Thummim. The evidences that I've delineated so far merely scratch the surface of the overwhelming convergence of firsthand and secondhand testimony indicating that the Prophet Joseph Smith did indeed possess seer stones early in his life, and subsequently used them (together with the Nephite interpreters) during the translation of the Book of Mormon, and later for the translation of the Book of Abraham, along with possibly other scriptures. These evidences can (and have) filled up whole volumes, and there's a reason that both faithful, neutral, and critical historians have reached an overall consensus on this issue. Anyone who is interested in a faithful perspective on the usage and significance of seer stones throughout the Restoration should read "Seers and Seer Stones" by Ogden Kraut.
I love the restoration of the Book of Mormon. Why did John the Babtist come? Why did Peter, James, and John come? Why do Ordinances and Ceremonies come anciently and in these last days? These are all “outward” manifestations of “spiritual” truths that we are to invest ourselves into [What manner of men ought ye to be? Even as I am]. After all we do temporally, how are we actually saved Celestially, Terrestrially or Telestially? Is it by faith, by works, or by grace alone? “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all” (New Testament | Romans 4:16) “Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through grace, [”grace” is to become in character as Father is, as Christ is, and this promise is] ]to all the seed; not to them only who are of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all.” Inspired KJV Romans 4: 16. Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet! Those who followed after he was murdered by an inside secret combination are presidents only. Why? Because they failed the test of D&C 42: 18-24 to “cleave unto her and none else,” and “thou shalt not lie” or perpetuate a lie as the LDS Church is doing today with D&C 132!!! The Book of Mormon is totally against polygamy, in every way shape, and form!
Praise the Lord on High!! The truth that I have been taught by you and the Spirit has strength my testimony of Joseph Smith being a chosen Prophet of this dispensation and the divine record of The Book of Mormon. God bless you brother, I'm very grateful for you putting this course on UA-cam. Love you Brother keep up your amazing gift to all of us. Your brother
Asa Jensen
I greatly appreciate and value your collection of these statements showing Oliver Cowdery's important role as a key witness to the translation of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Priesthood through angelic messengers in these latter days. I would add, however, that Oliver Cowdery's terminology regarding the term "Urim and Thummim" was not intended to convey an omission of Joseph's usage of a seer stone as part of the Book of Mormon's translation process.
It is a known fact that Joseph Smith gave his seer stone to Oliver Cowdery after he finished the BoM translation, and that Oliver's widow delivered it to his brother-in-law Phineas Young, after Oliver's death, who subsequently brought it to Utah. After Phineas brought it to President Brigham Young, it was said by Heber C. Kimball that President Young had obtained "the Urim and Thummim" (JD 2:111)-obviously not referring to the Nephite interpreters. Early Latter-day Saints typically referred to seer stones as a "Urim and Thummim."
One example of such interchangeable phraseology occurs in Wandle Mace's autobiography, wherein he recalls Joseph Smith himself having "pronounced [the Sameazer stones] to be a Urim and Thummim-as good as ever was upon the earth-but he said, 'They have been consecrated to devils.'" This shows that Joseph considered seer stones as being legitimate seeric instruments, but that notwithstanding their innate powers, they could have a good or evil use.
Brigham Young's Manuscript History recounts Joseph Smith teaching him that very principle, saying: "every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness, and most of those who do find one make an evil use of it; *he showed us his seer stone."*
Wilford Woodruff's diary entry under the same date (December 27, 1841) corroborates President Young's account, except that Woodruff refers to Joseph's stone as the Urim and Thummim: "The Twelve or a part of them spent the day with Joseph the Seer & he unfolded unto them many glorious things of the kingdom of God[,] the privileges & blessings of the priesthood &c. *I had the privilege of seeing for the first time in my day the URIM & THUMMIM."*
President Woodruff later consecrated Joseph's seer stone at the Manti Temple altar in 1888. Joseph Fielding Smith later acknowledged in his book "Doctrines of Salvation" that "the Urim and Thummim" which President Woodruff consecrated was none other than Joseph Smith's seer stone, which was "now in the possession of the Church." This was the very stone that Phineas Young delivered to Brigham Young after Oliver Cowdery's death, which he had obtained from Oliver's widow.
David Whitmer's eyewitness testimony regarding this stone is far from being the only evidence that historians take as indicative that Joseph Smith used a seer stone during the translation process. Martin Harris testified likewise, and his testimony was published in faithful publications such as The Millennial Star and The Historical Record. These testimonies were vetted and published by Edward Stevenson and Andrew Jenson; Stevenson having been a personal friend to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and Andrew Jenson a very knowledgable Church Historian.
Emma Smith was another firsthand eyewitness to the translation process, in fact acting as Joseph's scribe for a time. As such, her testimony regarding how these events took place cannot be easily dismissed by any serious historian. Many critics of the seer stone focus solely on Emma's 1879 interview, but in actuality, she wrote a private letter 9 years earlier, corroborating that after losing the 116 pages, Joseph "used a small stone, not exactly, black, but [it] was rather a dark color."
We moreover have faithful recollections from Oliver B. Huntington's diary, together with corroboratory statements published in the Juvenile Instructor, affirming that David Whitmer's and Martin Harris' testimonies were credible: "During the latter part of March, 1906, Father Lorin Farr of Ogden visited the Logan First Ward Sunday School and in the hearing of the writer [Joel Ricks] stated to the theological class that he had been a member of the Prophet's household between 1835 and 1840, and that during that time the subject of *the manner of translating was often discussed in the family circle, and that it was always understood to be substantially as described above by [David] Whitmer and [Martin] Harris."* (Juvenile Instructor, July 1, 1906)
"On the 6th of Feb. [1906] Elder Lorin Farr came to see me, as he usualy does whenever he is in Springville [...] Elder Farr stated then in the presence of my son Oliver and my son Dimick that *he heard the Prophet say in substance what David Whitmer said upon the subject,* as written in his life time. *I heard the father of the Prophet relate substancialy the same particulars of the manner of translating, by Joseph, the Book of Mormon."* (Oliver B. Huntington Diary, 1906-1907)
Lucy Mack Smith similarly testified regarding Joseph's mode of translating the Book of Abraham: "She [Lucy Mack Smith] said, that when Joseph was reading the papyrus, he closed his eyes, and *held a hat over his face, and that the revelation came to him;* and that where the papyrus was torn, he could read the parts that were destroyed equally as well as those that were there; and that scribes sat by him writing, as he expounded." (Friends' Weekly Intelligencer, October 3, 1846)
We need not wonder what Joseph placed in the hat, for Wilford Woodruff told us in his journal: "Truly the Lord has raised up Joseph the Seer of the seed of Abraham out of the loins of ancient Joseph, & is now clothing him with mighty power & wisdom & knowledge which is more clearly manifest & felt in the midst of his intimate friends than any other class of mankind. The Lord is Blessing Joseph with Power to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God; *to translate through the urim & Thummim Ancient records & Hyeroglyphics as old as Abraham or Adam,* which causes our hearts to burn within us while we behold their glorious truths opened unto us." (Wilford Woodruff's Journal, February 19, 1842)
Clearly, Elder Woodruff did not have the Nephite interpreters in mind here, for Joseph certainly no longer had them in his possession by 1842. If one compares this with the statement Woodruff made about Joseph's seer stone, just a few months earlier in his diary, we can see that Woodruff clearly was in the habit of referring to the Prophet's seer stone interchangeably as a Urim and Thummim.
The evidences that I've delineated so far merely scratch the surface of the overwhelming convergence of firsthand and secondhand testimony indicating that the Prophet Joseph Smith did indeed possess seer stones early in his life, and subsequently used them (together with the Nephite interpreters) during the translation of the Book of Mormon, and later for the translation of the Book of Abraham, along with possibly other scriptures. These evidences can (and have) filled up whole volumes, and there's a reason that both faithful, neutral, and critical historians have reached an overall consensus on this issue.
Anyone who is interested in a faithful perspective on the usage and significance of seer stones throughout the Restoration should read "Seers and Seer Stones" by Ogden Kraut.
I love the restoration of the Book of Mormon. Why did John the Babtist come? Why did Peter, James, and John come? Why do Ordinances and Ceremonies come anciently and in these last days? These are all “outward” manifestations of “spiritual” truths that we are to invest ourselves into [What manner of men ought ye to be? Even as I am]. After all we do temporally, how are we actually saved Celestially, Terrestrially or Telestially? Is it by faith, by works, or by grace alone?
“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all”
(New Testament | Romans 4:16)
“Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through grace, [”grace” is to become in character as Father is, as Christ is, and this promise is] ]to all the seed; not to them only who are of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all.” Inspired KJV Romans 4: 16.
Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet! Those who followed after he was murdered by an inside secret combination are presidents only. Why? Because they failed the test of D&C 42: 18-24 to “cleave unto her and none else,” and “thou shalt not lie” or perpetuate a lie as the LDS Church is doing today with D&C 132!!! The Book of Mormon is totally against polygamy, in every way shape, and form!