The Gift of Seership

Replica of the Nephite Urim and Thummim and Gold Plates. Image by Book of Mormon Central.

In Mosiah Chapter 8, King Limhi is overwhelmed to learn of King Mosiah in the land of Zarahemla; a man who has a gift to translate ancient records, "for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God." (Mosiah 8:13). This gift of seership is not unique to prophets in the ancient Americas, and many in both the Old and New Worlds used this gift to receive inspiration and even translate ancient records. Many different tools were used by these prophets, and this week for Come Follow Me, I wanted to discuss a few of those in a brief (though certainly not exhaustive) list found throughout the scriptural record.

Moving into this list, it should be remembered that the Lord speaks to all men "according to their language, unto their understanding." (2 Nephi 31:3). In doing so, it is absolutely imperative that we read the scriptures in the context of the people they are speaking about. Unless we do this, a lot of this may not make a lot of sense and the added light and knowledge we might be able to receive won't be added upon us like we had hoped.

CASTING LOTS

Casting lots is mentioned up through the Book of Acts in the Bible and is mentioned in Nephi's record in the Old World. Casting lots was an ancient practice similar in today's terms to flipping a coin or rolling a dice. It was viewed as a way to allow the choice to leave the hands of men and enter the hands of the Lord. Different forms of casting lots may have existed, between sizes of branches or bits of metal, but it is clear that in the Israelite mind, this was used as a divine method of communication from time to time. A proof of this is found in Proverbs 16:33, which reads, "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."

THE SILVER CUP OF JOSEPH

Perhaps the most least known among Latter-day Saints is a reference to Joseph who was taken captive in Egypt. After gaining favor in the eyes of Pharaoh and preparing Egypt for the great famine, Joseph's brothers come to buy food. Perhaps still harboring anger towards his brothers who had unjustly, unmercifully, and cruelly sold him as a slave, or desiring to see if they truly did feel remorse for their actions, he commands his servant to "put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest [Benjamin], and his corn money." (Genesis 44:2). A chase is commenced when Joseph "realizes" the theft, and when a servant opens Benjamin's bag and sees the silver cup he exclaims, "Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?" (Genesis 44:5).

That phrase "whereby indeed he divineth" is interesting in the lens of prophetic ability and seership. Joseph had been able to interpret dreams and receive revelation, and here it is made clear that Joseph also used a temporal item to aid in revelation. This method of revelation is known as scyphomancy, where the priest (or in this instance, a prophet) looks into the water poured into a cup and detects images foretelling certain aspects of the future and is documented in ancient Persia and Egypt. Joseph, having truly refined his gift of seership in Egypt, likely used a common Egyptian method of divination for higher purposes and with a higher power to be able to receive revelation from the Lord.

In an article for the Interpreter, Jeffery Bradshaw notes another interesting use that the divination cup held in this instance in the biblical record:

The idea that a cup was used for divination suggests that divination took place by observing liquids poured into the cup (either the shapes of oil on water or the ripples of the water, to name a few techniques known from Mesopotamia). Little is known of these techniques in Egyptian practice. Divination was a means of acquiring information. It is of interest that Joseph acquires information by means of the cup — not by pouring liquid into it, but by using it to test his brothers, thus using observation at a different level.¹

THE LIAHONA

The Liahona is one of the most famous divine instruments in Latter-day Saint theology and history. A brass ball of curious workmanship, it has sometimes been referred to as a compass pointing to where the humble followers of God were to travel. Writing could appear on it from the Lord, giving written instructions on where to travel or where to hunt for food in a famous account in Nephi's record. This compass did not just act without any outside force, however, and neither did it necessarily point north. It could only operate after the people had sufficient faith. It took a great deal of energy to operate on the part of the Lehites. While no account of its use appears in the Book of Mormon after the arrival into the New World, Don Bradley in his work The Lost 116 Pages:Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing Stories explores the possibility that, based on some second-hand sources, it is entirely possible that King Mosiah, father of King Benjamin, used the Liahona in the exodus to Zarahemla mentioned in the Book of Omni. After they found the interpreters left by Ether, the Liahona stopped working, but maintained its place as a Nephite national treasure and was handed down until it, too, was sealed away with the Book of Mormon record in what is now upstate New York.

THE URIM AND THUMMIM 

Translated to "Lights and Perfections," the Urim and Thummim are found in both the biblical and Nephite records, though each both unique in their own regards. I personally believe that it can be surmised that because of the obvious differences, the name Urim and Thummim can be used or loan-shifted to various devices used by prophets for receiving revelation, or  added light helping us gain perfection from deity (see Moroni 10:32, 3 Nephi 12:48). 

However, the Nephites were ancient Hebrews, and as such there are some striking similarities between what came to be known as the Urim and Thummim (or "interpreters") that they discovered and used and the Urim and Thummim used in ancient Israel. A greater look between these two can be found in a KnoWhy from Book of Mormon Central here. One similarity is that both uses of this title concern an instrument using two seer stones as will be discussed below.

In addition to the Urim and Thummim used by ancient Israelites in Temple worship and the Urim and Thummim used by the Nephites, The Book of Abraham contains an extra-biblical account of Abraham using a Urim and Thummim as well, though what his own looked like or how it was used is not explicitly said.

THE ISRAELITE URIM AND THUMMIM

The Israelite Urim and Thummim has many references in the Old Testament. It contained two stones,
one white and one black, that symbolized a "yes" or a "no" and was possibly used as a means of casting lots. These stones were kept in a ceremonial "breastplate" containing twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. This is seen in Exodus 28:30 with the command to "put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim." Some biblical scholars believe that this breastplate contained a small pouch to hold these two stones when not in use.² While there is some debate as to how the Urim and Thummim worked in the eyes of biblical revelation (whether it was a simple yes or no answer or a more vivid revelatory experience), the Bible does make it clear that it was indeed used to receive revelation (see 1 Samuel 28:6).

THE NEPHITE INTERPRETERS

Like the Israelite Urim and Thummim, the Nephite interpreters consisted of two seer stones often connected to a breastplate, though they could be removed from the breastplate as needed. An interior pocket over the heart was found in the metal breastplate, and these two seer stones were connected with a silver rim, much like spectacles. Even these stones could be removed from the rim if needed. These two stones, we learn in the Book of Mormon record, were first given to the Brother of Jared (see Ether 3:23) until they were found by King Mosiah's people. These interpreters were sealed with the gold plates to be used in the translation of the Book of Mormon.

The interpreters are never explicitly called the Urim and Thummim in the Nephite record, and so it is possible that Joseph and Oliver attached the name to it based off of the biblical instrument, or the name was given to Joseph from a heavenly messenger. In Joseph Smith's 1838 History he simply says "what is called the Urim and Thummim" when describing the interpreters, which could be read into either context. The earliest reference extant to the interpreters being called the Urim and Thummim is in 1832,³ so it is possible that while the Nephite Urim and Thummim was based off of the Urim and Thummim in Israel (with a breastplate and two seer stones, along with a pocket of sorts to store the spectacles when not is use), the name itself was attached to the tool by Oliver Cowdery, who would likely have been more familiar with stories from the Old Testament mentioning two stones in a ceremonial breastplate to receive revelation.

Again in Don Bradley's work mentioned above, an interesting story is mentioned about the discovery of the interpreters that very likely existed in the lost manuscript pages based on second hand sources. A Nephite, most likely Mosiah, took the interpreters to the veil of the tabernacle to ask what they were and heard the voice of the Lord from beyond the veil. Mosiah was instructed to put the interpreters in a skin to block out the light and look into the stones, where he saw a grand vision illuminated in the darkness. This is indicative of two particular accounts in my mid. One is the account of Moses who, after descending Sinai's slopes after talking with the Lord, had to veil his face because it was glowing with the glory of the Lord in Exodus 34:33-35. In this instance, Mosiah would be seeing a great vision of the glory of God and had to veil his face. Another comes from the accounts of Joseph Smith's translation of the Nephite record, where he would place a seer stone in a hat to block out the light in order to see the letters glowing in the darkness.

ABRAHAM'S URIM AND THUMMIM

In the Book of Abraham, Abraham seemingly takes a detour from his narrative of traveling into Egypt with his wife and sends the rest of the extant record detailing a great vision he had received. He starts off his vision by stating: "And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees." (Abraham 3:1). 

Abraham continues his revelatory endowment by sawing "And I saw..." (Abraham 3:2). He then launches us into this grand vison of the stars and the throne of God. He sees the premortal spirits gathered together, and one foreordained to be the Christ. He sees Lucifer fall from heaven, and then the divine council called together to form out of chaotic matter the earth and to populate the earth with the spirits that Abraham saw. While the record cuts off unexpectedly, this was not the end of The Book of Abraham. What we have was likely translated in 1835, but could not be published until 1842 for various reasons, and after the last facsimile was published in the Times and Seasons a promise was given of more of the translation to follow. Unfortunately, due to persecutions that shortly arose, that translation could not be published. Some scholars estimate that we only have twenty-five percent of the Book of Abraham as it was intended to be read, and others have said that The Book of Abraham more than anything stood as the foundation for the doctrine of the Temple Endowment. Brother Alex Baugh and Richard E. Bennett, professors at BYU, have shared both of those opinions with me, and as you read Abraham's vision through the Urim and Thummim in a Temple context it begins to make more sense.

A possible idea of what Abraham's Urim and Thummim looked like could be a white seer stone that is referred to in D&C 130:10 and Revelation 2:17. The Lord says of this stone (in D&C 130): "Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known." Here, the Lord is specifically calling a single seer stone a Urim and Thummim; a seer stone that will be given to him by the Lord that will have a new name written on it that only the bearer will know (see Revelation 2:17).  Also through this stone higher orders will be made known to the recipient, much like Abraham's vision allowed him to enter the Divine Council like prophets before him.

 SEER STONES

Seer stones are, I would argue, another form of the Urim and Thummim. The Israelite Urim and Thummim used two seer stones, one white and one black, and were not bound like spectacles, while the Nephite interpreters were two clear or transparent seer stones that were bound like spectacles. Seer stones do not, however, cease to be a seer stone when they are separated from the breastplate found in a a typical Urim and Thummim from the scriptural record. (I again re-emphasize the probability that ancient prophets first loan-shifted the term Urim and Thummim to various revelatory instruments using seer stones.) Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery also loan-shifted the name Urim and Thummim to the seer stones in Joseph's possession; Joseph had at least two at the time of the translation of the Book of Mormon, one dark brown and one transparent stone, and he could put either stone in a hat to block out the light and see words shine forth "out of darkness unto light" as the Nephite prophets often wrote. Joseph used a seer stone to translate the Nephite record in addition to the Urim and Thummim provided by Moroni.

Photo of one of Joseph Smith's seer stones

One mention of seer stones, specifically the stone that Joseph would eventually find that was prepared for him, is in Alma 37:23, a portion of Alma's words to his son Helaman: "I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations."

It should be noted that there is still some debate as to whether or not Gazelem refers to the stone or the servant and could potentially be read "my servant Gazelem a stone" or "my servant Gazelem (which being interpreted is, a stone)." However, one possible evidence that Gazelem is referring to Joseph Smith comes in William W. Phelps' funeral address for the martyred prophet:

So, I may say, as the last is to be first, and the first last in eternal rotation, that Joseph Smith, who was Gazelem in the spirit world, was, and is, and will be in the endless progress of Eternity: -- the Prince of Light.⁴

Much can be said about that statement, but we will focus on his identification of Joseph with Gazelem. One possible source for identifying Joseph with Gazelem in the pre-mortal realm was Joseph using Gazelem as a "code name" of sorts in the early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants; another possibility is he received the knowledge from Joseph himself on some unrecorded meeting, though impossible to prove historically. Regardless, there was a real connection in the minds of the early saints between Gazelem and Joseph Smith, and just as Alma had prophesied, Joseph used a stone that shined from the darkness of a hat bright words made of light as witnesses would later recall. This stone was used to discover the Nephites who served the Lord and those who rejected Him and turned to secret works of darkness. (More references to words shining out of darkness and unto light are found throughout the book of 2 Nephi in particular as Nephi is prophesying about the latter-day prophet.)

A possible use of seer stones in the ancient Americas come from temple worship and rites in the Andes mountains. Ancient Incas, after having gone through their Temple worship, were given a stone, sometimes as large as an egg. As Van C. Evans notes in his book Wilka Wasin Wiraquocha: The House of the Lord that I wrote about earlier, "The purpose of this stone was to facilitate communication to the individual from the heavens. It is unknown how the stone communicated."⁵ Similar stones were also used among the Maya for similar purposes.⁶

Modern day critics of the Church scoff that Joseph would have used a seer stone (which they derisively call a "peep stone," a common word for the stones in a nineteenth century context among those who despised the practice. The difference between seer stones versus peep stones has been elaborated on by Apostles such as Elder Bruce R. McConkie in his famous work Mormon Doctrine). When taken in historical context, however, it is no different than casting lots, using the Nephite interpreters, or even a silver cup. After all, if the Lord was able to take something from a different culture, like Egyptians using scyphomancy, and adapt it to the prophets of the time, why could He not do the same for Joseph Smith in an era when seer stones was a much more common belief, especially regarding their presence in both ancient and modern scriptures? One cannot believe the scriptural account of divine instruments and disbelieve the modern-day usage of similar revelatory devices.

CONCLUSION

The gift of a seer is something very sacred and divine. Although we may not know the specifics of how each of these devices worked or other similar devices mentioned in the scriptures that I have not touched on, we can, however, know that they work by the gift and power of God. 

I personally mirror the testimony of Alma to his son Helaman when he declared, "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Alma 37:6).

 NOTES:

1. Bradshaw, Jeffrey M. “KnoWhy OTL11A - Why Are the Stories of Joseph and Judah Intertwined?” The Interpreter Foundation, August 10, 2019. https://interpreterfoundation.org/knowhy-otl11a-why-are-the-stories-of-joseph-and-judah-intertwined/.

2. “Were Joseph Smith's Translation Instruments Like the Israelite Urim and Thummim?” Book of Mormon Central, August 21, 2019. https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/were-joseph-smiths-translation-instruments-like-the-israelite-urim-and-thummim.

3. While the term Urim and Thummim appears in revelations dated to 1829, such as Doctrine and Covenants Section 10, the term seem to be an addition as Joseph Smith prepared the revelations for publication in the Book of Commandments. The earliest reference to it in terms of a canonized revelation is in the Kirtland Revelation Book, dated after 1832.

4. William Wines Phelps, “The Funeral Sermon,” MS, 13 June 1866, Church History Library.

5. Evans, Van C. Willka Wasin Wiraqocha: The House of the Lord: Evidence of Jesus Christ's Visit to South America, and the Ordinances, Rituals, and Endowments of the Temples Built to Worship Him, (2019), 132.

6. James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer, “Caves and Crystalmancy: Evidence for the Use of Crystals in Ancient Maya Religion,” Journal of Anthropological Research 55, no. 1 (1999): 129-144