Joseph Smith, during much of his presidency, used a Seer Stone to receive revelations. We have several accounts of this.
He used the Seer Stone to translate the Book of Mormon.
“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. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.” [1]
He used the Seer Stone to receive revelations, which are now included in the Doctrine and Covenants.
“…on arriving there Joseph produced a small stone called a seer stone, and putting it into a Hat soon commenced speaking and asked Elder P. to write as he would speak, but being too young and timid and feeling his unworthiness he asked whether Bro. John W[hitmer]. could not write it, and the Prophet said that he could: Then came the revelation to the Three named given Nov. 4th 1830 as can be found in the book of D. & Covenants[.]” [2]
This account (or the process by which Joseph used the Seer Stone to receive revelation) is corroborated by Orson Pratt.
“Declared that sometimes Joseph used a seer stone when enquiring of the Lord, and receiving revelation…” [3]
He used the Seer Stone to look for buried treasure.
“The other instrument, which Joseph Smith discovered in the ground years before he retrieved the gold plates, was a small oval stone, or “seer stone.” As a young man during the 1820s, Joseph Smith, like others in his day, used a seer stone to look for lost objects and buried treasure. As Joseph grew to understand his prophetic calling, he learned that he could use this stone for the higher purpose of translating scripture.” [4]
Some will say that the Church of Jesus Christ was built on the teachings of the Book of Mormon. If this is the case, we may be able to claim that the Church of Jesus Christ was built on the powers of the Seer Stone.
That Joseph used a magical stone during his presidency is strange to some, but it is not the issue I am addressing. Rather, I’d like to point at a much worse issue.
The modern Church is in possession of the Seer Stone.
The Church released a picture of the Stone in 2015.[5]
In 2022, Church members began widely speculating about the role of a Heavenly Mother. That she exists was not the question. What her role was and how we could worship her was unclear.
Certain members began instructing other members to pray to Heavenly Mother, as a sign of worship. Some members pled with the leaders of the Church, the Apostles, the Prophets, to give them just a little more information about their Maternal God.
In response to this outcry, apostle Dale Renlund spoke to the women of the Church, condemning this behavior.
“Very little has been revealed about Mother in Heaven, but what we do know is summarized in a gospel topic found in our Gospel Library application. Once you have read what is there, you will know everything that I know about the subject. I wish I knew more.”
“Demanding revelation from God is both arrogant and unproductive. Instead, we wait on the Lord and His timetable to reveal His truths through the means that He has established.” [6]
When the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator was asked to prophesy, see, and reveal, he declined. He couldn’t do it.
When Joseph was confused about some verses in Revelation, God gave him immediate answers.
“1 Q. What is the sea of glass spoken of by John, 4th chapter, and 6th verse of the Revelation?
It is the earth, in its sanctified, immortal, and eternal state.
2 Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse?
They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created.” [7]
God was quick to answer Joseph’s pleas for revelation. But now, when leaders are asked to tell us a bit about God’s wife, they are silent. “Don’t demand revelation,” they say.
When Oliver Cowdery wanted to know if the Book of Mormon was true, he asked Joseph to ask God for a revelation. Joseph asked. God revealed. Immediately.
“Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion;”
“And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous;”
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me…Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;”
“Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires;” [8]
Oliver asked for revelation and he received. We ask for revelation and we are condemned. Why, when the Saints plead for their Mother, do the prophets avoid the vault? They have the stone. Could they not receive answers with it?
They cannot.
A Prophet may be nice. He might share some stories about his life that make you think, “Wow, what a pleasure, what a blessing, to be led by this great man!”
He might be old and feeble, and you might think to yourself, “What a sweet old man! He is a man of God!”
He might cry when he speaks. His tears might make you feel something, something deep within your chest. It might feel good.
He might share stories about his service to others, stories which move you to tears.
He might tell you to “be a good person!” Or, to “serve, constantly!” Or, to “love your neighbor!”
His words might propel you to be a good person. They might make you feel light, and happy.
He might make a change, here or there, to some policy. He might make garment sleeves a little shorter. He might announce a temple to be built here, or another to be built there.
He might do all of these things. He will do all of these things.
You might see these things, and you might hear how he talks, and you might even be inclined to call that man a Prophet.
Why is that your inclination? If the man did not call himself a Prophet, if he did not ask you to raise your hand if you agree that he is a Prophet, and if he did not parade himself to the world as the one, true Prophet, you would not have the same inclination. He would appear to you as all the others: just another old pastor up on a stand, with a cheap tie and a cheaper message.
These men are not Prophets. Do not be deceived. Nothing that they do (no matter how much they cry, or serve, or change about the Church) makes them Prophets.
Prophets prophecy. Their prophecies come true. They reveal. Their revelations come true. They see. The things they see, no one else can.
These men are not Prophets.
They lie. They deceive. They vote against women, against gay people, against black people, against all who are less than them. And they do it all in the name of God.
And they’re old and feeble and white and men, and it’s easy to forget the sins of their past. It’s easy to forget that they control what you wear, and eat, and drink, and say. It’s easy to forget that just because they’re old doesn’t really make them Prophets. That just because they cry doesn’t make them good men.
It’s easy to forget what a Prophet used to be. Back when they saw, and revealed, and translated, and prophesied. Back when their devotionals weren’t all the same, back when they had something new to say.
Back when they could tell you[9] if a major disease was coming to the world, or if there was a big storm to avoid, so that the Saints in Japan could get out before they died, or if there was a war brewing, so the Saints in Ukraine could leave early, or if, maybe, they talked to the world, instead of just the Saints in Provo Utah, or if, maybe, women could give blessings again, just like they used to, or if, maybe, God changed his mind about marriage, and now, it wasn’t just old men that could get married to many women in the temple, but that gay people could get married too.
It’s easy to forget that this was the Church of Jesus Christ, once.
But it’s gone now. And all that’s left is dust; white, feebly dust on an oak pulpit.
[1] David Whitmer, An Address to all Believers in Christ, 1887, p. 12
[2] James R.B. Van Cleave, Richmond, Missouri, to Joseph Smith III, 29 Sept. 1878
[3] “Report of Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith,” The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star 40:49, 16 Dec. 1878, p. 787
[4] “Book of Mormon Translation,” Gospel Topics on LDS.org (2013)
[5] “Joseph the Seer,” Ensign, Oct. 2015
[6] Dale G. Renlund, “Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny,” General Conference April 2022
[9] Though none of the old prophecies hold much weight, as far as their being “prophetic,” the Prophets of old at least attempted or pretended to receive revelation and deliver it to the Saints.
