Reason #138–Questions about the Seer Stone
An important part of Joseph Smith’s early life was a seer stone by which he claimed to be able to find hidden treasure. (Here is some information from the official LDS Web site about his practices and the existence of the stone.) Researcher Bruce MacArthur has posed some interesting questions about the seer stone. Anyone want to tackle answering? The FIRST is this: According to Martin Harris, Joseph Smith used his “seer stone” to locate the plates of gold. On the other hand, the Pearl of Great Price; Joseph Smith — History 1, verse 42 ends with these words – “.. While he {Moroni} was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so...
Reason #134: Because of the Logic Required to Affirm LDS history
This article claims to have pinned down the date of Joseph Smith’s supposed First Vision. It hinges on the account of an axe stuck in a stump. Read it and ask the same question I did: Is there any other reason for chopping wood in 1820 in March in upper New York state? Like– for a fireplace? For cooking food? Fence repair? For more information, see The Mormon Mirage 3rd Edition: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today(Zondervan, 2009). Also available as an audiobook and as an expanded-text E-book for Nook, Kindle and other reading...
Reason #131: Because Joseph Smith Could Cut and Paste
A reader recently sent me a section of an article that’s being circulated among Mormons. Its premise is that the Book of Mormon reflects Semitic peculiarities. The original article is here. (Update: Apparently Sami Hanna left the LDS church and here is a retraction of his statements that once supported Mormonism, as seen below. Interesting!) It says that a native Arabic speaker saw Semitic features in the Book of Mormon, and my friend sent a list of them and asked me to respond. Obviously what Joseph Smith did was a nineteenth-century version of cutting and pasting from the Bible. Here’s what I said in my letter to my friend: I am delighted to respond to this one. Since you’re from the South you’ll understand when I say that this is like...
Reason #115: Those Moonmen just won’t go away
Eyewitnesses say that Joseph Smith and other LDS leaders not only described inhabitants on the moon, but also prophesied that 18th and 19th century Mormons would do missionary work there. Here are some sources for that information: (courtesy of Steve Benson) 1. Will Schmidt, “Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Extraterrestrial Quakers!,” in “The Watchman Expositor,” vol. 6, no. 9, 1989 2. Jerald and Sandra Tanner, “The Changing World of Mormonism,” Chapter 1, “A Marvelous Work?” (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1981), pp. 23-25 3. James B. Allen, “But Dick Tracy Landed On The Moon,” in “Sunstone,” vol. 7, no. 5, issue #35, September/October 1982, pp. 19-20 4. Van Hale, “Mormons and...
Reason #105: Joseph Smith’s Jupiter Talisman
A symbol of the occult that Joseph Smith owned was a “Jupiter talisman.” Read about it and see a drawing of it at the Tanners’ site here. For more information, see The Mormon Mirage 3rd Edition: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today(Zondervan, 2009). Also available as an audiobook and as an expanded-text E-book for Nook, Kindle and other reading...
