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| − | ==Question: How did Joseph Smith use his seer stones as a youth?==
| + | #REDIRECT[[Joseph Smith and folk magic or the occult]] |
| − | ===Joseph as the village seer: the use of the seer stone prior to the Restoration===
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| − | Brant Gardner clarifies the role that Joseph and his stone played within the community of Palmyra,
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| − | <blockquote>
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| − | Young Joseph Smith was a member of a specialized sub-community with ties to these very old and very respected practices, though by the early 1800s they were respected only by a marginalized segment of society. He exhibited a talent parallel to others in similar communities. Even in Palmyra he was not unique. In D. Michael Quinn's words: "Until the Book of Mormon thrust young Smith into prominence, Palmyra's most notable seer was Sally Chase, who used a greenish-colored stone. William Stafford also had a seer stone, and Joshua Stafford had a 'peepstone which looked like white marble and had a hole through the center.'" Richard Bushman adds Chauncy Hart, and an unnamed man in Susquehanna County, both of whom had stones with which they found lost objects. <ref>Brant A. Gardner, [http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2009-fair-conference/2009-joseph-the-seer-or-why-did-he-translate-with-a-rock-in-his-hat Joseph the Seer—or Why Did He Translate With a Rock in His Hat?], ''FAIR Conference'' 2009. Gardner references D. Michael Quinn, ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View'' (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1987), 38. and Richard L. Bushman, ''Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism'' (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1984), 70.</ref></blockquote>
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| − | During his tenure as a "village seer," Joseph acquired several seer stones. Joseph first used a neighbor's seer stone (probably that belonging to Palmyra seer Sally Chase, on the balance of historical evidence, though there are other possibilities) to discover the location of a brown, baby's foot-shaped stone. The vision of this stone likely occurred in about 1819–1820, and he obtained his first seer stone in about 1821–1822.<ref>{{Ashurst-McGee-Thesis|start=200|end=215}}</ref>
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| − | ===The second seer stone was reportedly found while digging a well on the property of William Chase in 1822===
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| − | Joseph then used this first stone to find a second stone (a white one). The second seer stone was reportedly found on the property of William Chase in 1822 as Chase described it:
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| − | <blockquote>
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| − | In the year 1822, I was engaged in digging a well. I employed Alvin and Joseph Smith to assist me.... After digging about twenty feet below the surface of the earth, we discovered a singularly appearing stone, which excited my curiosity. I brought it to the top of the well, and as we were examining it, Joseph put it into his hat, and then his face into the top of his hat.... The next morning he came to me, and wished to obtain the stone, alleging that he could see in it; but I told him I did not wish to part with it on account of its being a curiosity, but I would lend it.<ref>Eber Dudley Howe, ''Mormonism Unvailed'' (Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press, 1834), 241-242; cited in Richard Van Wagoner and Steven Walker, "Joseph Smith: 'The Gift of Seeing," ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' 15 no. 2 (Summer 1982): 48–68. </ref>
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| − | </blockquote>
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| − | [[File:Gazelem A Stone.jpg|500px|center|Joseph Smith locates a seer stone while digging a well. Image copyright (c) 2016 by Anthony Sweat.]]
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| − | </onlyinclude>
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| − | {{endnotes sources}}
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| − | [[Category:An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
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| − | [[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
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| − | [[Category:MormonThink]]
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| − | [[Category:No Man Knows My History]]
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| − | [[Category:One Nation Under Gods]]
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| − | [[Category:The Changing World of Mormonism]]
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| − | [[de:Frage: Wie hat Joseph seinen zweiten Seherstein erlangt?]]
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| − | [[es:Pregunta: ¿Cómo usar Joseph sus piedras videntes en su juventud?]]
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| − | [[pt:Pergunta: Como Joseph usar suas pedras de vidente quando jovem?]]
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