Seer Stone Used to Translate the Book of Mormon

Parent page: Book of Mormon/Translation/Method

John Quincy Adams (1916): "it was instant death for any one but Joe to use them. Even when he put them on, the light became so dazzling that he was obliged to look through his hat"

John Quincy Adams:

The process of translating the “reformed Egyptian” plates was simple though peculiar. It was all done with the Urim and Thummim spectacles, but it was instant death for any one but Joe to use them. Even when he put them on, the light became so dazzling that he was obliged to look through his hat. Moreover, when so engaged, no profane eyes were allowed to see him or the hat. Alone, behind a blanket stretched across the room, Joe looked into his hat and read the mystic words.^[1]

Whitmer: "he used a stone called a 'Seers stone,' the 'Interpreters' having been taken away from him because of transgression

David Whitmer:

[H]e used a stone called a “Seers stone,” the “Interpreters” having been taken away from him because of transgression. The “Interpreters” were taken from Joseph after he allowed Martin Harris to carry away the 116 pages of Ms [manuscript] of the Book of Mormon as a punishment, but he was allowed to go on and translate by 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.^[2]

Nelson: "The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights"

Russell M. Nelson:

The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights. David Whitmer wrote: “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.” (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Mo.: n.p., 1887, p. 12.)^[3]

The Friend (1974): "Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating called a seer stone"

The official Church magazine for children, The Friend:

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.^[4]

Harris (1859): "The stones were white, like polished marble, with a few gray streaks. I never dared to look into them by placing them in the hat"

Martin Harris:

The two stones set in a bow of silver were about two inches in diameter, perfectly round, and about five-eighths of an inch thick at the centre; but not so thick at the edges where they came into the bow. They were joined by a round bar of silver, about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and about four inches long, which, with the two stones, would make eight inches. The stones were white, like polished marble, with a few gray streaks. I never dared to look into them by placing them in the hat, because Moses said that “no man could see God and live,” and we could see anything we wished by looking into them; and I could not keep the desire to see God out of my mind. And beside, we had a command to let no man look into them, except by the command of God, lest he should “look aught and perish.”^[5]

Rochester Advertiser and Daily Telegraph (1829): "the [Golden] Bible was found, together with a huge pair of spectacles!"

Rochester Advertiser and Daily Telegraph (New York, 31 August 1829):

[A]nd after penetrating “mother earth” a short distance, the [Golden] Bible was found, together with a huge pair of spectacles! He had been directed, however, not to let any mortal being examine them, “under no less penalty” than instant death! They were therefore nicely wrapped up and excluded from the “vulgar gaze of poor wicked mortals!” It was said that the leaves of the bible were plates of gold, about 8 inches long, 6 wide, and one eighth of an inch thick, on which were engraved characters or hyeroglyphics. By placing the spectacles in a hat, and looking into it, Smith could (he said so, at least,) interpret these characters.</ref>“Golden Bible,” Rochester Advertiser and Daily Telegraph (New York, 31 August 1829). Reprinted from Palmyra Freeman, 11 August 1829.</ref>

The Gem (1829): "By placing the spectacles in a hat and looking into it, Smith interprets the characters into the English language"

The Gem: A Semi-Monthly Literary and Miscellaneous Journal, 5 September 1829:

By placing the spectacles in a hat and looking into it, Smith interprets the characters into the English language.^[6]

New-York Telescope (1830): "he proceeded to the spot, and found the bible, with a huge pair of spectacles"

New-York Telescope, 20 February 1830:

[H]e proceeded to the spot, and found the bible, with a huge pair of spectacles. . . . He is said to have shown some of these characters to Professor Samuel L. Mitchell, of this city, who could not translate them. Martin Harris returned, and set Joseph Smith to the business of translating them: who, “by placing the spectacles in a hat and looking into them, Joseph Smith said he could interpret these characters.”^[7]

Cincinnati Advertiser and Ohio Phoenix (1830): "Smith would put his face into a hat in which he had a white stone, and pretend to read from it, while his coadjutor transcribed"

Cincinnati Advertiser and Ohio Phoenix, June 2, 1830:

A fellow by the name of Joseph Smith, who resides in the upper part of Susquehanna county, has been, for the last two years we are told, employed in dedicating as he says, by inspiration, a new bible. He pretended that he had been entrusted by God with a golden bible which had been always hidden from the world. Smith would put his face into a hat in which he had a white stone, and pretend to read from it, while his coadjutor transcribed.^[8]

Daily Albany Argus (1831): "he found in the same place two stones, with which he was enabled, by placing them over his eyes and putting his head in a dark corner"

Daily Albany Argus, Oct. 15, 1831:

The preacher said he found in the same place two stones, with which he was enabled, by placing them over his eyes and putting his head in a dark corner, to decypher the hieroglyphics on the plates!^[9]

Morning Star (1833): "an angel gave him a pair of spectacles which he put in a hat and thus read and translated"

Morning Star, March 7, 1833:

an angel gave him a pair of spectacles which he put in a hat and thus read and translated, while one of the witnesses wrote it down from his mouth.^[10]

Protestant Sentinel (1834): "Joseph Smith, an illiterate young man, unable to read his own name...was reported to have found several golden plates, together with a pair of spectacles"

Protestant Sentinel, 4 June 1834:

In the year 1828, one Joseph Smith, an illiterate young man, unable to read his own name, of Palmyra, Wayne County, New York, was reported to have found several golden plates, together with a pair of spectacles, relics of high antiquity. The spectacles were designed to aid mental vision, under rather peculiar circumstances. They were to be adjusted, and the visage thrust into a close hat. This done Smith could interpret the sacred mysteries of the plates, in which lay, by the hypothesis, in the top of the hat!^[11]

New York Weekly Messenger and Young Men’s Advocate (1835): "by putting a plate in his hat, putting two smooth flat stones, which he found in the box, in the hat, and putting his face therein"

New York Weekly Messenger and Young Men’s Advocate, 29 April 1835:

Smith pretended that he had found some golden or brass plates, like the leaves of a book, hid in a box in the earth, to which he was directed by an Angel, in 1827,—that the writing on them was in the “Reformed Egyptian language,”—that he was inspired to interpret the writing, or engraving, by putting a plate in his hat, putting two smooth flat stones, which he found in the box, in the hat, and putting his face therein—that he could not write, but as he translated, one Oliver Cowdery wrote it down.^[12]

William Smith (1883): "The manner in which this was done was by looking into the Urim and Thummim, which was placed in a hat"

William Smith:

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.^[13]

Joseph Knight Sr. (1835-1847): "Now the way he translated was he put the Urim and Thummim into his hat and darkened his eyes"

Joseph Knight Sr.:

Now the way he translated was he put the Urim and Thummim into his hat and darkened his eyes, then he would take a sentence and it would appear in bright Roman letters, then he would tell the writer and he would write it. Then that would go away, the next sentence would come, and so on. But if it was not spelled right it would not go away till it was right, so we see it was marvelous. Thus was the whole translated.^[14]

The True Latter Day Saints’ Herald (1879): "the story of the Urim and Thummim Translation does not date back, for its origin further than 1833"

The True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, 15 November 1879:

The proofs are clear and positive that the story of the Urim and Thummim Translation does not date back, for its origin further than 1833, or between that date and 1835; for it is not found in any printed document of the Church of Christ up to the latter part of the year 1833, or the year 1834. The “Book of Commandments” to the Church of Christ, published in Independence, Mo., in 1833, does not contain any allusion to Urim and Thummim; though the term was inserted in some of the revelations in their reprint in the “Book of Doctrine and Covenants” in 1835.^[15]

Truman Coe (1836): "looking through the Urim and Thummim, he would see the import written in plain English"

Truman Coe:

The manner of translation was as wonderful as the discovery. By putting his finger on one of the characters and imploring divine aid, then looking through the Urim and Thummim, he would see the import written in plain English on a screen placed before him.^[16]

A Letter to Those Who Have Attended Mormonite Preaching (1840): "two large jewels resembling diamonds were given to him, which, being applied to the eyes, like spectacles"

A Letter to Those Who Have Attended Mormonite Preaching:

He declared that an angel was sent from God to make known to him the place in which the book was concealed,—that he searched and found the same,—that the words were engraved on plates of gold in a language which no man understood,—and that two large jewels resembling diamonds were given to him, which, being applied to the eyes, like spectacles, enabled him to get at the meaning and translate the Book of Mormon into English. These jewels were, he said, the Urim and Thummim of the Old Testament.^[17]

William Smith (1890): "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"

William Smith:

a silver bow ran over one stone, under the other around over that one and under the first in the shape of a horizontal figure 8 much like a pair of spectacles....much too large for Joseph...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 [tired] he [relieved] them of the strain.^[18]

Edward Stevenson (1881): "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"

Edward Stevenson:

[Martin Harris 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.^[19]

Godfrey: "Once Martin found a rock closely resembling the seerstone Joseph sometimes used in place of the interpreters and substituted it without the Prophet’s knowledge"

Kenneth W. Godfrew, Ensign, January 1988:

From April 12 to June 14, Joseph translated while Martin wrote, with only a curtain between them. On occasion they took breaks from the arduous task, sometimes going to the river and throwing stones. Once Martin found a rock closely resembling the seerstone Joseph sometimes used in place of the interpreters and substituted it without the Prophet’s knowledge. When the translation resumed, Joseph paused for a long time and then exclaimed, “Martin, what is the matter, all is as dark as Egypt.” Martin then confessed that he wished to “stop the mouths of fools” who told him that the Prophet memorized sentences and merely repeated them.^[20]

Emma Smith Bidamon (1870): "was translated by use of the Urim, and Thummim, and that was the part that Martin Harris lost, after that he used a small stone"

Emma Smith Bidamon:

Now the first that my husband translated, was translated by use of the Urim, and Thummim, and that was the part that Martin Harris lost, after that he used a small stone, not exactly, black, but was rather a dark color.^[21]

Notes