David Whitmer describes Joseph using two stones known as "the interpreters."

David Whitmer, Letter to the Editor, Kansas City Daily Journal, June 5, 1881, M222.011 M865 1881 no. 2, Church History Library

After several months Cowdery told me he was going to Harmony, Pa.—whither Joseph Smith had gone with the plates on account of persecutions of his neighbors—and see him about the matter. He did go and on his way stopped at my father’s house and told me that as soon as he found out anything either truth or untruth he would let me know. After he got there he became acquainted with Joseph Smith, and shortly after, wrote to me telling me that he was convinced that Smith had the records and that he (Smith) had told him that it was the will of heaven that he (Cowdery) should be his scribe to assist in the translation of the plates. He went on and Joseph translated from the plates and he wrote it down. Shortly after this Cowdery wrote me another letter in which he gave me a few lines of what they had translated, and he assured me that he knew of a certainty that he had a record of a people that inhabited this continent, and that the plates they were translating gave a complete history of these people. When Cowdery wrote me these things and told me that he had revealed knowledge concerning the truth of them, I showed these letters to my parents, and brothers and sisters. Soon after I received another letter from Cowdery, telling me to come down into Pennsylvania and bring him and Joseph to my father’s house, giving as a reason therefor that they had received a commandment from God to that effect. I went down to Harmony, and found everything just as they had written me. The next day after I got there they packed up the plates and we proceeded on our journey to my father’s house where we arrived in due time, and the day after we commenced upon the translation of the remainder of the plates. I, as well as all of my father’s family, Smith’s wife, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris were present during the translation. The translation was by Smith and the manner as follows: “He had two small stones of a chocolate color, nearly egg shaped and perfectly smooth, but not transparent, called interpreters, which were given him with the plates. He did not use the plates in the translation, but would hold the interpreters to his eyes and cover his face with a hat, excluding all light, and before his eyes would appear what seemed to be parchment, on which would appear the characters of the plates in a line at the top, and immediately below would appear the translation in English, which Smith would read to his scribe, who wrote it down exactly as it fell from his lips. The scribe would then read the sentence written, and if any mistake had been made the characters would remain visible to Smith until corrected, when they faded from sight to be replaced by another line. The translation at my father’s occupied about one month, that is from June 1 to July 1, 1829.” “Were the plates under the immediate control of Smith all the time?”
“No, they were not. I will explain how that was. When Joseph first received the plates he translated 116 pages of the book of ‘Lehi,’ with Martin Harris as scribe. When this had been completed they rested for a time, and Harris wanted to take the manuscript home with him to show to his family and friends. To this Joseph demurred, but finally asked the Lord
if Harris might be allowed to take it. The answer was ‘no.’ Harris teased Joseph for a long time and finally persuaded him to ask the Lord a second time, pledging himself to be responsible for its safe keeping. . . . [T]hrough some carelessness [Martin Harris] allowed it to be stolen from him. This incurred the Lord’s displeasure, and he sent an angel to Joseph demanding the plates, and until Joseph had thoroughly repented of his transgressions would not allow him to have the use of them again. When Joseph was again allowed to resume the translation the plates were taken care of by a messenger of God, and when Joseph wanted to see the plates this messenger was always at hand. The 116 pages of the book of ‘Lehi’ which were stolen were never recovered, nor would the Lord permit Joseph to make a second translation of it. “A few months after the translation was completed, that is in the spring of 1830, Joseph had the book published and this (showing a well worn volume) is a copy of the first edition which I have had in my possession ever since it was printed.”See Full


David Whitmer corrects the record to correct report and affirm Joseph used a seer stone in a hat, and that Joseph used only one, not two, stones.

David Whitmer, Letter to the editor dated June 13, 1881, in Kansas City Daily Journal, June 19, 1881 in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents, 5 vols. (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2003), 5:81-82

To the Editor of the [Kansas City] Journal. RICHMOND, Mo., June 13 [1881].—I notice several errors in the interview had with me by one of your reporters as published in the Daily Journal of June 5th, ’81, and wish to correct them. . . . In regard to my going to Harmony, my statement was that “I found everything as Cowdery had written me, and that they packed up next day and went to my father’s, (did not say ‘packed up the plates’) and that he, Smith, (not ‘we’) then commenced the translation of the remainder of the plates.” I did not wish to be understood as saying that those referred to as being present were all of the time in the immediate presence of the translator, but were at the place and saw how the translation was conducted. I did not say that Smith used “two small stones,” as stated nor did I call the stone “interpreters.” I stated that “he used one stone (not two) and called it a sun stone.” The “interpreters” were as I understood taken from Smith and were not used by him after losing the first 116 pages as stated. It is my understanding that the stone referred to was furnished him when he commenced translating again after losing the 116 pages. My statement was and now is that in translating he put the stone in his hat and putting his face in his hat so as to excluded the light and that then the light and characters appeared in the hat together with the interpretation which he uttered and was written by the scribe and which was tested at the time as stated.See Full


David Whitmer described Joseph as translating with his face in the hat.

David Whitmer, letter to the editor, 13 June, 1881, Kansas City Daily Journal, June 19, 1881, in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents, 5 vols. (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2003), 5:81-82

in translating he put the stone in his hat and putting his face in his hat so as to excluded the light and that then the light and characters appeared in the hat together with the interpretation which he uttered and was written by the scribe and which was tested at the time as stated.


David Whitmer said that Joseph used a small oval or kidney-shaped stone called the Urim and Thummim to translate the plates.

"David Whitmer and the Book of Mormon," Deseret Evening News 14, no. 296 (November 11, 1881): 2

It was not until June, 1828, that he met the future prophet, who visited at his father's house, and while there completed the translation of the Book of Mormon, and thus he became conversant with its history, having witnessed Smith dictate to Oliver Cowdery the translation of the characters that were transcribed on the plates, said by Mr. Anthon, our Egyptian scholar, to resemble the characters of that ancient people. Christian Whitmer, his brother, occasionally assisted Cowdery in writing, as did Mrs. Joseph Smith, who was a Miss Hale before she was married . . . The tablets or plates were translated by Smith, who used a small oval or kidney-shaped stone, called Urim and Thummim, that seemed endowed with the marvellous power of converting the characters on the plates, when used by Smith, into English, who would then dictate to Cowdery what to write. Frequently one character would make two lines of manuscript while others made but a word or two words. Mr. Whitmer emphatically asserts, as did Harris and Cowdery, that while Smith was dictating the translation he had

NO MANUSCRIPT NOTES OR OTHER MEANS OF KNOWLEDGE

Save the Seer stone and the characters as shown on the plates, he being present and cognizant how it was done.
See Full


Edward Stevenson retells how Martin Harris unsuccessfully tried to trick Joseph during the translation by replacing seer stone with an ordinary stone, printed in the Deseret News.

"One of the Three Witnesses," Deseret News 30, no. 49 (November 30, 1881): 10

Martin Harris related an instance that occurred during the time that he wrote that portion of the translation of the Book of Mormon, which he was favored to write direct from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said that the Prophet possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then used the seer stone. Martin explained the translating as follows: By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say, “Written,” and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used. Martin said, after continued translation they would become weary and would go down to the river and exercise by throwing stones out on the river, etc. While so doing on one occasion, Martin found a stone very much resembling the one used for translating, and on resuming their labor of translation, Martin put in place the stone that he had found. He said that the Prophet remained silent unusually and intently gazing in darkness, no traces of the usual sentences appearing. Much surprised, Joseph exclaimed, “Martin! What is the matter? All is as dark as Egypt.” Martin’s countenance betrayed him, and the Prophet asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, to stop the mouths of fools, who had told him that the Prophet had learned those sentences and was merely repeating them, etc. Martin said further that the seer stone differed in appearance entirely from the Urim and Thummim that was obtained with the plates, which were two clear stones set in two rims, very much resembled spectacles, only they were larger. Martin said there were not many pages translated while he wrote; after which Oliver Cowdery and others did the writing.See Full


Edward Stevenson recounts hearing Martin Harris speak of how Joseph used both a seer stone and a Urim and Thummim to translate the plates.

Edward Stevenson to the editor, November 30, 1881, Deseret Evening News, 15, no. 20 (December 13, 1881): 4

Martin Harris related an instance that occurred during the time that he wrote that portion of the translation of the Book of Mormon, which he was favored to write direct from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said that the Prophet possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then used the seer stone. Martin explained the translating as follows: By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say, “Written,” and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used. . . . Martin said further that the seer stone differed in  appearance entirely from the Urim and Thummim that was obtained with the plates, which were two clear stones set in two rims, very much resembled spectacles, only they were larger. Martin said there were not many pages translated while he wrote; after which Oliver Cowdery and others did the writing.See Full


William Smith says Joseph used the Urim and Thummim to translate the BOM.

William Smith, On Mormonism: A True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon (Lamoni: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883), 11

In consequence of his vision, and his having the golden plates and refusing to show them, a great persecution arose against the whole family, and he was compelled to remove into Pennsylvania with the plates, where he translated them by means of the Urim and Thummim, (which he obtained with the plates), and the power of God. The manner in which this was done was by looking into the Urim and Thummim, which was placed in a hat to exclude the light, (the plates lying near by covered up), and reading off the translation, which appeared in the stone by the power of God.


George Q. Cannon cites David Whitmer reporting that Joseph translated with a stone in the hat "which all light was excluded."

George Q. Cannon, Journal entry for February 27, 1884, Church Historians Press, accessed August 30, 2021

In speaking of the translating he [David Whitmer] said that Joseph had the stone in a hat which all light was excluded. In the stone the characters appeared and under that the translation in English and they remained until the scribe had copied it correctly. If he had made a mistake the words still remain and were not replaced by any other.


James Hart wrote that Joseph used a seer stone in a hat for the translation of the BOM.

James H. Hart, "About the Book of Mormon," Deseret Evening News 17, no. 104 (March 25, 1884): 2

“In regard to the translation,” said Mr. Whitmer, “it was a laborious work for the weather was very warm, and the days were long and they worked from morning till night. But they were both young and strong and were soon able to complete the work. “The way it was done was thus: Joseph would place the seer-stone in a deep hat, and placing his face close to it, would see, not the stone, but what appeared like an oblong piece of parchment, on which the hieroglyphics would appear, and also the translation in the English language, all appearing in bright luminous letters. Joseph would then read it to Oliver, who would write it down as spoken. Sometimes Joseph could not pronounce the words correctly, having had but little education; and if by any means a mistake was made in the copy, the luminous writing would remain until it was corrected. It sometimes took Oliver several trials to get the right letters to spell correctly some of the more difficult words, but when he had written them correctly, the characters and the interpretation would disappear, and be replaced by other characters and their interpretation. “When the seer-stone was not placed in the hat, no characters or writing could be seen therein, but when so placed then the hieroglyphics would appear as before described. Some represented but one word, or name, some represented several, and some from one to two lines. “Emma, Joseph’s wife, came to my father’s house a short time after Joseph and Oliver came, and she wrote a little of the translation, my brother Christian wrote some, but Oliver wrote the greater portion of it."See Full


Martin Harris tells Simon Smith that Joseph the Urim and Thummim to translate the BOM.

Simon Smith to the editor, April 30, 1884, Saints’ Herald 31, no. 21 (May 24, 1884): 324, M291.5 S157 v. 1- 1860-, Church History Library

He [Martin Harris] also said, “I was Joseph Smith’s scribe, and wrote for him a great deal; for he was such a poor writer, and could not even draw up a note of hand as his education was so limited. I also wrote for him about one third of the first part of the translation of the plates as he interpreted them by the Urim and Thummim. And I paid the printer about three thousand dollars for the first edition of the Book of Mormon.”


R.W. Alderman reports Martin Harris as having claimed that Joseph used Peep-stone in a hat to translate plates.

R. W. Alderman, Statement from December 25, 1884 in Naked Truths about Mormonism 1 (January 1888): 3, M273.2 N163 v. 1 no. 1 1888, Church History Library

In February, 1852, I was snowbound in a hotel in Mentor, Ohio, all day. Martin Harris was there, and in conversation told me he saw Jo Smith translate the “Book of Mormon,” with his peep-stone in his hat. Oliver Cowdery, who had been a school-teacher, wrote it down. Sidney Rigdon, a renegade preacher, was let in during the translation. Rigdon had stolen a manuscript from a printing office in Pittsburgh, Pa., which [Solomon] Spaulding, who had written it in the early part of the century, had left there to be printed, but the printers refused to publish it, but Jo and Rigdon did, as the “Book of Mormon.”


David Whitmer tells Zenas Gurley that the "interpreters" were taken from Joseph after Martin Harris lost the 116 pages.

Zenas H. Gurley, “Questions Asked of David Whitmer,” holograph, 1, 3, 4, Gurley Collection, MS 4633, Church History Library

Questions asked of David Whitmer at his home in Richmond Ray County Mo. Jan 14 1885. relating to Book of Mormon, and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of L. D. S. by Elder Z. H. Gurley. . . .19. Were the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated in Joseph Smiths possession while translating and seen and handled by several different persons, if not, where were they? Ans—I do not know. 20. Q—Did Joseph use his “peep stone” to finish up the translation? if so why? Ans—He used a stone called a “Seers stone,” the "Interpreters” having been taken away from him because of transgression. . . . 25: Q. Were you present during any of the time of translation, if so, state how it was done.
Ans—The “Interpreters” were taken from Joseph after he allowed Martin Harris to carry away the 116 pages of Ms of the Book of Mormon as a punishment, but he was allowed to go on and translate by the use of a “Seers stone” which he had, and which he placed in a hat into which he buried his face, stating to me and others that the original Character appeared upon parchment and under it the translation in english which [enabled him?] to read it readily.See Full


David Whitmer recounts Joseph using Urim and Thummim to translate the Book of Mormon.

Tagged 'Scribed Summary Late Journalism'

"The Book of Mormon,' Chicago Tribune, December 17, 1885: 3

In order to give privacy to the proceeding a blanket, which served as a portière, was stretched across the family living room to shelter the translators and the plates from the eyes of any who might call at the house while the work was in progress. This, Mr. Whitmer says, was the only use made of the blanket, and it was not for the purpose of concealing the plates or the translator from the eyes of the amanuensis. In fact, Smith was at no time hidden from his collaborators, and the translation was performed in the presence of not only the persons mentioned, but of the entire Whitmer household and several of Smith’s relatives besides. The work of translating the tablets consumed about eight months, Smith acting as the seer and Oliver Cowdery, Smith’s wife, and Christian Whitmer, brother of David, performing the duties of amanuenses, in whose handwriting the original manuscript now is. Each time before resuming the work all present would kneel in prayer and invoke the Divine blessing on the proceeding. After prayer Smith would sit on one side of a table and the amanuenses, in turn as they became tired, on the other. Those present and not actively engaged in the work seated themselves around the room and then the work began. After affixing the magical spectacles to his eyes, Smith would take the plates and translate the characters one at a time. The graven characters would appear in succession to the seer, and directly under the character, when viewed through the glasses, would be the translation in English. Sometimes the character would be a single word, and frequently an entire sentence. In translating the characters Smith, who was illiterate and but little versed in Biblical lore, was ofttimes compelled to spell the words out, not knowing the correct pronunciation, and Mr. Whitmer recalls the fact that at that time Smith did not even know that Jerusalem was a walled city. Cowdery, however, being a school-teacher, rendered invaluable aid in pronouncing hard words and giving their proper definition. . . . It seems that Smith, who was puffed up with his great importance as a confidential secretary to the Lord, displeased the Master by entering into some carnal confab in relation to the work. For this offense he was punished by having the celestial visitant, who first commissioned him to inaugurate the work, suddenly appear and carry off the plates and spectacles. . . . . . . Smith’s offense of tattling the secrets of the work among his neighbors was less readily condoned [than Harris losing the 116 pages], and for a long time the work was suspended, the angel being in possession of the plates and spectacles. Finally, when Smith had fully repented of his rash conduct, he was forgiven. The plates, however, were not returned, but instead Smith was given by the angel a Urim and Thummim of another pattern, it being shaped in oval or kidney form. This seer’s stone he was instructed to place in his hat, and on covering his face with the hat the character and translation would appear on the stone. This worked just as satisfactorily as the old method, but at no time thereafter was the backsliding Joseph intrusted with the precious plates. However, the entire portion of the golden volume, which the angel said might be translated, was reduced by the nimble amanuenses to readable manuscript.See Full


Martin Harris says Joseph used the seer stone in a hat to translate the BOM.

Tagged 'Scribed Summary 2nd Hand Late Journalism'

"The Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon," The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star 48, no. 25 (June 21, 1886): 389-390

He [Martin Harris] also stated that the Prophet translated a portion of the Book of Mormon, with the seer stone in his possession. The stone was placed in a hat that was used for that purpose, and with the aid of this seer stone the Prophet would read sentence by sentence as Martin wrote, and if he made any mistake the sentence would remain before the Prophet until corrected, when another sentence would appear. When they became weary, as it was continuing work to translate from the plates of gold, they would go down to the river and throw stones into the water for exercise. Martin on one occasion picked up a stone resembling the one with which they were translating, and on resuming their work Martin placed the false stone in the hat. He said that the Prophet looked quietly for a long time, when he raised his head and said: “Martin, what on earth is the matter, all is dark as Egypt.” Martin smiled and the seer discovered that the wrong stone was placed in the hat. When he asked Martin why he had done so he replied, to stop the mouths of fools who had declared that the Prophet knew by heart all that he told him to write, and did not see by the seer stone; when the true stone was placed in the hat, the translation was resumed, as usual.See Full


David Whitmer notes that Joseph was presented with a chocolate-colored seer stone to substitute the Urim and Thummim.

"Mormon Relics," The Sunday Inter Ocean [Chicago] 15, no. 207 (October 17, 1886): 1

By fervent prayer and by otherwise humbling himself, the prophet, however, again found favor, and was presented with a strange, oval-shaped, chocolate-colored stone, about the size of an egg, only more flat, which, it was promised would serve the same purpose as the missing Urim and Thummim (the latter was a pair of transparent stones set in a bow-shaped frame and very much resembled a pair of spectacles). With this stone all of the present Book of Mormon was translated. It is the only one of these relics which is not in the possession of the Whitmers. For years Oliver Cowdery surrounded it with care and solicitude, but at his death, Old Phineas Young, a brother of Brigham Young, and an old-time and once intimate friend of the Cowdery family, came out from Salt Lake City, and during his visit he contrived to get the stone from its hiding place through a little deceptive sophistry, expended upon the grief-stricken widow. When he returned to Utah he carried it in triumph to the apostles of Brigham Young's "lion house."See Full


David Whitmer describes how Joseph received revelation through a seer stone.

David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ by a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon (Richmond, MO: David Whitmer, 1887), 31

Brother Hyrum said it had been suggested to him that some of the brethren might go to Toronto, Canada, and sell the copy-right of the Book of Mormon for considerable money: and he persuaded Joseph to inquire of the Lord about it. Joseph concluded to do so. He had not yet given up the stone. Joseph looked into the hat in which he placed the stone, and received a revelation that some of the brethren should go to Toronto, Canada, and that they would sell the copy-right of the Book of Mormon. Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery went to Toronto on this mission, but they failed entirely to sell the copy-right, returning without any money. Joseph was at my father's house when they returned. I was there also, and am an eye witness to these facts. Jacob Whitmer and John Whitmer were also present when Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery returned from Canada. Well, we were all in great trouble; and we asked Joseph how it was that he had received a revelation from the Lord for some brethren to go to Toronto and sell the copy-right, and the brethren had utterly failed in their undertaking. Joseph did not know how it was, so he enquired of the Lord about it, and behold the following revelation came through the stone: "Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of man: and some revelations are of the devil."See Full


Andrew Jenson provides account of David Whitmer showing him the BOM manuscript and identifying the handwriting of the various scribes.

Andrew Jenson, ed., “The Three Witnesses,” Historical Record 6 (May 1887): 210

David Whitmer brought out the manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. We examined them closely and those who knew the handwriting pronounced the whole of them, excepting comparatively a few pages, to be in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. It was thought that these few pages were in the handwriting of Emma Smith and John and Christian Whitmer.


Andrew Jenson writes of Martin Harris describing the translation of the BOM with Joseph using both seer stone and U&T.

Andrew Jenson, ed., “The Three Witnesses,” Historical Record 6 (May 1887): 216–217

On Sunday, Sept. 4, 1870, Martin Harris addressed a congregation of Saints in Salt Lake City. He related an incident which occurred during the time that he wrote that portion of the translation of the Book of Mormon which he was favored to write direct from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and said that the Prophet possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then used the seer stone. Martin explained the translation as follows: By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say, “Written,” and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place; but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used. Martin said that after continued translation they would become weary, and would go down to the river and exercise by throwing stones out on the river, etc. While so doing, on one occasion, Martin Harris found a stone very much resembling the one used for translating, and on resuming their labor of translation, he put in place the stone that he had found. He said that the Prophet remained silent, unusually and intently gazing in darkness, no traces of the usual sentences appearing. Much surprised, Joseph excla[i]med, “Martin! What is the matter! All is as dark as Egypt!” Martin’s countenance betrayed him, and the Prophet asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, to stop the mouths of fools, who had told him that the Prophet had learned those sentences and was merely repeating them, etc. Martin said further that the seer stones differed in appearance entirely from the Urim and Thummim obtained with the plates, which were two clear stones set in two rims, very much resembling spectacles, only they were larger. Martin said, there were not many pages translated while he wrote, after which Oliver Cowdery and others did the writing.See Full


David Whitmer said that God gave Joseph the ability to translate the BOM through a stone in fulfillment of Isaiah 29.

David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ by a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon, (Richmond, MO: David Whitmer, 1887), 6

The people cannot understand why the Lord would bring forth his word from “a book (plates) that is sealed” and was buried in the ground by his ancient prophets on this land: and why He should have the words of the book delivered “to one that is learned,” telling him to read it, etc.; (see Isa. xxix) but the learned and wise men of the world could not read it; God gave to an unlearned boy, Joseph Smith, the gift to translate it by the means of a stone.


David Whitmer describes the translation as Joseph putting a hat into a stone and clearing his mind of earthly things.

David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ by a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon, (Richmond, MO: David Whitmer, 1887), 30

At times when Brother Joseph would attempt to translate, he would look into the hat in which the stone was placed, he found he was spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us that his mind dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this condition he would go out and pray, and when he became sufficiently humble before God, he could then proceed with the translation. Now we see how very strict the Lord is; and how he requires the heart of man to be just right in His sight, before he can receive revelation from him


David Whitmer said that the Book of Mormon was not translated by the power of man and not derived from the work of Spaulding.

David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ by a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon (Richmond, MO: David Whitmer, 1887), 10-11

I will say that all who desire to investigate the Spaulding manuscript story will not be obliged to go very far before they will see the entire falsity of that claim. I testify to the world that I am an eye-witness to the translation of the greater part of the Book of Mormon. Part of it was translated in my father’s house in Fayette, Seneca County, N. Y. . . . I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.See Full


Martin Harris told Anthony Metcalf that Joseph used a stone in a hat and would spell out the English words.

Anthony Metcalf, Ten Years before the Mast. Shipwrecks and Adventures at Sea. Religious Customs of the

He told me all about the translating of the Book of Mormon, and said he had given $5,000 towards its publication. He said: “I never saw the golden plates, only in a visionary or entranced state. I wrote a great deal of the Book of Mormon myself, as Joseph Smith translated or spelled the words out in English. Sometimes the plates would be on a table in the room in which Smith did the translating, covered over with a cloth. I was told by Joseph Smith that God would strike him dead if he attempted to look at them, and I believed it.”


George Mantle summarized that Martin Harris testified that Joseph translated by the power of God.

George Mantle, Letter to Marietta Walker, December 26, 1888, rep. "Martin Harris in England," Autumn Leaves 2, no. 3 (March 1889): 141–142

DEAR SISTER:—In reading one of your "Autumn Leaves" that was loaned to me, I see that you wished any one knowing of Martin Harris' visit to England would give you all the reliable information they could in relation to it. I have not much to say in the matter, but the little I will say is truth, as his words have from that time to this remained stamped on my memory. On the 15th day of May, 1842, I was baptized into this church, and in the fall of 1846, met with the brethren at a conference in Birmingham. I was then an elder and presiding over the Dudley branch, brother John Banks being president of the district. That morning he introduced Cyrus H. Wheelock to the conference as its future president. From that the business went on as usual, but when we met in the afternoon Wheelock seemed to be quite out of sorts! The first we knew of the cause an elderly man asked permission to speak a few words to us. We then knew what disturbed Wheelock. He told us that it was Martin Harris, an apostate from the faith; that he had abused him and his brethren coming across the sea, and he would not allow him to speak, there being many people there who were opposed to the truth. When we came out of the meeting Martin Harris was beset with a crowd in the street, expecting that he would furnish them with material to war against Mormonism; but when he was asked if Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, he answered yes; and when asked if the Book of Mormon was true, this was his answer: "Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that, I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and that he translated that book by the power of God."I then went home, and did not know where Martin Harris went from there; but from that day to this day I have felt confident that it was not the work of God that Martin Harris wanted to make war against, but the apostasy of Brigham Young and his associates. If this is of any benefit to you I shall be amply paid for my trouble. May the God of Israel bless and prosper you in your labor of love, is the prayer of an old man. Your brother in the covenant.GEORGE MANTLE.See Full


Katharine Salisbury reported that Joseph could only translate once sins were forgiven.

“An Angel Told Him: Joseph Smith’s Aged Sister Tells about Moroni’s Talk,” Kansas City Times, April 11, 1895: 1

And when he went to Pennsylvania he commenced translating the book of Mormon, and translated some one hundred and sixteen pages that Martin Harris took home and lost, and when my brother found they were lost, he was very much troubled and said: “I am afraid I have broken the commandments and will not be allowed to translate the record.” The angel came and took the Urim and Thummim from him. He fasted  and prayed several days, and the angel returned them again, and told him that his sins were forgiven, and for him to go ahead and translate, but not to translate that that was lost, but to begin where he had left off. He commenced, and when he had got the record partly translated, persecution rose there, and he wrote for David Whitmer to come and take him to his house. David came, and he asked how he should carry the plates and he was told that they would be there when he got there, in the garden. When he got to Father Whitmer’s he found the records, as he had been told he would, and there he finished tra[n]slating the Book of Mormon.See Full


Frederick Kesler told by Snow that Joseph used a seer stone to translate the BOM.

Frederick Kesler diary, February 1, 1899, 43, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah

[President Lorenzo Snow] “showed me the Seerers Stone that the Prophet Joseph Smith had by which he done some of the Translating of the Book"


B. H. Roberts discusses Joseph's use of various instruments (e.g., Nephite interpreters; the Seer stone) to translate the Book of Mormon.

B. H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God II. The Book of Mormon, 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: The Deseret News, 1903), 2:106-21

THE MANNER OF TRANSLATING THE BOOK OF MORMONRelative to the manner of translating the Book of Mormon the Prophet himself has said but little. "Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God,"  is the most extended published statement made by him upon the subject. Of the Urim and Thummim he says: "With the record was found a curious instrument which the ancients called a Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate."  Oliver Cowdery, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, and the Prophet's chief amanuensis, says of the work of translation in which he assisted: "I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages), as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, 'Holy Interpreters.'"  This is all he has left on record on the manner of translating the book.  David Whitmer, another of the Three Witnesses, is more specific on this subject. After describing the means the Prophet employed to exclude the light from the "Seer Stone," he says: "In the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man."  There will appear between this statement of David Whitmer's and what is said both by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery a seeming contradiction. Joseph and Oliver both say the translation was done by means of the Urim and Thummim, which is described by Joseph as being two transparent stones "set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate;" while David Whitmer says that the translation was made by means of a "Seer Stone." The apparent contradiction is cleared up, however, by a statement made by Martin Harris, another of the Three Witnesses. He said that the Prophet possessed a "Seer Stone," by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then (i. e., at the time Harris was acting as his scribe) used the Seer Stone. * * * Martin said further that the Seer Stone differed in appearance entirely from the Urim and Thummim that was obtained with the plates, which were two clear stones set in two rims, very much resembling spectacles, only they were larger.  The "Seer Stone" referred to here was a chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped stone which the Prophet found while digging a well in company with his brother Hyrum.  It possessed the qualities of Urim and Thummim, since by means of it—as described above—as well as by means of the "Interpreters" found with the Nephite record, Joseph was able to translate the characters engraven on the plates.  Another account of the manner of translating the record purporting to have been given by David Whitmer, and published in the Kansas City Journal of June 5, 1881, says:He [meaning Joseph Smith] had two small stones of a chocolate color, nearly egg-shape, and perfectly smooth, but not transparent, called interpreters, which were given him with the plates. He did not see the plates in translation, but would hold the interpreters to his eyes and cover his face with a hat, excluding all light, and before his eyes would appear what seemed to be parchment on which would appear the characters of the plates in a line at the top, and immediately below would appear the translation in English, which Smith would read to his scribe, who wrote it down exactly as it fell from his lips. The scribe would then read the sentence written, and if any mistakes had been made, the characters would remain visible to Smith until corrected, when they would fade from sight to be replaced by another line.It is evident that there are inaccuracies in the above statement, due, doubtless, to the carelessness of the reporter of the Journal, who has confused what Mr. Whitmer said of the Seer Stone and Urim and Thummim. If he meant to describe the Urim and Thummim or "Interpreters" given to Joseph Smith with the plates—as seems to be the case—then the reporter is wrong in saying that they were chocolate color and not transparent; for the "Interpreters," given to the Prophet with the plates, as we have seen by his own description, were "two transparent stones." If the reporter meant to describe the "Seer Stone"—which is not likely—he would be right in saying it was of a chocolate color, and egg-shaped, but wrong in saying there were two of them.Martin Harris' description of the manner of translating while he was the amanuensis of the Prophet is as follows:By aid of the Seer Stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say "written," and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used.  On one occasion Harris sought to test the genuineness of the Prophet's procedure in the matter of translation, as follows:Martin said that after continued translation they would become weary and would go down to the river and exercise in throwing stones out on the river, etc. While so doing on one occasion, Martin found a stone very much resembling the one used for translating, and on resuming their labors of translation Martin put in place [of the Seer Stone] the stone that he had found. He said that the Prophet remained silent unusually long and intently gazing in darkness, no trace of the usual sentence appearing. Much surprised Joseph exclaimed: "Martin! what is the matter? all is as dark as Egypt." Martin's countenance betrayed him, and the Prophet asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, to stop the mouths of fools, who had told him that the Prophet had learned those sentences and was merely repeating them.  The sum of the whole matter, then, concerning the manner of translating the sacred record of the Nephites, according to the testimony of the only witnesses competent to testify in the matter is: With the Nephite record was deposited a curious instrument, consisting of two transparent stones, set in the rim of a bow, somewhat resembling spectacles, but larger, called by the ancient Hebrews "Urim and Thummim," but by the Nephites "Interpreters." In addition to these "Interpreters" the Prophet Joseph had a "Seer Stone," which to him was a Urim and Thummim; that the Prophet sometimes used one and sometimes the other of these sacred instruments in the work of translation; that whether the "Interpreters" or the "Seer Stone" was used, the Nephite characters with the English interpretation appeared in the sacred instrument; that the Prophet would pronounce the English translation to his scribe, which, when correctly written, would disappear and the other characters with their interpretation take their place, and so on until the work was completed.It should not be supposed, however, that this translation, though accomplished by means of the "Interpreters" and "Seer Stone," as stated above, was merely a mechanical procedure; that no faith, or mental or spiritual effort was required on the Prophet's part; that the instruments did all, while he who used them did nothing but look and repeat mechanically what he saw there reflected. Much has been written upon this manner of translating the Nephite record, by those who have opposed the Book of Mormon, and chiefly in a sneering way. On the manner of translation they have bottomed much—not of their argument but their ridicule—against the record; and as in another part of this volume I am to meet what they consider their argument, and what I know to be their ridicule, I consider here a few other facts connected with the manner of translating the Book of Mormon, which are extremely important, as they furnish a basis upon which can be successfully answered all the objections that are urged, based on the manner in which the translation was accomplished, and also as to errors in grammar, the use of modern words, western New York phrases, and other defects of language which it is admitted are to be found in the Book of Mormon, especially in the first edition.I repeat, then, that the translation of the Book of Mormon by means of the "Interpreters" and "Seer Stone," was not merely a mechanical process, but required the utmost concentration of mental and spiritual force possessed by the Prophet, in order to exercise the gift of translation through the means of the sacred instruments provided for that work. Fortunately we have the most perfect evidence of the fact, though it could be inferred from the general truth that God sets no premium upon mental or spiritual laziness; for whatever means God may have provided to assist man to arrive at the truth, he has always made it necessary for man to couple with those means his utmost endeavor of mind and heart. So much in the way of reflection; now as to the facts referred to.In his Address to All Believers in Christ, David Whitmer says:At times when Brother Joseph would attempt to translate he would look into the hat in which the stone was placed, he found he was spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us that his mind dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this condition he would go out and pray, and when he became sufficiently humble before God, he could then proceed with the translation. Now we see how very strict the Lord is, and how he requires the heart of man to be just right in his sight before he can receive revelation from him.  In a statement to Wm. H. Kelley, G. A. Blakeslee, of Gallen, Michigan, under date of September 15, 1882, David Whitmer said of Joseph Smith and the necessity of his humility and faithfulness while translating the Book of Mormon:He was a religious and straight-forward man. He had to be; for he was illiterate and he could do nothing himself. He had to trust in God. He could not translate unless he was humble and possessed the right feelings towards everyone. To illustrate so you can see: One morning when he was getting ready to continue the translation, something went wrong about the house and he was put out about it. Something that Emma, his wife, had done. Oliver and I went up stairs and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation, but he could not do anything. He could not translate a single syllable. He went down stairs, out into the orchard, and made supplication to the Lord; was gone about an hour—came back to the house, and asked Emma's forgiveness and then came up stairs where we were, and then the translation went on all right. He could do nothing save he was humble and faithful.  The manner of translation is so far described by David Whitmer and Martin Harris, who received their information necessarily from Joseph Smith, and doubtless it is substantially correct, except in so far as their statements may have created the impression that the translation was a mere mechanical process; and this is certainly corrected in part at least by what David Whitmer has said relative to the frame of mind Joseph must be in before he could translate. But we have more important evidence to consider on this subject of translation than these statements of David Whitmer. In the course of the work of translation Oliver Cowdery desired the gift of translation to be conferred upon him, and God promised to grant it to him in the following terms:Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records. which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit. Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. * * * Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may translate and receive knowledge from all those ancient records which have been hid up, that are sacred; and according to your faith shall it be done unto you.  In attempting to exercise this gift of translation, however, Oliver Cowdery failed; and in a revelation upon the subject the Lord explained the cause of his failure to translate:Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it [i. e. the gift of translation] unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.  While this is not a description of the manner in which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, it is, nevertheless, the Lord's description of how another man was to exercise the gift of translation; and doubtless it is substantially the manner in which Joseph Smith did exercise it, and the manner in which he translated the Book of Mormon. That is, the Prophet Joseph Smith looked into the "Interpreters" or "Seer Stone," saw there by the power of God and the gift of God to him, the ancient Nephite characters, and by bending every power of his mind to know the meaning thereof, the interpretation wrought out in his mind by this effort—"by studying it out in his mind," to use the Lord's phrase—was reflected in the sacred instrument, there to remain until correctly written by the scribe.We see something akin to this also in the manner in which the Nephites used Liahona, their Urim and Thummim—the instrument through means of which they were directed of the Lord upon their journey to the promised land of America—it worked "according to the faith and diligence and heed" they gave unto it. (I Nephi 16:28.)In further proof that translation was not a merely mechanical process with the Prophet Joseph, I call attention to the evident thought and study he later bestowed upon the work of translating the rolls of papyrus found with the Egyptian mummies, purchased by the Saints in Kirtland, of Michael H. Chandler, about the 6th of July, 1835. "Soon after this," says the Prophet, "with W. W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery as scribes, I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph of Egypt," etc. Speaking in his history of the latter part of July, he says: "The remainder of this month I was continually engaged in translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language." In his journal entry for November 26, 1835, is the following: "Spent the day in translating the Egyptian characters from the papyrus, though suffering with a severe cold." Under date of December 15, this: "I exhibited and explained the Egyptian characters to them (Elders M'Lellin and Young), and explained many things concerning the dealings of God with the ancients, and the formation of the planetary system." Thus he continued from time to time to work upon this translation, which was not published until 1842, in the Times and Seasons, beginning in number nine of volume three. It should be remembered in connection with this "preparing an alphabet" and "arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language" that the Prophet still had in his possession the "Seer Stone" (or at least Oliver Cowdery had it, for on completing the translation of the Book of Mormon the Prophet gave the Seer Stone into Oliver Cowdery's keeping.—David Whitmer's Address to All Believers, p. 32),—which he had used sometimes in the translation of the Book of Mormon, yet it seems from the circumstances named that he had to bend all the energies of his intellectual powers to obtain a translation of the Egyptian characters.There can be no doubt, either, that the interpretation thus obtained was expressed in such language as the Prophet could command, in such phraseology as he was master of, and common to the time and locality where he lived; modified, of course, by the application of that phraseology to facts and ideas new to him in many respects, and above the ordinary level of the Prophet's thoughts and language, because of the inspiration of God that was upon him. This view of the translation of the Nephite record accounts for the fact that the Book of Mormon, though a translation of an ancient record, is, nevertheless, given in English idiom of the period and locality in which the Prophet lived; and in the faulty English, moreover, both as to composition, phraseology, and grammar, of a person of Joseph Smith's limited education; and also accounts for the sameness of phraseology and literary style which runs through the whole volume.Nor are we without authority of high value in these views for the verbal style of inspired writers. In The Annotated Bible, published by the "Religious Tract Society," London, 1859, the following occurs in relation to the explanation of the words "prophet" and "prophecy:"That the prophets were more than foretellers of things future is apparent from their history as well as from their writings. It must also be remembered that, although prophecy contains many very circumstantial allusions to particular facts and individuals, yet these are referred to chiefly on account of their revelation of those great, general principles with which it has to do. Prophecy is God's voice, speaking to us respecting that great struggle which has been and is going on in this world between good and evil.The divine communications were made to the prophets in divers manners; God seems sometimes to have spoken to them in audible voice; occasionally appearing in human form. At other times he employed the ministry of angels, or made known his purposes by dreams. But he most frequently revealed his truth to the prophets by producing that supernatural state of the sentiment, intellectual, and moral faculties which the scriptures call "vision." Hence prophetic announcements are often called "visions," i. e. things seen; and the prophets themselves are called "seers."Although the visions which the prophet beheld and the predictions of the future which he announced were wholly announced by the divine Spirit, yet the form of the communication, the imagery in which it is clothed, the illustration by which it is cleared up and impressed, the symbols employed to bring it more graphically before the mind—in short, all that may be considered as its garb and dress, depends upon the education, habits, association, feelings and the whole mental intellectual and spiritual character of the prophet. Hence the style of some is purer, more sententious, more ornate, or more sublime than others.The author of Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy, Frederick Denison Maurice, sometime Professor of Casuistry and Modern Philosophy in the University of Cambridge, in discussing the philosophers of the last half of the seventeenth century, has an excellent passage on the views of Spinoza respecting the Hebrew prophets, and in what manner they and their work are to be regarded. The passage is so apropos the matter here discussed that I quote the essential parts of it:"What do the sacred books impart when they affirm the Spirit of God to have been infused into the prophets—that the prophets spoke by the Spirit of God?" (Spinoza.) The result at which our author arrives upon a long examination into the different uses of the word "Spirit" is, that these expressions respecting the infusion of the Spirit "signify nothing more than that the prophets had a singular and extraordinary virtue and cultivated piety, with very great constancy of mind, and thereby they had a perception of the mind or judgment of God; for we shall find that the Spirit of God denotes in Hebrew as well the mind as the judgment or sentence of God, and therefore that the law of God, because it unfolded the mind of God, is called the mind or Spirit of God; therefore the imagination of the prophets might, with equal justice, be said to be the mind of God, and the prophets be said to have had the mind of God, inasmuch as through their imagination the decrees of God were revealed. * * * The question how the prophets acquired a sense of certainty respecting their revelations gives rise to a long discussion. Their imagination being the main instrument of their discoveries, they cannot have the same security as we have for those truths which are discovered by scientific insight or "natural light." "It is," says Spinoza, very characteristically, "a moral, not a mathematical security. It is derived (1) from the great strength of their phantasy, which brings objects before them as clearly as we see them when we are awake. (2) From some divine sign. (3) From their minds being disposed to the right and just," Spinoza affirms the last to be the principal secret of their certainty. * * * Nevertheless, he affirms that the revelations to the prophet depended upon his temperament and upon his own opinions. These he brought with him—these varied not only his style of writing, but his understanding of any communication that was made to him. His joy, his sorrow, all the different moods of his mind and body, were continually affecting his judgments and his teachings. * * * Every thoughtful reader will perceive that in these statements Spinoza has an evident advantage over those who treat the personal feelings, experiences, struggles of the prophets, as if they were nothing—who forget that they were human beings—who look upon them merely as utterers of certain divine dogmas, or as foretelling certain future events. He has a right to say that such persons overlook the letter of the books, while they profess to honor the letter; that they change their substance, while they think that they are taking them just as they are. But no real devout reader of the prophets ever forgets that they are men. Their human feelings, sufferings, rejoicings, are parts to him of the divine revelation. The struggles of the prophet with his own evil—the consciousness and confession that the vile is mixed with the precious—help more than all formal teaching to show him and us how the higher mind is distinct from the lower, as well as how the one is related to the other. We see how the prophet arrived at a certainty about the divine will and purpose through the very doubts and contradictions in himself.  Also the Reverend Joseph Armitage Robinson, D. D., dean of Westminster and chaplain of King Edward VII of England, respecting the manner in which the message of the Old Testament was received and communicated to man, as late as 1905, said:The message of the Old Testament was not written by the divine hand, nor dictated by an outward compulsion; it was planted in the hearts of men, and made to grow in a fruitful soil. And then they were required to express it in their own language, after their natural methods, and in accordance with the stage of knowledge which their time had reached. Their human faculties were purified and quickened by the divine Spirit; but they spoke to their time in the language of their time, they spoke a spiritual message, accommodated to the experience of their age, a message of faith in God, and of righteousness as demanded by a righteous God.  I take occasion at this point to observe that because a writer or speaker claims to be under the inspiration of God it does not follow that in giving expression to what the Lord puts into his heart he will always do so in grammatical terms, any more than the orthography of an inspired writer will always be accurate. We have many illustrations of this fact among the inspired men that we have known in the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days. Those of us who have listened to the utterances of prophets and apostles cannot doubt of their inspiration, and at the same time some of those who have been most inspired have been inaccurate in the use of our English language. The same seems true of the ancient apostles, also. The writer of the Acts, at the conclusion of a synopsis of a discourse which he ascribes to Peter, says, "Now, when they [the Jews] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled."  The commentators upon this passage say that the listening Jews perceived that Peter and John were uninstructed in the learning of the Jewish schools, and were of the common sort of men, untrained in teaching.  And again, "Their language and arguments prove that they were untaught in the Rabbinical learning of the Jewish schools."  But in what way could the Jews have discerned the ignorance and absence of learning in Peter and John except through the imperfections of their language? And yet those imperfections in language may not be urged in evidence of the absence of inspiration in the two apostles. Surely with God it must be that the matter is of more consequence than the form in which it is expressed; the thought of more moment than the word; it is the Spirit that giveth life, not the letter. "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord."  The view of the manner of translating the Book of Mormon here set forth furnishes the basis of justification for those verbal changes and grammatical corrections which have been made since the first edition issued from the press; and would furnish justification for making many more verbal and grammatical corrections in the book; for if, as here set forth, the meaning of the Nephite characters was given to Joseph Smith in such faulty English as he, an uneducated man, could command, while every detail and shade of thought should be strictly preserved, there can be no reasonable ground for objection to the correction of mere verbal errors and grammatical construction. There can be no reasonable doubt that had Joseph Smith been a finished English scholar and the facts and ideas represented by the Nephite characters upon the plates had been given him by the inspiration of God through the Urim and Thummim, those ideas would have been expressed in correct English; but as he was not a finished English scholar, he had to give expression to those facts and ideas in such language as he could command, and that was faulty English, which the Prophet himself and those who have succeeded him as custodians of the word of God have had, and now have, a perfect right to correct.  See Full


John Rigdon in a lecture stated that the Book of Mormon was translated by the power of God.

“Lecture Written by John M. Rigdon on the Early History of the Mormon Church,” typescript,  Call No. BX 8670.1 .R44r, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University

along come Parley Pratt, Oliver Cowdery and one Zibe Paterson with the Book of Mormon. It was a bound volume and it was the first time Sidney Rigdon ever saw it or ever heard of the man called Joseph Smith. Parley Pratt presented the Book to my Father Sidney Rigdon in the presence of my mother and my oldest sister who was a young girl of 10 years of age. Parley Pratt . . . said, “Brother Rigdon, here is a book which is a revelation from God. One Joseph Smith, a young boy had an angel appear to him who told him where to go to find the Plates upon which the Book was engraved. They were gold. Joseph Smith went as directed by the angel and found the plates in a hill near Palmera New York and brought them to his home and there by the power of God translated them and it was the ever lasting Gospel given to the children of men.


Andrew Lang described common tools used in scrying (e.g., sword among ancient Romans; polished Iron in medieval Europe).

Andrew Lang, Crystal Gazing: Its History and Practice, with a Discussion of the Evidence for Telepathic Scrying (New York: Dodge Publishing Company, 1905), 32

In the following chapters we shall see that a great variety of objects are used to promote the externalisation of subliminal images. Not only is the plain crystal, or its congener the black stone, used, together with its first cousin the mirror, and the primitive substitute of water, but almost any bright object seems to have been employed at one time or another. Thus we find the sword among the Romans ; and in mediaeval Europe polished iron is suggested in Faust's Höllenzwang ; lamp-black is sometimes smeared on the hand, or, as we shall see later, a pool  of ink poured into it ; visions are seen in smoke and flame, in black boxes, in jugs, and on white paper; in more than one place we find that diviners gaze at the livers of slain animals to provoke hallucinations ; and a classical and mediaeval method, which has lasted until our own day, consisted in blindfolding the seer, and suggesting to him that he should scry in a mirror with the top of his head.


B. H. Roberts discusses different testimonies about the seer stones.

B. H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1909)

The sum of the whole matter, then, concerning the manner of translating the sacred record of the Nephites, according to the testimony of the only witnesses competent to testify in the matter is: With the Nephite record was deposited a curious instrument, consisting of two transparent stones, set in the rim of a bow, somewhat resembling spectacles, but larger, called by the ancient Hebrews "Urim and Thummim," but by the Nephites "Interpreters." In addition to these "Interpreters" the Prophet Joseph had a "Seer Stone," which to him was a Urim and Thummim; that the Prophet sometimes used one and sometimes the other of these sacred instruments in the work of translation; that whether the "Interpreters" or the "Seer Stone" was used, the Nephite characters with the English interpretation appeared in the sacred instrument; that the Prophet would pronounce the English translation to his scribe, which, when correctly written, would disappear and the other characters with their interpretation take their place, and so on until the work was completed.It should not be supposed, however, that this translation, though accomplished by means of the "Interpreters" and "Seer Stone," as stated above, was merely a mechanical procedure; that no faith, or mental or spiritual effort was required on the Prophet's part; that the instruments did all, while he who used them did nothing but look and repeat mechanically what he saw there reflected. Much has been written upon this manner of translating the Nephite record, by those who have opposed the Book of Mormon, and chiefly in a sneering way. On the manner of translation they have bottomed much, not of their argument but their ridicule—against the record; and as in another part of this volume I am to meet what they consider their argument, and what I know to be their ridicule, I consider here a few other facts connected with the manner of translating the Book of Mormon, which are extremely important, as they furnish a basis upon which can be successfully answered all the objections that are urged, based on the manner in which the translation was accomplished, and also as to errors in grammar, the use of modern words, western New York phrases, and other defects of language which it is admitted are to be found in the Book of Mormon, especially in the first edition.I repeat, then, that the translation of the Book of Mormon by means of the "Interpreters" and "Seer Stone," was not merely a mechanical process, but required the utmost concentration of mental and spiritual force possessed by the Prophet, in order to exercise the gift of translation through the means of the sacred instruments provided for that work. Fortunately we have the most perfect evidence of the fact, though it could be inferred from the general truth that God sets no premium upon mental or spiritual laziness; for whatever means God may have provided to assist man to arrive at the truth, he has always made it necessary for man to couple with those means his utmost endeavor of mind and heart. So much in the way of reflection; now as to the facts referred to.See Full

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


Nathan Tanner jr. reported David Whitmer said Joseph alternated between the Urim and Thummim and a seer stone.

Nathan A. Tanner Jr., Letter to Nathan A. Tanner, February 17, 1909, 2, MS 4190, Church History Library

He [David Whitmer] said that Joseph was separated from the scribe by a blanket, as I remember; that he had the Urim and thummim, and a chocklet colored stone, which he used alternately, as suited his convenience, and he said he believed Joseph could as well accomplish the translation by looking into a hat, or any other stone, as by the use of the Urim or the chocklate colored stone. David expressed absolute faith in the Prophet’s power to get any information he desired, and by any means he should adopt for the purpose. I mean he appeared to have absolute faith in Josephs power with God, to get any information he wished for. And he did not think that either the Urim or the stone he had were essential, or absolutely essential, to the obtaining of the information. He said that Joseph would--as I remember-place the manuscript beneath the stone or Urim, and the Characters would appear in English, which he would spell out, and they would remain there until the word was fully written and corrected, when it would disappear and another word appear, etc.See Full


William Waddoups's comment at Benson Stake Conference in April 1923 about Martin Harris affirming having hefted the plates and seen the angel.

William Waddoups, “Martin Harris and the Book of Mormon,” Improvement Era 26, no. 11 (September 1923): 980.

“[W]ith these ears,” pointing to his ears, “I heard the voice of the angel, and with these hands,” holding out his hands, “I handled the plates containing the record of the Book of Mormon, and I assisted the Prophet in the translation thereof. I bear witness that this testimony is true.”


John W. Peterson recalls William Smith telling him Joseph put the U&T (which looked like a pair of spectacles) in a hat or some other dark object to translate the plates.

“Statement of J. W. Peterson Concerning William Smith,” May 1, 1921, Miscellaneous Letters and Papers, Community of Christ Archives, Independence, Missouri

On the fourth day of July 4.1. One Thousand Eight-hundred and Ninety I first met William B. Smith who was a brother of Joseph Smith the first president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Together with Elder W. S. Pender we crossed the Mississippi river from Cassville Wisconsin, to Turkey River Jen. [Junction], Iowa late in the afternoon and walked twelve miles or thereabout<s>, to Osterdack[,] Iowa and about ten oclock at night called the old man<,> then in his 7<9>th <year> out o<f> bed and was gladly welcomed by him at that late hour of the night into his humble home.I was then in my my twenty fifth year and the second year of my missionary experience. Most of the two or three days that followed was spent in asking the old man questions concerning his father’s family and his brother Joseph in particular, being at that time especially interested in the Urim and Thummim with which his brother translated the Book of Mormon.He told us many incidents of his youth and childhood and that of his father’s family. One thing in particular impressed me forceably at that time and that was that Joseph had a natural gift of prophecy and revelatio<n> in his youthful days and often prophecied many things concerning the rise of the church and its developement as well as the inhabitants of ancient America. Without stopping to mention the questions we asked I will relate very briefly what he said on two or three important points.He said he had hefted the plates as they lay on the table wrapped in an old frock or jacket in which Joseph <h>ad brought them home. That he had thum[b]ed them through the cloth and ascertained that they were thin sheets of some kind of metal. When asked why he had not uncovered them he said they were told not to do so unless the Lord would give permission, that they were the property of an angel and had received strict commandfments] with regard to that matter. Bro. Pender remarked that most people would ha[v]e examined them any way. The old man suddenly straiphtened [straightened] up and look looked intently at him and said. The Lord knew he could trust Joseph and as for the rest of the family we had no desire to transgress the commandment of the Lord but on the other hand was exceeding anxious to do al<l> we we were commanded to do. Explaining the expression as to the stones in the Urim and thummim being set in two rims of a bow he said: A silver bow ran over one stone, under the other, arround over that one and under the first in the shape of a horizontal figure 8 much like a pair of spectacles. That they were much too large for Joseph and he could only see through one at a time using sometimes one and sometimes the other. By putting his head in a hat or some dark object it was not necessary to close one eye while looking through the stone with the other. In that way sometimes when his eyes grew tires [tired] he releaved them of the strain. He also said the Urim and Thummim was attached to the breastplate by a rod which was fastened at the outer shouldefr] edge of the breastplate and to the end of the silver bow. This rod was just the right length so that when the Urim and thummim was removed from before the eyes it woul<d> reac<h> to a pocked [pocket?] on the left side of the breastplate where the instrument was kept when not in use by the Seer. I was not informed whether it was de=tacha<bl>e from the breastplate or not. From the fact that Joseph often had it with him and sometimes when at work<,> <I> am of the opinion that it could be detached. He also informed us that the rod served to hold it before the eyes of the Seer.I was called to see the old man a few days before his death which occurred in November 1893 and secured his <d>ieing testamony and had it sworn to before a Baptist preacher of that place who was also a notar<y> public. William Kephart by name. This same preacher soon united with our church and later became one of our missionaries. As near as I can remember that document was exactly as the one he issued ten years before which is as follows. . . .Very SincerelyJ. W. PetersonSee Full


Sunday School Lesson from 1930 describing how the Urim and Thummim were used.

Sunday School manuals; Sunday School Lessons Volume 3, 1930; Church History Library, 143

Soon after Joseph's arrival in Harmony, Pennsylvania, the prophet made a copy of a few of the characters engraved on the plates and by means of the Urim and Thummim translated them. Just how this curious instrument worked we are not sure, but from statements made by a number of those who were closely connected with the translation of the book, we can form a rather accurate opinion. We have already seen that the Urim and Thummim was like a pair of spectacles with two transparent stones for glasses. By looking through these glasses, and thinking about the characters engraved on the golden plates, the prophet was able to grasp the meaning. As soon as he thoroughly understood the idea, he cast the thought into a sentence. This sentence appeared on the Urim and Thummim and remained there until the man who served as scribe had correctly written it down as the prophet dictated. The one who did the writing for the prophet was separated from him by means of curtain. No one, except Joseph, was ever allowed to see those golden plates until after the Book of Mormon was translated.See Full


Nels Madsen interviews Emma Smith on whether or not Joseph could have translated the BOM.

Nels Madsen, "Visit to Mrs. Emma Smith Bidemon [sic]," interview by Nels Madsen, 1877, 1-2, Historian's Office, 1931, MS 852, Church History Library

Q. Did he receive the plates from which he claimed to have translated the Book of Mormon? A. Yes, They lay in a box under our bed for months but I never felt at liberty to look at them.In regard to the Book of Mormon Mrs. Bidemon stated emphatically that he[r] husband, Joseph Smith could not have written such a book without inspiration. He had not read the Bible enough to know that there were walls around Jerusalem and he came and asked me if there were walls around the city of Jerusalem.


Sunday School lesson in 1934 describes briefly how Joseph Smith used seer stones.

Sunday School manuals; Sunday School Lessons Volume 7, 1934; Church History Library, 103

As near as we can learn, the translation of the plates was about as follows: A curtain was stretched between Oliver and the Prophet to prevent the writer or anyone else from seeing the records. Joseph worked on one side, and his scribe on the other. When the Prophet was ready to begin reading, he took the plates from the small "Red Morocco trunk," as described by the mother, then produced the Urim and Thummim, which was made of two transparent stones set in silver bows. At other times, he used the Seer Stone. With this aid the Prophet looked at the strange characters upon the records, studying and praying. Then as soon as he was able to read the meaning, he quoted it to the writer, knowing through the testimony of the Spirit when it was done correctly. Thus were the lines and pages of the Book of Mromon brought out of a strange and curious writing into English, easy to read.


Sunday School lesson from 1936 teaches that the Urim and Thummim helped with Book of Mormon translation.

Sunday School manuals; Sunday School Lessons Volume 9, 1936; Church History Library, 18-22 (146)

Joseph arrived in Harmony in December. He started to work right away in copying some of the strange characters from the plates. With the use of the Urim and Thummim he was able to translate some of these...[I]t was so slow for one man to read the plates through the Urim and Thummim and then stop to write it down.


Francis W. Kirkham argues that Joseph Smith did not use seer stones when translating the Book of Mormon.

Francis W. Kirkham, "The Manner of Translating the Book of Mormon," The Improvement Era 42, no. 10 (October 1939), 632

...Moreover, they refer to the use of a seer stone by the Prophet. But no publication during his life contains such a statement.A neighbor, Willard Chase, asserted Joseph stole a "singularly appearing stone" which he had found in 1822 when Joseph and his brother Alvin were employed by him in digging a well. "Joseph put it into his hat and then his face into the top of his hat... alleging that he could see in it." — Mormonism Unveiled, Eber D. Howe, 1834.This is an attempt to explain the alleged power of Joseph Smith to translate the plates by a person who denounced him as a fraud and an ignorant deceiver. In the opinion of the writer, the Prophet used no seer stone in translating the Book of Mormon, neither did he translate in the manner described by David Whitmer and Martin Harris. The statements of both of these men are to be explained by the eagerness of old age to call upon a fading and uncertain memory for the details of events which still remained real and objective to them.See Full


Theodore Farley in 1940 recounts Martin Harris affirming testimony in the Book of Mormon having been translated by the gift and power of God.

Talk given by Theodore Farley, Sr., at Priesthood Session of Sharon Stake Quarterly Conference, March 23, 1940, 1-2 in John W. Welch, "Documents of the Translation of the Book of Mormon" in John W. Welch, ed., Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844, 2nd ed. (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2011), 156

[A]fter the angel had shown him the plates and disappeared, he [Martin Harris] heard a voice from Heaven that thrilled every fiber of his body, stating that the book had been translated by the gift and power of God, and not of man, and he was commanded by the Lord to so make that statement to the world. And he did.

BHR Staff Commentary needs a scan   Church History Library Call Number MS 4897 (reproduced in Vogel, EMD 2:391); will get scan 07/06


Francis W. Kirkham calls into question the accuracy of Martin Harris's and David Whitmer's descriptions of the translation process..

Francis W. Kirkham, A New witness for Christ in America: The Book of Mormon, 2 vols. (Independence, MO: Zion's Printing and Publishing Co., 1942), 1:196

A careful reading of the writings of the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery, his scribe, reveals no information regarding the manner of translating the Book of Mormon, except that "it was translated by the gift and power of God by the aid of the Urim and Thummim." This is also the conclusion of Brigham H. Roberts.After a lapse of forty years of time, both David Whitmer and Martin Harris attempted to give the method of translation. Evidently the Prophet did not tell them the method, for he states positively it was not expedient "for him to relate these things."The conclusion is that no one knows the procedure or exact method of the translation. All that is known is contained in these words, "It was translated by the gift and power of God, with the aid of the Urim and Thummim." Beyond this statement, it is only conjecture. The dictation was continuous without correction. It was not human. It was divine.See Full


Fawn M. Brodie describes Joseph Smith's use of a seer stone both with treasure hunting and when translating the Book of Mormon.

Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith Second Edition (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 1971), 20–21, 43, 61

Joseph's money-digging began in earnest with his discovery of a "seer stone" when he was digging a well for Mason Chase. Martin Harris stated that it came from twenty-four feet underground, and Joseph Capron testified that Joseph could see wondrous sights in it, "ghosts, infernal spirits, mountains of gold and silver." Joseph's wife once described this stone as "not exactly black but rather dark in color," though she admitted to none of the early uses to which it was put.In later years Joseph frankly admitted in his church newspaper and also in his journal that he had been a money-digger, although, he wrote, it was not particularly profitable as he got "only fourteen dollars a month for it." * But that he indulged in all the hocus-pocus attributed to him by his neighbors he vigorously denied. Crystal-gazing is an old profession and has beer an honored one. Egyptians stared into a pool of ink, the Greeks into a mirror, the Aztecs into a quartz crystal, and Europeans into a sword blade or glass of sherry — any translucent surface that made the eyes blur with long gazing. When Joseph Smith first began to use his seer or "peep" stone, he employed the folklore familiar to rural America. The details of his rituals and incantations are unimportant because they were commonplace, and Joseph gave up money-digging when he was twenty-one for a profession far more exciting. ... Mystified by his ability to translate the characters without even unwrapping the plates, merely by staring into his stone or stones (for she said later that he used the Urim and Thummim for the first 116 pages and the little dark seer stone for the remainder t) — [Emma] began to take down his dictation. ...David Whitmer, a young farmer from Fayette, New York, and a friend of Cowdery, paid them a visit and watched the process of translation with great wonder. "Joseph Smith," he said, "would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man."For all the magic appliances at Joseph's disposal, the work progressed as unevenly as with the ordinary novelist. "At times," David Whitmer wrote, "when Brother Joseph would attempt to translate, he would look into the hat in which the stone was placed, he found he was spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us that his mind dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this condition he would go out and pray; and when he became sufficiently humble before God, he could then proceed with the translation." Martin Harris stated that when Joseph became weary of translating he went out and exercised by throwing stones out on the river.See Full


John A. Widtsoe discusses Joseph's seer stone; while acknowledging it was made serviceable by God, does not believe Joseph used it to translate the Book of Mormon.

John A. Widtsoe, Joseph Smith: Seeking after Truth, Prophet of God (Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1951), 260, 267

Before Joseph received the Urim and Thummim he had a stone, obtained during the digging of a well for Clark Chase. This stone, through the blessing of the Lord, became a seer stone which was used frequently by him in his spiritual work.The use of the seer stone explains in part the charge against Joseph Smith that he was a "peep stone gazer." All his activities were well-known and performed above board. The use of the seer stone and the Urim and Thummim was well-known to the people of his time and neighbourhood.The use of stones in sacred work has been frequent: for example, the ball known as the Liahona, the rod of Aaron, and the twelve stones used by Lehi. The brother of Jared used sixteen small stones which gave light in the barges. Aids to human senses are always recognized in ecclesiastical history.Along with the plates of the Book of Mormon were the Urim and Thummim, "two stones in silver bows," used by Joseph Smith as helps in the translation of the inscription on the plates. When the young man was in a suitable spiritual and mental condition, these instruments made the meaning of the inscriptions clear to the translator's mind.. . . Some use was made also of the seer stone and occasional mention was made of it. This was a stone found while the Prophet assisted in digging a well for Clark Chase. By divine power this stone was made serviceable to Joseph Smith in the early part of his ministry. There is no evidence that this stone was used in Joseph's sacred work.See Full


Joseph Fielding Smith writes his reasoning on why he believes Joseph Smith did not use the seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon.

Doctrines of Salvation Volume 3 compiled by Bruce R. McConkie (Bookcraft, 1956), 588

SEER STONE NOT USED IN BOOK OF MORMON TRANSLATION. We have been taught since the days of the Prophet that the Urim and Thummim were returned with the plates to the angel. We have no record of the Prophet having the Urim and Thummim after the organization of the Church. Statements of translations by the Urim and Thummim after that date are evidently errors. The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the Manti Temple when that building was dedicated. The Urim and Thummim so spoken of, however, was the seer stone which was in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith in early days. This seer stone is now in the possession of the Church.While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone 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 this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22-24.These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior 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 seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes.See Full


Joseph Fielding Smith rejects claim Joseph used a seer stone to translate the plates.

Bruce R. McConkie, comp., Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith, 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1956), 3:588

While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone 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 this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior 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 seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes.See Full


Herbert Passin and John Bennett offered academic discussion of  traditional "Magic" in Illinois town.

Herbert Passin and John W. Bennett, “Changing Agricultural Magic in Southern Illinois: A Systematic Analysis of Folk-Urban Transition,”in The Study of Folklore, ed. Alan Dundes (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965), 314-30

[Discussion of agricultural magic in an Illinois town as collected in 1939 when the practices were beginning to fade. Authors note that they were practices that followed the Old English pattern.]It was believed that successful crops required careful observation of traditional “signs.” Lettuce and certain other garden crops must be planted on St. Valentine's day, February 14. Failure to observe this prescription automatically results in a bad crop. Cucumbers must be planted in “dark moon” and by the Zodiacal “twin” sign. Potatoes and corn must be planted in the dark of the moon. Beans should be planted on Good Friday. In general, the principle seems to have been that plants that grow primarily above the ground should be seeded in “light moon,” the others in “dark moon.” Things that grow along a vine should be planted when the signs are in the arms. The signs are also significant in respect to the care of stock. Hogs should be slaughtered in the dark of the moon when the sign is between the thighs and the knees. Otherwise the meat swells up. To prevent hemorrhage and harmful aftereffects, castration should be performed by the same signs. The same sign determines the time of preserving meat. If it is not observed, the meat will “fry away into grease,” the grease will unaccountably disappear, the meat will curl in the frying pan, and it will be difficult to make brown gravy.Stock should be weaned when the sign is in the head, or else “they go to hollerin’.” (The same was suggested for human children.) Soap must be made in the dark of the moon. Planking and house building must occur in the appropriate sign, or the roofing will curl upwards. The coming weather, an item of extreme importance to farmers, can be predicted from a variety of signs, astral, floral, and faunal. These are sufficiently numerous to fill a small-sized volume and must be omitted here. The magical prescriptions carry their own sanctions. Failure to comply results in unfortunate consequences, even disaster, for the skeptic or forgetful one. The potency of these underlying sanctions must be taken to indicate the urgent and immediate importance of the magical practices in the life of the people . . .Conclusions1. The proposition that change from isolation and homogeneity to mobility and heterogeneity entails predictable consequences in terms of such processes as disorganization, secularization, and disintegration was tested. Magical beliefs and practices were specifically chosen for demonstration.2. The hypothesis, although based upon results obtained among peoples outside of the Western culture-historical tradition, has reference not to concrete historic entities as such, but to type-situations. It is therefore applicable wherever the heuristic conditions which will satisfy its proposed variables may be found.3. These may be found in three general types of situations: (a) in a comparison of two or more societies that come from discrete historical traditions, where differences in respect to isolation and homogeneity can be shown; (b) among two or more societies within an historically continuous culture-area, but where differentials in the historic process have brought about type-differences in the isolation-homogeneity range, as in Redfield’s study; and (c) in the historic course of change in a given society, where the change has been in the direction of the mobile heterogeneous pole. Our study exemplifies this latter type.4. The historic course of change in the Stringtown area has been from relative isolation and homogeneity to relative external contact and heterogeneity, as a consequence of economic changes.5. Within this context, it was expected that detailed study of the system of magic, or of any other institution, would demonstrate a systematic change in the direction of secularization, rationalization, and disorganization.6. The empirical course of magical change seems a fairly good fit to theoretical expectancy.7. It was also found that reintegration occurred at precisely those points where some equilibrium was being achieved within the changing culture, whether as persistence or re-adaptation of entirely new elements.See Full


Keith Thomas (16th century historian) stated that common people believed folk magic/scryers came from God.

Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971), 265-266

Against this state of affairs the clergy struggled vainly. Through the ecclesiastical courts, they did their best to curb their rivals, by punishing the customers of the cunning men, forcing them to confess publicly to being 'heartily sorry for seeking man's help, and refusing the help of God'. But the trouble was that such clients did not regard the wizards as ordinary men, and could not see that there was anything wrong about having recourse to their remedies. 'Men rather uphold them,' wrote John Stearne, 'and say why should any man be questioned for doing good.' 'I have heard them say full often myself,' wrote the Bridgettine monk, Richard Whytforde, of 'the simple people' in the early sixteenth century, "'Sir, we man well and we do believe well and we think it is a good and charitable deed to heal a sick person or a sick east".' The attempt by the theologians to wipe out the distinction between black and white witches by branding them both as diabolical never got through to the people to whom these witches ministered. On the contrary, they were more likely to believe that the cunning folk were taught by God, or that they were helped by angels, or even that they possessed some divinity of their own. The common people, wrote Thomas Cooper, assumed that the power of these wizards came by 'some extraordinary gift of God'. They honoured cunning men, wrote another, 'no less than demi-gods'. They followed the London poulterer, Grig, who cured patients by his prayers, 'as if he had been a god', and they gave the Tudor conjurer, Robert Allen, the sobriquet of 'the god of Norfolk'.See Full


The Friend briefly describes the seer stones and how they were used.

"A Peaceful Heart," The Friend (September 1974), accessed July 17, 2024

Because of his spiritual nature and his willingness to learn the truth, Joseph Smith was tested and found worthy to be the translator of the Book of Mormon. To help him with the translation, Joseph found with the gold plates “a curious instrument which the ancients called Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.”Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating called a seer stone. The translating was done at Peter Whitmer’s home, a friend of the Prophet’s where Oliver Cowdery, Emma Smith (Joseph’s wife), one of the Whitmers, or Martin Harris wrote down the words spoken by the Prophet as soon as they were made known to him.Martin Harris said that on the seer stone “sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by [the one writing them down] and when finished [that person] would say ‘written;’ and if correctly written, the sentence would disappear and another take its place; but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates.”See Full

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints