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А разве разрешено на русскоязычном форуме (да и вообще) - вылаживать огромные простыни, никому не нужные, ещё и на языке, которого не знает большинство россиян, украинцев ... и т.д. ..
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"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 itas described aboveas well as by means of the Interpreters found with the Nephite record, Joseph was able to translate the characters engraven on the plates" (Comprehensive History of the Church, vol. 1, p.129).
Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, stated concerning Joseph Smith's "stone":
These plates were found at the north point of a hill two miles north of Manchester village. Joseph had a stone which was dug from the well of Mason Chase, twenty-four feet from the surface. In this stone he could see many things to my certain knowledge. It was by means of this stone he first discovered these plates.
In the first place, he told me of this stone, and proposed to bind it on his eyes, and run a race with me in the woods. A few days after this, I ... was picking my teeth with a pin while sitting on the bars. The pin caught in my teeth, and dropped from my fingers into shavings and straw.... I then took Joseph on surprise, and said to himI said, 'Take your stone.' I had never seen it, and did not know that he had it with him. He had it in his pocket. He took it and placed it in his hatthe old white hatand placed his face in his hat. I watched him closely to see that he did not look one side; he reached out his hand beyond me on the right, and moved a little stick, and there I saw the pin, which he picked up and gave to me.... 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 ... 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. When Joseph found this stone, there was a company digging in Harmony, Pa., and they took Joseph to look in the stone for them, and he did so for a while, and then he told them the enchantment was so strong that he could not see, and they gave it up....
The money-diggers claimed that they had as much right to the plates as Joseph had, as they were in company together. They claimed that Joseph had been a traitor, and had appropriated to himself that which belonged to them. For this reason Joseph was afraid of them, and continued concealing the plates.... He found them by looking in the stone found in the well of Mason Chase. The family had likewise told me the same thing.
"Joseph said that the angel told him he must quit the company of the money-diggers. That there were wicked men among them. He must have no more to do with them. He must not lie, nor swear, nor steal" (Tiffany's Monthly, 1859, pp.163, 164, 167, 169).
According to David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, Joseph gave the stone which he used to translate the Book of Mormon to Oliver Cowdery. Later this stone was brought to Utah. A newspaper reporter wrote the following in his account of an interview with David Whitmer: "With this stone all of the present Book of Mormon was translated.... For years Oliver Cowdery surrounded it with care and solicitude, but at his death old Phineas Young, ... carried it in triumph to the apostles of Brigham Young's 'lion house'" (Des Moines Daily News, October 16, 1886). We know that by 1856 Joseph Smith's "seer stone" had been brought to Utah, for Hosea Stout recorded the following in his diary under the date of February 25, 1856: "President Young exhibited the Seer's stone with which The Prophet Joseph discovered the plates of the Book of Mormon, to the Regents this evening ... It was about the size but not the shape of a hen's egg" (On The Mormon Frontier, The Diary of Hosea Stout, vol. 2, page 593).
Book of Mormon from the Stone
In the Book of Mormon we read: "And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light ..." (Book of Mormon, Alma 37:23). In the Doctrine and Covenants 78:9, Gazelem is identified as "Joseph Smith, Jun."
Joseph Smith claimed that his Urim and Thummimwhich he also used to translateconsisted of "two stones in silver bows" (History of the Church, vol. 1, p.12). It would appear, then, that Joseph Smith fastened two of his "seer stones" together to make his "Urim and Thummim." The testimony given in the 1826 trial shows that as early as 1826 Joseph Smith was using two different stones.
At any rate, Joseph Smith's father-in-law, Isaac Hale, noticed a definite relationship between the method Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon and the way he searched for buried treasures. The following is taken from an affidavit by Mr. Hale:
I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jr. in November, 1825. He was at that time in the employ of a set of men who were called "money-diggers;"Комментарий
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and his occupation was that of seeing, or pretending to see by means of a stone placed in his hat, and his hat closed over his face. In this way he pretended to discover minerals and hidden treasures.... Smith, and his father, with several other "money-diggers" boarded at my house.... Young Smith gave the "money-diggers" great encouragement, at first, but when they had arrived in digging, to near the place where he had stated an immense treasure would be foundhe said the enchantment was so powerful that he could not see....
After these occurrences, young Smith made several visits at my house, ... and while I was absent from home, carried off my daughter, into the state of New York, where they were married without my approbation or consent.... In a short time they returned ...
Smith stated to me, that he had given up what he called "glass-looking," and that he expected to work hard for a living.... He also made arrangements with my son Alva Hale, to go up to Palmyra, and move his (Smith's) furniture &c. to this place.... Soon after this, I was informed they had brought a wonderful book of Plates down with them.... The manner in which he pretended to read and interpret, was the same as when he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in his hat, and his hat over his face, while the Book of Plates were at the same time hid in the woods! (Affidavit of Isaac Hale, as printed in the Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834).
David Whitmer frankly admitted that Joseph Smith placed the "seer stone" into a hat to translate the Book of Mormon: "I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph 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. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing" (An Address To All Believers In Christ, by David Whitmer, p.12).
Emma Smith, Joseph Smith's wife, related the following to her son: "In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, after sitting by the table close by him, he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us" (The Saints' Herald, May 19, 1888, p.310).
Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, also said that a stone was used:
On Sunday, Sept. 4, 1870, Martin Harris addressed a congregation of Saints in Salt Lake City. He related an incident which occurred during the time that he wrote that portion of the translation of the Book of Mormon which he was favored to write direct from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and said that the Prophet possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then used the seer stone.... on one occasion, Martin Harris found a stone very much resembling the one used for translating, and on resuming their labor of translation, he put in place the stone he had found. He said that the Prophet remained silent, unusually and intently gazing in darkness, no traces of the usual sentences appearing. Much surprised, Joseph exclaimed, "Martin! What is the matter! All is as dark as Egypt!" Martin's countenance betrayed him, and the Prophet asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, to stop the mouths of fools, who had told him that the Prophet had learned those sentences and was merely repeating them, etc. (Historical Record, by Andrew Jensen, p.216).
In a letter written March 27, 1876, Emma Smith said that the entire Book of Mormon, that we have today, was translated by the use of a stone. David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses, admitted that he never did see Joseph Smith use what was later known as the Urim and Thummimi.e., the two stones set in silver bows. This information is found in an article by James E. Lancaster:
According to the testimony of Emma Smith and David Whitmer, the angel took the Urim and Thummim from Joseph Smith at the time of the loss of the 116 pages. This was in June, 1828, one year before David became involved with the work of translation. David Whitmer could never have been present when the Urim and Thummim were used. All of this he clearly states in his testimony to Brother Traughber:
"With the sanction of David Whitmer, and by his authority, I now state that he does not say that Joseph Smith ever translated in his presence by aid of Urim and Thummim, but by means of one dark colored, opaque stone called a 'Seer Stone,' which was placed in the crown of a hat, into which Joseph put his face, so as to exclude the external light" (Saints' Herald, November 15, 1962, p.16).
One thing that has caused confusion is the fact that the "seer stone" was sometimes called the Urim and Thummim. Bruce R. McConkie, who is now anКомментарий
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Apostle in the Church, stated concerning the seer stone: "The Prophet also had a seer stone which was separate and distinct from the Urim and Thummim, and which (speaking loosely) has been called by some a Urim and Thummim" (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p.818).
Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth president of the Mormon church, admitted that the "seer stone" was sometimes called the Urim and Thummim: "The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the Manti Temple when that building was dedicated. The Urim and Thummim so spoken of, however, was the seer stone which was in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith in early days. This seer stone is now in the possession of the Church" (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p.225).
The fact that Joseph Smith used a stone, which he placed in a hat to translate the Book of Mormon, has caused a great deal of embarrassment because it so closely resembles crystal gazing. Bruce R. McConkie made this statement: "In imitation of the true order of heaven whereby seers receive revelations from God through a Urim and Thummim, the devil gives his own revelations to some of his followers through peep stones or crystal balls" (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, pp.565-66).
In early Utah the anti-Mormon paper Valley Tan, accused the Mormons of using peep stones to "see cattle beyond mountains twenty or a hundred miles, or even a greater distance off" (Valley Tan, October 5, 1859, p.2). The Mormon writer Arch S. Reynolds wrote a pamphlet entitled, The Urim and Thummim in which he stated: "From the earliest days of the Church we have had many who have claimed to have had the power to see things in so-called peep-stones. There are stones among the Church members that are considered by some to be the means of their receiving communications from the unseen world."
Mormon apologists have a difficult time explaining the fact that Joseph Smith used a "seer stone." Mormon Apostle John A. Widtsoe asserted: "Some use was made also of the seer stone and occasional mention was made of it. This was a stone found while the Prophet assisted in digging a well for Clark Chase. By divine power this stone was made serviceable to Joseph Smith in the early part of his ministry. There is no evidence that this stone was used in Joseph's sacred work" (Joseph SmithSeeker After Truth, 1951, p.267). Notice that Apostle Widtsoe states there is "no evidence that this stone was used in Joseph's sacred work," yet on page 260 of the same book Widtsoe states that Joseph did use the stone in his "spiritual work":
Before Joseph received the Urim and Thummim he had a stone, obtained during the digging of a well for Clark Chase. This stone, through the blessing of the Lord, became a seer stone which was used frequently by him in his spiritual work.
The use of the seer stone explains in part the charge against Joseph Smith that he was a "peep stone gazer."... The use of the seer stone and the Urim and Thummim was well-known to the people of his time and neighborhood.
Mormons, therefore, continue to remain uncertain about how to handle Joseph's "peeping" activities.
Money-Digging and the Book of Mormon
A careful examination of the whole story of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and even the text of the book itself reveals that it originated in the mind of someone who was familiar with the practice of money-digging. To begin with, the "seer stone" used in "translating" the book seems to have been nothing but a common "peep stone." Many people in Joseph Smith's area were using these stones to search for buried treasures. Mormon scholars admit that Joseph Smith found the stone while digging a well, and the testimony given in the 1828 trial shows that he used his stone to search for treasures. Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, said that Joseph found the Book of Mormon plates by "looking in the stone found in the well of Mason Chase." Evidence also shows that in "translating" the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith placed the stone in a hat in the same manner "as when he looked for the money-diggers."
According to witnesses, the plates didn't even have to be present when Joseph Smith was "translating." Mormon writer Arch S. Reynolds notes that "the plates were not always before Joseph during the translation. His wife and mother state that the plates were on the table wrapped in a cloth while Joseph translated with his eyes hid in a hat with the seer stone or the Urim and Thummim. David Whitmer, Martin Harris and others state that Joseph hid the plates in the woods and other places while he was translating" (How Did Joseph Smith Translate? p.21).
As we examine the Book of Mormon story in the light of the money-digging activities of the 1820s, we notice that the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was "translated" were supposed to have been a very valuable treasure. Mormon author Paul R. Cheesman has brought to light a document prepared by Joseph Smith which the church suppressed for 130 years. In this manuscript Joseph Smith admitted that he wanted to obtain the Book of Mormon plates so that he would become rich and that the angel rebuked him:
... I immediately went to the place and found where the plates was [sic] deposited ... and straightway made three attempts to get them ... I cried unto theКомментарий
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Lord in the agony of my soul why can I not obtain them behold the the [sic] angel appeared unto me again and said unto me you have not kept the commandments of the Lord which I gave unto you therefore you cannot now obtain them for the time is not yet fulfilled ... I had been tempted of the advisary [sic] and sought the Plates to obtain riches and kept not the commandment that I should have an eye singled to the glory of God therefore I was chastened and sought diligently to obtain the plates and obtained them not until I was twenty one years of age.... ("An Analysis of the Accounts Relating Joseph Smith's Early Visions," Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1965, pp.130-31).
The treasure-hunting fever, with its accompanying superstitions, even found its way into the Book of Mormon as the following extracts show:
And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall sayLet it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hid it upbehold, it shall be accursed. And if the Lord shall sayBe thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever-behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever (Book of Mormon, Helaman 12:18-19).
For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me; and cursed be they who hide not up their treasures unto me; for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous; and he that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse of the land (Helaman 13:19).
The reader will remember that Brigham Young told of a "chest of money" that moved by itself "into the bank," and that Martin Harris told of a "stone box" that "slipped back into the hill." In Joseph Smith's 1826 trial, Jonathan Thompson testified that "on account of an enchantment the trunk kept settling away from under them when digging." This idea of treasures slipping into the earth can be found reflected in the Book of Mormon, Helaman 13:34-36:
Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone; and behold, our swords are taken from us in the day we have sought them for battle. Yea, we have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from us, because of the curse of the land. O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become slippery, and we cannot hold them.
In Mormon 1:18 we read that the people "began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again."
From the available evidence it becomes clear that the Book of Mormon had its origin among a people who believed in "seer stones" and money-digging.
Working With the Rod
One important change Joseph Smith made in his revelations was an obvious attempt to cover up the endorsement of Oliver Cowdery's supposed gift from God to work with a divining rod. Below is a comparison of the way this revelation was first published in the Book of Commandments and the way it has been changed to read in recent editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Book of Commandments: "Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands...." (7:3).
Doctrine and Covenants: "Now this is not all thy gift, for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron; behold, it has told you many things;
"Behold, there is no other power, save the power of God, that can cause this gift of Aaron to be with you" (8:6-7).
The reader will notice that the words "working with the rod" and "rod of nature" have been entirely deleted from this revelation.
The money diggers used divining rods to find buried treasure. They were also used as "a medium of revelation." Those who used divining rods were at times referred to as "rodsmen." Richard P. Howard, RLDS church historian, makes some startling admissions in a book published by his church:
Several writers have established that both in Vermont and in western New York in the early 1800's, one of the many forms which enthusiastic religion took was the adaptation of the witch hazel stick.... For example, the 'divining rod' was used effectively by one Nathaniel Wood in Rutland County, Vermont, in 1801. Wood, Winchell, William Cowdery, Jr., and his son, Oliver Cowdery, all had some knowledge of and associations with the various uses, both secular and sacred, of the forked witch hazel rod. Winchell and others used such a rod in seeking buried treasure;... when Joseph Smith met Oliver Cowdery in April, 1829, he found a man peculiarly adept in the use of the forked rod ... and against the background of his own experiments with and uses of oracular media, JosephКомментарий
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бесята разыгралисьКомментарий
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Smith's April, 1829, affirmations about Cowdery's unnatural powers related to working with the rod are quite understandable....
By the time that Joseph Smith approached the reinterpretation and rewording of this document for the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, he had had time and experience necessary to place his 1829 assessment of the meaning of Cowdery's gift of working with the rod in a somewhat more accurate perspective. Both he and Cowdery had developed away from an emphasis on the religious or mystical meanings in such mechanical objects as the water witching rod. Joseph's 1835 wording of this document ... left behind the apparent 1829 reliance upon external media, which by 1835 had assumed in Joseph's mind overtones of superstition and speculative experimentation (Restoration Scriptures, Independence, Mo.. 1969, pp.211-14).
We are not aware of any writer in the Utah Mormon church who has been this honest about the change concerning the gift of working with the rod in Joseph Smith's revelation, but Marvin S. Hill, assistant professor of history at BYU, has admitted that "when Oliver Cowdery took up his duties as a scribe for Joseph Smith in 1829 he had a rod in his possession which Joseph Smith sanctioned...." (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1972, p.78). Marvin Hill goes on to state: "Some of the rodsmen or money diggers who moved into Mormonism were Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, Orrin P. Rockwell, Joseph and Newel Knight, and Josiah Stowell." It is interesting to note that Marvin Hill includes two of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon in his list of "rodsmen or money diggers."* (In MormonismShadow or Reality? pp.47-49, we reproduced a number of affidavits and statements linking Joseph Smith to peep stones, divining rods and money-digging.)
Joseph Smith's interest in treasure hunting continued even after he published the Book of Mormon. Ebenezer Robinson, who was at one time the editor of the Mormon paper, Times and Seasons, gave the following information:
A brother in the church, by the name of Burgess, had come to Kirtland and stated that a large amount of money had been secreted in a cellar of a certain house in Salem, Massachusetts.... We saw the brother Burgess, but Don Carlos Smith told us
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*Recently the Mormon writer D. Michael Quinn has admitted that "Oliver Cowdery was by revelation given the gift of working with a 'rod of nature...'" (Brigham Young University Studies, Fall 1978, p.82). Dr. Quinn further informs that "during the Nauvoo period Apostle Heber C. Kimball 'inquired by the rod' in prayer." In a footnote in the same article the following is cited from the Anthon H. Lund Journal for July 5, 1901: "in the revelation to Oliver Cowdery in May 1829, Bro. [B. H.] Roberts said that the gift which the Lord says he has in his hand meant a stick which was like Aaron's Rod. It is said Bro. Phineas Young [brother-in-law of Oliver Cowdery and brother of Brigham Young] got it from him [Cowdery] and gave it to President Young who had it with him when he arrived in this [Salt Lake] valley and that it was with that stick that he pointed out where the Temple should be built."Комментарий
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баловство какое тоКомментарий
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беспредел какой то, а не разумный диалог ... и вот на такое закрывают глаза "христиане" ...Комментарий
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with regard to the hidden treasure. His statement was credited by the brethren, and steps were taken to try and secure the treasure, of which we will speak more fully in another place" (The Return, vol. 1, p.105).
Ebenezer Robinson goes on to state: "We soon learned that four of the leading men of the church had been to Salem, Massachusetts, in search of the hidden treasure spoken of by Brother Burgess, viz: Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery. They left home on the 25th of July, and returned in September."
Joseph Smith's History tells of this trip: "On Monday afternoon, July 25th, in company with Sidney Rigdon, Brother Hyrum Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, I left Kirtland, ...and arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, early in August, where we hired a house, and occupied the same during the month ..." (History of the Church, vol. 2, p.464).
On August 6, 1836, Joseph Smith received a revelation concerning this treasure hunt, which is still published in the Doctrine and Covenants. In this revelation we read the following:
I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies.
I have much treasure in this city for you,... and its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours.
Concern not yourselves about your debts, for I will give you power to pay them. ...inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this city;
For there are more treasure than one for you in this city (Doctrine and Covenants, 111:1, 2, 4, 9, 10).
Mr. Robinson informs us that the treasure was never found, and Joseph Smith was unable to pay his debts as the revelation had promised. The Mormon historian B. H. Roberts admitted that the Mormon leaders went to Salem seeking "an earthly treasure," but claims that the other treasures spoken of in the revelation were of a spiritual nature (see Comprehensive History of the Church, vol. 1, p.412).
Joseph Smith's Magic Talisman
In 1974 Dr. Reed Durham, who was director of the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah and president of the Mormon History Association, made a discovery that was so startling that it caused great consternation among Mormon scholars and officials. Dr. Durham found that what had previously been identified as the "Masonic jewel of the Prophet Joseph Smith" was in reality a "Jupiter talisman." This is a medallion which contains material relating to astrology and magic. Dr. Durham, apparently not realizing the devastating implications of his discovery, announced this important find in his presidential address before the Mormon History Association on April 20, 1974:
... I should like to initiate all of you into what is perhaps the strangest, the most mysterious, occult-like esoteric, and yet Masonically oriented practice ever adopted by Joseph Smith.... All available evidence suggests that Joseph Smith the Prophet possessed a magical Masonic medallion, or talisman, which he worked during his lifetime and which was evidently on his person when he was martyred. His talisman is in the shape of a silver dollar and is probably made of silver or tin. It is exactly one and nine-sixteenths in diameter,... the talisman,... originally purchased from the Emma Smith Bidamon family, fully notarized by that family to be authentic and to have belonged to Joseph Smith, can now be identified as a Jupiter talisman. It carries the sign and image of Jupiter and should more appropriately be referred to as the Table of Jupiter. And in some very real and quite mysterious sense, this particular Table of Jupiter was the most appropriate talisman for Joseph Smith to possess. Indeed, it seemed meant for him, because on all levels of interpretation: planetary, mythological, numerological, astrological, mystical cabalism, and talismatic magic, the Prophet was, in every case, appropriately described.
The characters on the talisman are primarily in Hebrew, but there is one inscription in Latin. Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical equivalent and those numerical equivalents make up a magic square. By adding the numbers in this Jupiter Table in any direction ... the total will be the same. In this case, on the Jupiter Table, 34....
There is the one side of the talisman belonging to the Prophet Joseph Smith. You can see the Hebrew characters ... you see on the margins, at the bottom is the Jupiter sign.... The cross at the top represents the spirit of Jupiter, and you will see the path of Jupiter in the orbit of the heavens, and then again the Jupiter sign.
I wasn't able to find what this was, foras I saidtwo months; and finally, in a magic book printed in England in 1801, published in America in 1804, and I traced it to Manchester, and to New York. It was a magic book by Francis Barrett and, lo and behold, how thrilled I was when I saw in his list of magic seals the very talisman which Joseph Smith had in his possession at the time ofКомментарий
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his martyrdom.... To the Egyptians, Jupiter was known as Ammon, but to the Greeks he was Zeus: the ancient sky Father, or Father of the Gods....
In astrology, Jupiter is always associated with high positions, getting one's own way, and all forms of status. And I quote: "Typically a person born under Jupiter will have the dignity of a natural ruler. . . . He will probably have an impressive manner. . . . In physical appearance, the highly developed Jupiterian is strong, personable, and often handsome. . . . the Jupiterian influence produces a cheerful winning personality, capable of great development." . . .
So closely is magic bound up with the stars and astrology that the term astrologer and magician were in ancient times almost synonymous. The purpose of the Table of Jupiter in talismanic magis [magic?] was to be able to call upon the celestial intelligences, assigned to the particular talisman, to assist one in all endeavors. The names of the deities which we gave to you, who could be invoked by the Table were always written on the talisman or represented by various numbers. Three such names were written on Joseph Smith's talisman: Abbah, Father; El Ob, Father is God or God the Father; and Josiphiel, Jehovah speaks for God, the Intelligence of Jupiter.
When properly invoked, with Jupiter being very powerful and ruling in the heavens, these intelligencesby the power of ancient magicguaranteed to the possessor of this talisman the gain of riches, and favor, and power, and love and peace; and to confirm honors, and dignities, and councils. Talismatic magic further declared that any one who worked skillfully with this Jupiter Table would obtain the power of stimulating anyone to offer his love to the possessor of the talisman, whether from a friend, brother, relative, or even any female (Mormon Miscellaneous, published by David C. Martin, vol. 1, no. 1, October 1975, pp.14-15).
Reed Durham was severely criticized by Mormon scholars and officials for giving this speech. He was even called in by Mormon President Spencer W. Kimball, and finally found it necessary to issue a letter in which he reaffirmed his faith in Joseph Smith and said that he was sorry for the "concerns, and misunderstandings" that the speech had caused. We feel that Dr. Durham's identification of Joseph Smith's talisman is one of the most significant discoveries in Mormon history and that he should be commended for his research.
That Joseph Smith would own such a magic talisman fits very well with the evidence from his 1826 trial. W. D. Purple, who was an eye-witness to the trial, claimed it was reported that Smith said certain talismanic influences were needed to recover a box of treasure: Mr. Thompson, an employee of Mr. Stowell, was the next witness.... 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.... the box of treasure was struck by the shovel, on which they redoubled their energies, but it gradually receded from their grasp. One of the men placed his hand upon the box, but it gradually sunk from his reach.... Mr. Stowell went to his flock and selected a fine vigorous lamb, and resolved to sacrifice it to the demon spirit who guarded the coveted treasure ... but the treasure still receded from their grasp, and it was never obtained (The Chenango Union, Norwich, N.Y., May 3, 1877, as cited in A New Witness For Christ In America, vol. 2, pp.366-67).
Dr. Durham was unable to determine just when Joseph Smith obtained his talisman, but the fact that he was recommending "certain talismanic influences" around the time of the 1826 trial is certainly interesting. The Jupiter talisman is probably the type of talisman a money digger would be interested in because it was supposed to bring its possessor "the gain of riches, and favor, and power." Regardless of when Joseph Smith obtained his talisman, we do know that he possessed it up to the time of his death. He must have felt that it was very important because the Mormon scholar LaMar C. Berrett reveals that "This piece was in Joseph Smith's pocket when he was martyred at Carthage Jail" (The Wilford C. Wood Collection, 1972, vol. 1, p.173). Wesley P. Walters says that "Charles E. Bidamon, who sold the talisman to the Wood collection, stated in his accompanying affidavit: 'Emma Smith Bidamon the prophet's widow was my foster mother. She prized this piece very highly on account of its being one of the prophet's intimate possessions (Charles E. Bidamon Affidavit. Wood Coll. #7-J-b-21)."
The discovery of evidence to prove Joseph Smith's 1826 trial was certainly a devastating blow to Mormonism, for it proved that Joseph Smith was a believer in magical practices. Reed Durham's new find that Joseph Smith possessed a magic talisman is also very significant because it shows that Smith continued to hold these ideas until the time of his death.Комментарий
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Ух ты! Утомился. Благословен Ты, Господи, Боже небес, что благословляешь меня на этот труд ради Имени Твоего Святого! Пятую главу, с Божьей помощью, опубликую завтра. Знаю, что все здесь присутствующие ждут ее с нетерпением и жаждут прочитать и изучить ее глубоко, особенно Второисайя...
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Я прочитал - Книга Мормона уж тогда лучше, чем сей материал, и её тебе необходимо прочитать раз семь.Комментарий
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Бывший Президент ЦИХСПД Гордон Б. Хинкли цитирует Парли П. Пратта (Лиахона, январь 2005г., с. 3) : "Я стал по-настоящему ценить одно высказывание, автор которого - один из соратников Джозефа Смита в его труде, утверждение о нашей обязанности продвигать его дело. Эти слова, исполненные поэзии и красоты, написал старейшина Парли П. Пратт, член Кворума Двенадцати Апостолов, в 1845 году - менее чем через год после смерти Джозефа: "Он организовал Царство Божье мы будем расширять его владения..."
Какое чудовищное богохульство! Человек "организовал" Царство Божье! Да будет всем известно, что Царство Божье может организовать только Сам Бог. Утверждая, что это сделал Смит, Пратт, а вслед за ним и Хинкли крадет у Бога то, что принадлежит Ему. Царство без Царя не бывает. Оно наступит после пришествия Господа, Который и организует его здесь поистине и будет править тысячу лет (Миллениум), после чего произойдет Армагеддон и наступит вечность. Так что Смит имеет такое же отношение к организации Царства Божьего на земле, какое имеют папуасы к строительству космических кораблей...
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