Item Detail
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33087
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0
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42
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English
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Did Joseph Smith Use a Seer Stone in the Translation of the Book of Abraham?
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Religious Educator
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2022
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23
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2
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Provo, UT
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Brigham Young University
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"Regarding the translation of the Book of Abraham, multiple sources either overtly affirm or seem to suggest that Joseph Smith used the 'Urim and Thummim' or a seer stone in the process. Those sources, however, are not uniformly reliable, are not uniformly clear or consistent with one another, and vary in their evidentiary value. My aim here is to carefully present and analyze the available evidence regarding Joseph Smith’s potential use of a seer stone in the translation of the Book of Abraham. This study stands to benefit religious educators specifically and interested Latter-day Saints generally who are unlikely to have ready access to the individual pieces of primary source data pertaining to this matter. As will be seen, I am by no means the first to attempt to answer this question, nor will I be the last. Indeed, many sources I discuss have been well known to Latter-day Saint historians for decades, yet a consensus remains elusive. Until more definitive evidence is discovered, this will likely be the state of affairs for the foreseeable future, and the issue will undoubtedly remain open to additional investigation.
"I will argue that we should take seriously the real possibility that Joseph Smith used a seer stone in the translation of the Book of Abraham. I believe the cumulative testimony from sources close to Joseph Smith leads to the conclusion that the Prophet likely used a seer stone as part of his translation of the Egyptian papyri, even if we cannot say definitively how it was used in that effort." [Author]
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A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon
A Few Interesting Facts, Respecting the Rise Progress and Pretensions of the Mormons
A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri
A Journey to Great Salt Lake City, with a Sketch of the History, Religion, and Customs of the Mormons, and an Introduction on The Religious Movement in the United States
A Journey up the Mississippi River, from Its Mouth to Nauvoo, the City of the Latter day Saints
An Address to All Believers in Christ. By a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon
An Introduction to the Book of Abraham
Approaching Antiquity : Joseph Smith and the Ancient World
A Textual History of the Book of Abraham : Manuscripts and Editions
Believing History : Latter-day Saints Essays
Early Mormonism and the Magic World View
Early Patriarchal Blessings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Firsthand Witness Accounts of the Translation Process
In Heaven as It Is on Earth : Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death
Joseph Smith, Jr., as a Translator : An Inquiry
Joseph Smith's Seer Stones
Joseph Smith : 'The Gift of Seeing'
Joseph Smith : The Prophet, The Man
Mémoires d'un Mormon
Mormonism Unvailed : Or, a Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion From Its Rise to the Present Time
Pearl of Great Price Reference Companion
Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith's Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity
Scriptures with Pictures : Methodology, Unexamined Assumptions, and the Study of the Book of Abraham
'Tell It All' : The Story of a Life's Experience in Mormonism
'That is the Handwriting of Abraham'
The Book of Abraham : Its Authenticity Established as a Divine and Ancient Record
The Book of Mormon Translation Process
The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon : A Marvelous Work and a Wonder : The 44th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium
The Joseph Smith Papers : Histories. Volume 2, Assigned Histories, 1831-1847
The Joseph Smith Papers : Revelations and Translations, Volume 4 : Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts
The Life and Thought of Orson Pratt
The Lost 116 Pages : Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories
The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri : An Egyptian Endowment
The Pearl of Greatest Price : Mormonism's Most Controversial Scripture
The Rocky Mountain Saints : A Full and Complete History of the Mormons
The Saga of the Book of Abraham
The Spectacles, the Stone, the Hat, and the Book : A Twenty-first Century Believer's View of the Book of Mormon Translation
The Stenhouses and the Making of a Mormon Image
The Story of the Book of Abraham : Mummies, Manuscripts, and Mormonism
"The Word of the Lord in the Original" : Joseph Smith's Study of Hebrew in Kirtland
Voyage au pays des Mormons
Wayward Saints : The Godbeites and Brigham Young