The Beginning Of The Mormon Religion And The Gold Plates

The Beginning of the Mormon Religion

            The character of Joseph Smith, Jr., established that he was from an environment of visions, and dreams, and the need for money, and a lack of orthodox religion in his childhood, distaste for existing Christian beliefs, and from an area that was well known as the “Burnt Out Area” due to over preaching, as well as he being a treasure hunter, and it seems he was using magic to keep himself employed. Joseph Smith, Jr., had an interest in the mounds that could be found in the Ohio valley and other areas near and around New York, a place where he believed were treasures all this adds to the fact that Joseph Smith, Jr., would desire to achieve, money, fame, and at the expense of soothsaying. It must be remembered that Joseph Smith, Jr., used trickery, seeing into his hat staring at two stones. The discovery about the early days of Joseph Smith, Jr., document not only his character but also his ideology, and philosophy. There are two witnesses that give the account, Arad Stowell, and Mr. McMaster have only negative account that Joseph Smith, Jr., had any ability with his stores to find treasure or any other lost object. We must remember that Joseph Smith, Jr., was found guilty of disorderly conduct but as a first offender was allowed to not have penalty.[1] Martin Harris, a prominent member of the community and a financial backer of the Book of Mormon give this statement about the money diggers:

There was a company there in that neighborhood, who were digging for money supposed to have been hidden by the ancients. Of this company were old Mr. Stowel--I think his name was Josiah--also old Mr. Beman, also Samuel Lawrence, George Proper, Joseph Smith, jr., and his father, and his brother Hiram Smith. They dug for money in Palmyra, Manchester, also in Pennsylvania, and other places. ... It was reported by these money diggers, that they had found boxes, but before they could secure them, they would sink into the earth.[2]

Mr. Josiah Stowell in September 1827 went to Palmyra to visit the Smiths and to dig for money and at this visit, Joseph Knight, Sr., Alvah Beaman, who was a rodsman, and Samuel Lawrence who was known as a “seer,” and at his meeting, a meeting of men with money diggers, Joseph Smith, Jr., claimed to have come into possession of the gold plates.

            To begin this area of investigation into the forming of the Mormon religion as to Joseph Smith, Jr., and his account about him being visited by an angel leads to many questions. It is to be noted that Joseph Smith, Jr., was not the only person to say that they were visited by an angel and were given manuscripts to a holy book. Mohammed of the Islam religion also said that he was visited by and angel named, Michael, and was given the words for the Koran, Islam’s holy book. Joseph Smith, Jr., also says he was visited, by an angel, and this angel had the name “Moroni,” and was led to gold plates from which he was to pen the Book of Mormon. This similarity must not go unnoticed even though they are events, they say, took place years before the other, yet both claim the same thing: God visited them through and angel. As the story goes about the gold plates and he boxes that contained them the money diggers reported that they had found boxes but before they could retrieve them they would sink into the earth.[3]  Jonathan Thompson gave this description about one money-digging excursion and stated the Joseph Smith, Jr., located an Indian treasure by looking into his hat where he had placed a stone.

            A question that leaves us wondering is: Why did God choose Joseph Smith, Jr., to reveal another religious book claiming that it was from God? Joseph Smith, Jr., was not a person who believed in the Bible as written by those 40 men over several centuries to the Jews and then to the Church after Jesus Christ came, died, rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Joseph Smith Jr., a treasure hunter looking for anything that would bring him money, even fame and more business who said that he found a “box” containing gold plates on a hill, a hill much like the ancient mounds of the Ohio Valley? Why was it that he found those plates himself with no witnesses to this find? Why cannot we see those plates today since they are said to be in a building on the hill of Cumorah? Where are the two stones said to be Thummin and Urim? Why was he told to keep all this a secret? We must, therefore, due to these questions and many more, to then examine the history for the Book of Mormon. It is also very interesting that those supposed gold plates would have been buried in Palmyra in New York next to the home of Joseph Smith, Jr., and to simply say that Joseph Smith, Jr., was placed there by God to find those plates without supporting evidence seem to be incredulous and the command to keep the gold plates from being seen also seems convenient.

            The original church formed by Joseph Smith, Jr., and others was called The Church of Christ and this occurred in 1829-1830 A.D., later to be changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The underlying theology was restoration theology. This movement, restoration theology was an attempt to restore to the church primitive Christianity and sprung up in the early 1899’s and a man, Barton W. Stone, a Presbyterian minister, upset by the various schisms in the church began a movement in Kentucky to restore apostolic Christianity. In the 1820’s Stones movement merged with Thomas and Alexander Campbell who also were attempting to restore primitive Christianity. The restoration movement occurred largely in the area where Joseph Smith, Jr., lived and hunted for treasure. More people were influenced by this doctrine restoration theology looking for a Christianity that would coincide with their ideas, not from the Bible alone, but from their own character being formed much like Joseph Smith Jr., so when approached by Joseph Smith, Jr., they believed him.

            The Mormon narrative according to Joseph Smith, Jr., was that God sent an angel to reveal to him the location of an ancient record that contained the history of God’s working with the inhabitants living on the American continent. Not was Joseph Smith, Jr., given the location of those records, but also was given the ability to translate that record. This record became the Book of Mormon. It is said that God commanded that the Church of Christ by organized and this occurred on April 6, 1830 and at this time it is said that this was accompanied by the appearing of angels, the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon and a restoration on earth of the authority of the priesthood, the ministers of Jesus Christ.

            The Book of Mormon must not be underestimated it is the very foundation of the Mormon religion and without the narrative as to how Joseph Smith, Jr., obtained the writings from the hill of Cumorah near Palymra, New York making this essential to Mormonism. The 2006 printing of the Book of Mormon is written that the Book of Mormon is an account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi (Stratford Books, P.O. Box 1371, Provo, UT 84603-1371, September 2006). The first and second book of Nephi, the first books of the Book of Mormon give the account of Nehi being commanded by God to write the history of the people of Israel, especially about a certain group of Israelites. The Book of Mormon chapter entitled The Words of Mormon, chapter 1, gives the account that Mormon gave to his son Moron this record. The narrative was that Moroni, an ancient Nephite warrior visited Joseph Smith, Jr., in the fall of 1823. This visit by Moroni spoke to Joseph Smith, Jr., that he, Moroni, had buried gold plates come fourteen centuries earlier and that burial place was near the Smith farm near Palmyra, New York. Moroni gave some historical facts that were in those gold plates but Joseph Smith, Jr., was not to retrieve the gold plates for another four years. Mormons believe that with the translation of those gold plates into the Book of Mormon that Joseph Smith, Jr., was a prophet sent by God to restore the true Christian faith that had been lost due to a “great apostasy.” The details as to how Joseph Smith, Jr., obtained the plates and translated them have caused much consternation and compelled some with the Mormon religion to challenge the main components of the account in order to make it more credible. Those who call themselves Mormons will agree without doubt their founding prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., did find and translate the gold plates and that the Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth. The story by Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of Joseph Smith,[4] Jr., gives an account that her son, Joseph Smith, Jr., found and took the plates from a secret place, and, “wrapping them in his linen frock, placed the under his arm and started for home. The account states that Joseph Smith, Jr., came to a large windfall, and when he jumped over a log a man came suddenly from behind it and gave him a heavy blow with a gun. After recovering quickly Joseph Smith, Jr., knocked this man down and then ran at top speed.[5] Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., gives more as she speaks that her son was attacked two more times and without any mention that they were incapacitated and that he ran from them home to avoid more trouble this he did with him being somewhat hindered by a slight limp that he had received from a childhood surgery.

            Joseph Smith, Jr., having to run with his find of gold plates we must then examine what we can about those gold plates. The first thing is to measure the weight of the gold plates and there is no consensus as to the size or weight of the gold plates. There are varying dimensions for the plates, and for their estimated weights. Some say sixty pounds, others, like the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., who stated that the plates weighed as little as thirty pounds. Joseph Smith, Jr., give this account about the gold plats saying that those plates received from the angel was “six inches wide, and eight inches long, and not very thick as common tin. Furthermore, Joseph Smith, Jr., said that the dimensions of the plates near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed.[6] God weighs 1,204 pounds per cubic foot and if the plates were solid gold then they would weigh two hundred pounds and this is in agreement with LDS Apostle John Widtsoe. If this were the case then the gold plates would be too heavy for a man to carry.[7] Mormonism attempts to disprove this weight by stating that these handmade plates would not lay perfectly flat, this then allows for air gaps between the leaves which would make them much lighter but this is to imply that gold being a very soft metal and due to their weight air gaps would not exist making the plates to be a block of gold. The air gaps must be assumed to be moving air because moving air lifts the pages upward and if not moving, still air, then the weight of the pages would push down on to the next page making the book or pages to be weighted. Mormons are pressed to find a solution to this problem that Joseph Smith, Jr., carried these plates, after being knocked in the head and fell down and then fought two men, and then ran with the plates that somehow he did not drop, or at least we have no record of him picking them up and then run away from these men who were intent on hurting him. God is malleable: this is called ductility, and can be easily hammered into shape, molded so they were then soft as gold is a soft metal. A problem exist with soft metal as these plates were said to be gold in that with all the handling over time the engravings would become distorted. This problem Widtsoe attempted to resolve. Here is his theory:

 For the purpose of record keeping, plates made of gold mixed with a certain amount of copper would be better, for such plates would be firmer, more durable and generally more suitable for the work in hand. If the plates were made of eight karat gold, which is gold frequently used in present-day jewelry, and allowing a 10 percent space between the leaves, the total weight of the plates would not be above one hundred and seventeen pounds—a weight easily carried by a man as strong as was Joseph Smith.[8]

The story as told makes these gold plates to be heavy and without documentation of moving air then the theories proposed would be impossible to prove true and reliable. Mormons came up with another way for this story to be true by assuming that God gave Joseph Smith, Jr., supernatural strength to carry the plates. This simply an argument from silence and Joseph Smith, Jr., never said that God aided him to carry or run with the plates and he never gave God the credit for enabling him to do so. The Mormon apologetic community recognizes that there is no evidence to support the need for supernatural strength. Mormons have and are attempting to get the weight down to a manageable weight but if this is being done then there would be no reason for God to intervene. Mormons continue to attempt to find ways to resolve this problem with the gold plates, and in the LDS Era magazine, Kirk B. Henrichsen makes this statement to affirm the validity for the gold plates: “Neither Joseph nor any of the witnesses said that the ancient record was made from solid gold. Nor did they use the term ‘gold plates,’ or ‘plates of gold.’”[9] The question is whether or not Mr. Henrichsen told the whole truth. The thirteenth president Gordon B. Hinckley recited the words of the witness for the Book of Mormon, Oliver Cowdry who said:  “I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated.”[10] In an interview that appeared in the Saint’s Herald, David Whitmer, another one of the Three Witnesses, stated that the plates were made of “pure gold.”[11] Lucy Mack Smith in a letter she wrote to Mary Smithy Pierce in 1929 explaining how God showed Joseph Smith, Jr.: “where he could dig to obtain an ancient record engraven upon plates made of pure gold and this he is able to translate.”[12] The Mormon Church stated that Joseph Smith, Jr., in the LDS Church News in an article entitled, “Hands on Opportunity” was: “entrusted with plates of solid gold.”[13] The theories purported by Mormon leaders failing they needed another explanation so they speculated that the gold was on speaking of the color ad not the content. Furthermore, they speculated that the plates were made of an alloy as gold would be too soft to be engraved as the Mormon apologist John Welch notes:  “pure gold would be too soft to make useful plates.”[14] While it must agreed upon the gold would be too soft for engraving and was stated by a Mormon apologist to be so they do have this in the Book of Mormon: Mosiah 8:9 speaks of twenty-four Jaredite plates, which are filled with engravings, and they are pure gold. This translation allegedly makes up the present-day Book of
Ether that can be found near the end of the Book of Mormon.

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[1] Joseph Smith's 1826 Judicial Decision," mormonscripturestudies.com.

[2] Mormonism--No. II," Tiffany's Monthly 5 (August 1859): 164-65; Vogel, Early Mormon Documents 2:303-304.

[3] Mormonism--No. II," Tiffany's Monthly 5 (August 1859): 164-65; Vogel, Early Mormon Documents 2:303-304.

[4] See Richard L. Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 60. See also Church History in the Fulness of Times: Religion 341 through 343 (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2003), 44–45.

[5] Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother (Salt Lake City: Stevens and Wallis, 1945), 108.

[6] History of the Church (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1973), 4:537.

[7] John A. Widtsoe and Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Seven Claims of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1937), 37.

[8] Widtsoe and Harris, 37.

[9] Henrichsen, “What Did the Golden Plates Look Like?” New Era, July 2007, 29.

[10] Gordon Hinckley, Ensign, May 1989, 46.

[11] Saints’ Herald, February 15, 1878, 57.

[12] Dean C. Jessee, “Lucy Mack Smith’s 1829 Letter to Mary Smith Pierce,” BYU Studies, Fall 1982, 461.

[13] Church News, May 15, 1999, 16. It should be noted that the electronic version of this article has changed the phrase, “solid gold plates,” to read simply, “gold plates”;

[14] John W. Welch, ed., Reexploring the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 276.

Joseph Smith, Jr., And Occult Practices

Character Determines Ones Action And Decisions

            The previous blog demonstrated that Joseph Smith, Jr., had a character built upon his family and their character: i.e., vision, not belonging to anyone of the Orthodox faith, in fact not only did not give their religious nature to them, they had resentment towards them. A life filled with those closest to him, his father, mother, uncles, and others would lead him to also be led to such as visions, secret knowledge, and could be seen in his use of seer stones. Money, or the lack of money, living in a time when work was not as available is it is today, no government handouts, no Medicare, also played an important part in developing his character. Looking for treasure was a way to find valuables to sell. I find it interesting that Joseph Smith, Jr., would be selected by God to be visited by and angel named Moroni and seems interesting as well as Mohammed of the Islam faith also was visited by an Angel, Michael and as with Joseph Smith, Jr., Mohammed was given a religious book the Koran as also Joseph Smith, Jr., was given “Golden Plates,” by which the Book of Mormon was translated into the Book of Mormon. This visit to Joseph Smith, Jr., was when he was 14 and this visit was by God the Father and Jesus Christ and then in 1823 according to his account, he was visited by an angel who told him of thin golden plates. These plates were said to have an ancient record of God dealings with the early American inhabitants. During this time Joseph Smith, Jr., had gained some small reputation as a clairvoyant and was able o locate lost objects.

     Joseph Smith, Jr., began translating the Golden Plates by using as he claimed a “gift of God.” In 1830 The Book of Mormon published, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formed and Joseph Smith, Jr., became its first president. Joseph Smith, Jr., headed the Mormons for the next 14 years until he was arrested in 1844 for treason and murdered by a mob. Joseph Smith, Jr., was considered to be a “Prophet,” and his writings are the foundation of Mormonism. As previously discussed character develops by means of several influences and an important influence, especially in the day when religion was foremost in people’s minds by such as the occult, Shakers, Quakers, Seekers, all who taught special revelations from God sought visions, etc., as by the teachings of William Miller who taught much about eschatology his way giving dates for the coming of Jesus Christ, and other such teachings, those teachings that form the basis of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and even Charles Taze Russell of the Jehovah Witnesses had involvement with the Millerites, and those who later formed the Seventh Day Adventist movement. Joseph Smith, Jr., was influenced by Jewish cabalistic traditions, traditions that a system of esoteric (that is to understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest or for the initiates of a group. Cabalism is to be secret, or private), that is based on mystical method of interpreting the Scriptures, and is concerned with the occult doctrine or science. Also to be found in the writings and teaching of Joseph Smith, Jr., is throughout his writings the Masonic order is present in those writings. It is interesting that in the 19^th century and it religious environment of western New York, where Joseph Smith, Jr., lived this esoteric, and Mormonism had its beginning and influence on Mormonism.

            Looking back for the moment we must remember that 10 years by affidavit the family men of Joseph Smith, Jr., three years after the publication of the Book of Mormon, these men, and signed, testified by prominent citizens of Manchester, New York, were described as “lazy, indolent, intemperate, destitute of moral character and addicted to vicious habits.” It is clear and plain; unless Joseph Smith, Jr., was not be influenced by such family members, and by his own documented life he was the same as them so he too must be considered to be of the same character. To aid in our investigation we must look into the practice of Joseph Smith, Jr., and his treasure hunting, and his, by him, to be a seer using “seer” stones to aid him in his search for treasure.

            Doubt about Joseph Smith, Jr., and him being a treasure hunter must be removed for he formed a money-digging company with a contract outlining the terms how the treasure would be divided among the interested parties.[1] Joseph Smith, Jr. was paid fourteen dollars a month for his services.[2] Joseph Smith, Jr., after a discouraging month of digging a small group of speculators disbanded but Joseph Smith, Jr., continued on for about four more months he was employed by Stowell. The men were who were digging did not give up easily even though they could not unearth treasure and followed the instructions of Joseph Smith, Jr., in his attempt to break the spirit’s enchantment. Joseph Smith, Jr., used several devices to break this discouraging spirit by using various magic devices, animal sacrifice, magic circles, zodiac signs, and other such means to be able to reach the treasure he sought from the guardian spirits.[3] The religious climate that many held and the practice of folk religion did not give apprehension to such practices of men like Joseph Smith, Jr., although it is clear by what occurred later that the Orthodox religious people were appalled as such occult and folk religion. Lucy Smith would speak freely about her family’s involvement in such as the “faculty of Abrac,” a term formed from abracadabra and abraxis. The Masons thought this word could be used as magic or formula and worn on amulets or magic charms and if the term was repeated in a particular manner they thought that this would cure certain diseases and ailment, and other Masonic diseases. Lucy Smith in her writing spoke of “magic circles,” and “sooth saying,” and their pursuits of these did not cause them to neglect other work.[4] Lucy Smith, mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., spoke about these things and wrote:

“Let not the reader suppose that because I shall pursue another topic for a season that we stopt (sic) our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac drawing Magic circles or sooth saying to the neglect of all kinds of business.” (Biographical Sketches… Smith, Lucy Mack, Liverpool, England: S. W. Richards. 1853).

It is interesting that those words were in the preliminary draft of her early history and later when this draft was published they did not appear and were omitted. What we know is that Lucy Smith admitted that her family was involved in the faculty of Abrac, magic circles, and sooth saying and that they were “important interest.”

[i]  "He [Joseph Smith Sr.] also revived, or in other words, propagated the vulgar, yet popular belief that these treasures were held in charge by some evil spirit...” (THE REFLECTOR February 1, 1831). I include these reports for further review on this subject:

[ii]

  "Mr. Thompson, an employee of Mr. Stowell, was the next witness. He and another man were employed in digging for treasure, and always attended the Deacon and Smith in their nocturnal labors. He could not assert that anything of value was ever obtained by them. The following scene was described by this witness, and carefully noted: Smith had told the Deacon that very many years before a band of robbers had buried on his flat a box of treasure, and as it was very valuable they had by a sacrifice placed a charm over it to protect it, so that it could not be obtained except by faith, accompanied by certain talismanic influences [something believed to have magical powers]. So, after arming themselves with fasting and prayer, they sallied forth to the spot designated by Smith. Digging was commenced with fear and trembling, in the presence of this imaginary charm." (1826 Trial, Purple account, Jonathan Thompson Testimony)

[iii]

  “Thompson says that he believes in the prisoner's professed skill; that the board which he struck his spade upon was probably the chest, but, on account of an enchantment, the trunk kept settling away from under them while digging; that, not withstanding they continued constantly removing the dirt, yet the trunk kept about the same distance from them.” (1826 Trial, Tuttle account)

[iv]

 “The utmost silence was necessary to success. More than once, when the digging proved a failure, Joe explained to his associates that, just as the deposit was about to be reached, some one, tempted by the devil, spoke, causing the wished-for riches to disappear.” (Lippincott's Magazine, August, 1880 / narrative from the book: Mormon Origin, William Alexander Linn, Hackensack, N. J., 1901)

[v]

  “For the most part, the quest for buried wealth and its associated belief system have slipped away into a forgotten world. Though strange to us today, treasure-seeking beliefs probably influenced hundreds of thousands of Europeans and thousands of early European Americans. Many early Americans believed that treasures had been secreted in the earth by ancient inhabitants of the continent, by Spanish explorers, by pirates, or even by the dwarves of European mythology. Treasure hunters usually looked for caves and lost mines or dug into hills and Native American mounds to find these hidden deposits. A legend, a treasure map, or a dream of buried wealth initiated the hunt. Local specialists were enlisted to use their divining rods or seer stones to locate the treasure. To hide from the scrutiny of skeptics and the notice of other treasure seekers, they worked under the cover of darkness. Gathering at the designated spot, the treasure seekers staked out magical circles around the treasure. They used Bible passages and hymns, prayers and incantations, ritual swords and other magical items, or even propitiatory animal sacrifices to appease or fend off preternatural guardians of the treasure. Excavation usually commenced under a rule of silence. Should someone carelessly mutter or curse, the treasure guardian could penetrate the circle or carry the treasure away through the earth.” (Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian, Mark Ashurst-McGee, FARMS Review Vol. 18 - 1 p.p. 34-100, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 2006)             It is no wonder that Joseph Smith, Jr. would be and was involved in occult treasure hunting practices.

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[1] "Articles of Agreement" [dated 1 November 1825], Daily [Salt Lake City] Tribune, 23 April 1880, in Francis W. Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in America: The Book of Mormon, 2 vols. (enl. ed.; Salt Lake City: Utah Printing Co., 1947-59), 1:492-94.

[2] Joseph Smith, "Answers to Questions," Elders' Journal, 1 (July 1838): 43; Vogel, Early Mormon Documents 1:53.

[3]  Emily M. Austin, for example, testified that Joseph Smith told the money diggers to sacrifice a dog (Emily M. Austin, Mormonism; or, Life Among the Mormons [Madison, Wisconsin, 1882], 32-33). This incident was apparently discussed at Smith's 1830 trial in Colesville; Judge Joel K. Noble remembered testimony to that effect (see Wesley P. Walters, "From Occult to Cult with Joseph Smith, Jr.," Journal of Pastoral Practice 1/2 [1977]: 125, 135). Another example of the Smith family's use of magic devices is given by neighbor William Stafford who described Joseph Smith, Sr., drawing a magic circle and placing stakes around the supposed treasure (E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed [Painesville, Ohio: E. D. Howe, 1834], 238-39; also published in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents 2:60-61). See Andrew Barton [Thomas Forrest], The Disappointment; or, the Force of Credulity, ed. David Mays (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1976), esp. 89, for a satire on money digging originally published in New York in 1767 which contains an interesting parallel to the placing of stakes in a circle around the treasure. On the reliability of Stafford's and others' testimony regarding Joseph Smith's early magic and money-digging practices, see Rodger I. Anderson, "Joseph Smith's Early Reputation Revisited," Journal of Pastoral Practice 4/3 (1980): 71-108, and 4/4 (1980): 72-105; reprinted as Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reexamined (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1990).

[4] Lucy Smith, Preliminary Manuscript (ca. 1845), 40, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, conveniently found in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents 1:285. On the blend of folk magic and popular religion, see Jon Butler, "Magic, Astrology, and the Early American Religious Heritage, 1600-1760," American Historical Review 84 (April 1979): 317-46. See also Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (New York: Scribners, 1971), for a general treatment of folk magic and its suppression by the religiously orthodox.

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The Use Of Seer Stones By Joseph Smith, Jr., And His Lie

            Investigation must begin at the beginning and not begin in the middle to determine the whys, what, and how something or someone is, what it or he/she is and the reasons as to why they became what they became. That may be a bit convoluted so let me then begin at the beginning. The above blogs set forth some very important information as to the history and culture of the times before and at the birth and growth of Joseph Smith Jr. Character is a sum total of those things mentioned above and Joseph Smith Jr. is no exception: heredity, environment both in the home, and in the area lived, in the nation, and Character only changes if it so necessary to cause a change. I begin: Joseph Smith, Jr. born December 23, 1805 and died June 27, 1844 in Sharon Vermont, to Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith, Sr., a merchant and farmer.[1] Joseph Smith, Jr. fell ill to a crippling bone infection at the age of seven and used crutches for three years.[2] The father of Joseph Smith, Jr. fill in a business venture and after three years of crop failures the family move to Palmyra in Western New York and there he took a mortgage on a 100 acre farm in Manchester. In the previous blogs it was pointed out about the “Burned Out District” especially in the area of Palmyra, and Western New York and his parents with all the religious excitement, the camp meeting created religious enthusiasm.[3] During this time called the Second Great Awakening Joseph Smith, Jr. became interested in religion and even attended some Bible classes and read the Bible. Joseph Smith, Jr., along with his parents and relatives participated in religious folk magic a practice that was common during this period.[4] Folk religion is a term to describe various methods and expressions of religion as distinct from Orthodox doctrines and practices.[5] Folk Christian religion is Christianity impacted by superstition and practiced by certain “Christian groups.[6] The revivals and interest in Christianity came about as a reaction to the secular Age of Enlightenment that preceded it. The Age of Enlightenment was an age whereby Western philosophy and intellectual scientific, and cultural life that centered in the eighteenth century when reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority. The reaction against the Age of Enlightenment and the religious fervor and revivalism caused many people to surrender to one religious craze after another.[7]

            Outside influence such as culture, the occurrence happenings of the time, the political environment, and religion all help to shape character. A factor of influence for a person is their immediate family, mother, father, siblings, and also relatives such as aunts and uncles all have a part in shaping character. The parents of Joseph Smith, Jr., disagreed about religion and caught up in folk religion, vision, dreams that they believed they communicated with God and were given messages from God.[8] The religious fervor, camp meetings, new innovations about Christianity by such men as Charles Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) a fiery preacher who gained national attention through a spectacular series of revival meetings in cities in New York along the Erie Canal, Rome, Utica, Troy, and Rochester from the years 1825-1830 who became called the forerunner of modern revivalism and was influential in the beginnings of urban evangelism. The various religious beliefs especially the belief held against orthodox Christianity was a cause of concern for Joseph Smith, Jr. causing him to be concerned about his soul and much confusion over the various denominations. The Smith family had little if anything to do with organized religion although were in private a religious people accepting prophecies, and visions. The paternal grandfather Ansel Smith, a Universalist Christian. Universalism is also called universal salvation a belief that people will be saved by the love and mercy of God. Universalism deals with hell that no one will be left in hell forever and in time all will receive salvation. Joseph Smith, Jr., apparently learned from an early age about his grandfather’s religious view Universalism so that when Joseph Smith, Jr., began the Later Day Saints hell is taught in two senses. First, it is the temporary abode in the spirit world for those who were disobedient in mortality. In this sense, hell has an end. The spirits there will be taught the gospel, and sometime following their repentance they will be resurrected to a degree of glory of which they are worthy. Those who will not repent, but are nevertheless not sons of perdition, will remain in hell throughout the Millennium. After these thousand years of torment, they will be resurrected to a telestial glory (D&C 76:81–86; 88:100–101). Second, it is the permanent location of those who are not redeemed by the atonement of Jesus Christ. In this sense, hell is permanent. It is for those who are found “filthy still” (D&C 88:35, 102). This is the place where Satan, his angels, and the sons of perdition—those who have denied the Son after the Father has revealed him—will dwell eternally (D&C 76:43–46). It must be pointed out what it means “telestial” as Joseph Smith, Jr., taught that there are different degrees of glory within the celestial kingdom (D&C 131:1-4). I do not find the word “telestial” in my Random House Webster’s Dictionary 1997 edition and found this on the internet: This word doesn't usually appear in our free dictionary, but we’ve shared just a bit of the information that appears in our premium Unabridged Dictionary. There’s more definition detail there.

            Character having as its developing source the environment especially from family and friends often has life-long effects on a person views and exercise of life. This would be true of Joseph Smith, Jr., and as the family goes so does his early development was one of poor economics, view of religion, and of Christianity that was outside the normal Orthodoxy so that it seems possible that his views that developed Mormonism finds this development having as it foundation those early views and development of character. The life of visions, and dreams all religious in nature and the desire to find money, treasure led Joseph Smith, Jr., to become a treasure hunter. Joseph Smith, Jr. and the use of a Seer Stone to find treasure is well documented. In fact a sandy colored seer stone used by Joseph Smith, Jr., passed on by his widow Emma to relatives of her second husband, Lewis Bidamen (Wilford Wood Museum). Joseph Smith, Jr., had more than one stone in his lifetime. In 1819 he borrowed a seer stone from a friend to find a “whitish” seer stone” in an iron kettle 25 feet underground. To put this depth in context the depth of 25 feet is more than two stories high and one would wonder how Joseph Smith, Jr., dug this depth and did so without support to keep the well from caving. A stone found by Joseph Smith, Jr., in 1822 while digging a well for Willard Chase (Quinn 1987, 39-41). By this stone Joseph Smith, Jr., would state that he could see wondrous sights in it, “ghosts, infernal spirits, mountains of gold and silver.” Along with his father, Joseph Smith, Jr., often sought for buried treasure using a seer stone to locate treasure. A man named Josiah Stowel who would later become his father-in-law who came to believe in Joseph Smith, Jr., and his detail about “house and outhouses” in th sicty South Bainbridge so Stowel hired Joseph Smith, Jr., and his father to help find treasure. The daughter of Josiah Stowel, Emma, would become the wife of Joseph Smith, Jr., but in time using the money to finance his search by Stowel, Stowel due to his failures become disillusioned and become contemptuous of Joseph Smith, Jr., efforts. Later, some nine years later, Joseph Smith, Jr., had become his son-in-law wrote:  

"His appearance at this time, was that of a careless young man - not very well educated, and very saucy and insolent to his father…Young Smith gave the 'money-diggers' great encouragement, at first, but when they arrived in digging to near the place where he had stated an immense treasure would be found - he said the enchantment was so powerful that he could not see. They then became discouraged, and soon after dispersed. This took place about the 17th of November, 1825."[9]

It is important that this trial in 1826 when Joseph Smith, Jr., now 21 years of age in Bainbridge, New York, on a charge of being “a disorderly person and an imposter,” took place six years after he had his first vision. It is not know who brought the charges against Joseph Smith, Jr., and if he was convicted but what we do know that is consistent all the witnesses describe Joseph Smith, Jr., a user of a seer stone.

            The character having now developed by his early upbringing can be seen in his exercise of life and according to W.D. Purple’s account in 1877, Joseph Smith, Jr., testified in court that he found his seer stone by looking into a stone of a girl that lived some three miles from him. Joseph Smith, Jr., went to this girl’s house that appeared in the girl’s stone, Joseph Smith, Jr., found his own stone.

"He borrowed an old ax and a hoe, and repaired to the tree. With some labor and exertion he found the stone, carried it to the creek, washed and wiped it dry, sat down on the bank, placed it in his hat, and discovered that time, place and distance were annihilated; that all the intervening obstacles were removed, and that he possessed one of the attributes of Deity, an All-Seeing-Eye…

The Court requested to see the stone and it was produced and seen as a stone the size of a small hen’s egg and in the shape of a high-instepped shoe. The composition of the stone was layers of different colors passing through diagonally, and was hard and smooth, smoothness consistent with having been carried in a pocket.[10] The Court account was reported by Fraser’s Magazine and can be read:

"Prisoner brought before Court March 20,1826, Prisoner examined: says that he came from the town of Palmyra, and had been at the house of Josiah Stowel in Bainbridge most of time since; had small part of time been employed in looking for mines, but the major part had been employed by said Stowel on his farm, and going to school. That he had a certain stone which he had occasionally looked at to determine where hidden treasures in the bowels of the earth were; that he professed to tell in this manner where gold mines were a distance under ground, and had looked for Mr. Stowel several times, and had informed him where he could find these treasures, and Mr. Stowel had been engaged in digging for them. That at Palmyra he pretended to tell by looking at this stone where coined money was buried in Pennsylvania, and while at Palmyra had frequently ascertained in that way where lost property was of various kinds; that he had occasionally been in the habit of looking through this stone to find lost property for three years, but of late had pretty much given it up on account of its injuring his health, especially his eyes, making them sore; that he did not solicit business of this kind, and had always rather declined having anything to do with this business."[11]

Furthermore, in 1831 Joseph Smith, Jr., was said by A.W. Benton:

"…was about the country in the character of a glass-looker: pretending, by means of a certain stone, or glass, which he put in a hat, to be able to discover lost goods, hidden treasures, mines of gold and silver, &c.... At length the public,... had him arrested as a disorderly person, tried and condemned before a court of Justice."[12]

A discovery by Wesley P. Walters from records he claims to have found in the basement of the Sheriff’s office in Norwich, New York was a bill of costs that was presented to authorities by Justice Albert Neely in 1826 that identified Joseph Smith, Jr., as “The Glass Looker.” A copy of that bill is presented here to show that the trial of 1826 showed that Joseph Smith, Jr., used seer stones and this makes clear that he used those stones in his hunt for treasure. ( I have a picture of that bill but cannot paste it in this blog).

            A testimony that may be suspect, but there is no confirmation that it is by Peter Ingersoll on December 2, 1833 stated:

"In the month of August, 1827, I was hired by Joseph Smith, Jr. to go to Pennsylvania, to move his wife's household furniture up to Manchester, where his wife then was. When we arrived at Mr. Hale's, in Harmony, Pa. from which place he had taken his wife, a scene presented itself, truly affecting. His father-in-law (Mr. Hale) addressed Joseph, in a flood of tears:

"'You have stolen my daughter and married her. I had much rather have followed her to her grave. You spend your time in digging for money - pretend to see in a stone, and thus try to deceive people.'

"Joseph wept and acknowledged he could not see in a stone now, nor never could; and that his former pretensions in that respect, were all false. He then promised to give up his old habits of digging for money and looking into stones."[13]

The promise to give up his “old habits” apparently was a false promise. Joseph Smith, Jr., used a seer stone to assist him in his translation of the Book of Mormon, in fact, Emma, his wife, stated that Joseph Smith, Jr., used the Urim and Thummin for the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, the seer stone for the remainder:

"Now the first that my husband translated, was translated by the use of the Urim and Thummim, and that was the part that Martin Harris lost, and that he used a small stone, not exactly black, but was rather a dark color…"[14]

This story that Joseph Smith, Jr. used seer stones is confirmed by the following:

This was confirmed by David Whitmer in 1885:

"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…With this stone all of the present Book of Mormon was translated"[15]

Also by George Q. Cannon in 1888:

"One of Joseph's aids in searching out the truths of the [Book of Mormon] was a peculiar pebble of rock which he called a seer stone, and which was sometimes used by him in lieu of the Urim and Thummim."[16]

B.H. Roberts published his classic series A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wherein he wrote:

"...the Prophet possessed a Seer Stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as with the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he sometimes 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, for a Mr. Clark Chase, near Palmyra, N. Y. 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."[17]

It is apparent that Joseph Smith, Jr., believed in the power of seer stones, in fact he declared that all men wee entitled to such stones. In a record by Brigham Young in December 1841 said that Joseph Smith, Jr., showed his seer stone to the Twelve Apostles and told them:

"Every man who lived on earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness, and most of those who do find one make evil use of it."[18]

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[1] Bushman (2005, pp. 9, 30); Smith (1832, p. 1).

[2] Bushman (2005, p. 21).

[3] Bushman (2005, pp. 36–37) (noting the great revival of 1816 and 1817); Vogel (2004, pp. 27, 30) (noting Palmyra revivals in 1817 and 1824–5); Quinn (1998, p. 136) (evidence of religious revivals during 1819–20 in Palmyra and surrounding communities).

[4] Quinn (1998, pp. 30–31) ("Joseph Smith's family was typical of many early Americans who practiced various forms of Christian folk magic."); Bushman (2005, p. 51) ("Magic and religion melded in the Smith family culture."); Shipps (1985, pp. 7–8); Remini (2002, pp. 16, 33); Hill (1977, p. 53) ("Even the more vivid manifestations of religious experience, such as dreams, visions and revelations, were not uncommon in Joseph's day, neither were they generally viewed with scorn.")

[5] Rock, Stella (2007). Popular religion in Russia. Routledge ISBN 0-415-31771-1, p. 11. Last accessed July 2009.

[6] Snape, Michael Francis (2003). The Church of England in industrialising society. Boydell Press, ISBN 1-84383-014-0, p. 45. Last accessed July 2009

[7] Yoder 1974, p. 9.

[8] Bushman (2005, pp. 38–9) ("He had two questions on his mind: which church was right, and how to be saved."); Vogel (2004, p. 30) (saying Smith's first vision was "preceded by Bible reading and a sudden awareness of his sins"); Quinn (1998, p. 136) (saying that Smith was concerned with obtaining a forgiveness of sins); Brodie (1971, p. 21) (Smith wrote that he was troubled by religious revivals and went into the woods to seek guidance of the Lord); Remini (2002, p. 37) ("He wanted desperately to join a church but could not decide which one to embrace.")

[9] (Stowel's Testimony in Bainbridge court trial of 1826. See also History of the Church, Vol. 3, p. 29).

[10] W.D. Purple: Joseph Smith, the Originator of Mormonism Historical reminiscences of the Town of Afton: Thursday, May 3, 1877, Norwich, N.Y.

[11] Fraser's Magazine, Feb. 1873, p. 229; see an identical court account in New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, .

[12] Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, April 9, 1831, p. 120.

[13] E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unveiled, p. 234-235.

[14] Letter dated March 27, 1876 from Emma to Mrs. Pilgrim, now in the library of the Reorganized Church.

[15]  (David Whitmer Interview, January 14, 1885, by Zenos H. Gurley. Archives, Historical Department, LDS church, Salt Lake City, Utah)

[16] George Q. Cannon, Life of Joseph Smith, 1888, p. 56.

[17] B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1:129.

[18] Millennial Star 26 (February 20, 1864): 118-19.