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Parting the Veil
6 Aug 2019

Parting the Veil

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Joseph Smith the seer ushered in the dispensation of the fullness of times. His role was known and prophesied of anciently. The Lord promised Joseph of Egypt that in the last days a “choice seer” would come through his lineage and would bring his seed to a knowledge of the covenants made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (2 Nephi 3:7; JST Gen. 50:27–28). “That seer will the Lord bless,” Joseph prophesied, specifically indicating that “his name shall be called after me” (2 Nephi 3:14–15; see also JST Gen. 50:33). Significantly, in the revelation received during the organizational meeting of the Church on April 6, 1830, the first title given to the first elder was that of seer: “Behold, there shall be a record kept . . . and in it thou [Joseph Smith] shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (D&C 21:1). In the Book of Mormon, Ammon defined a seer as one who possessed “a gift from God” to translate ancient records (Mosiah 8:13; see also 28:11–16). However, the seeric gift is not limited to translation, hence Ammon’s additional statement that “a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have” (Mosiah 8:16). In actuality, a seer is a see-er. Among other gifts and powers, he sees visions, which visions are seen with spiritual eyes. This study attempts to compile and analyze all of the known visions, visitations, or visual revelations experienced by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Seer Stones, Salamanders, and Early Mormon “Folk Magic” in the Light of Folklore Studies and Bible Scholarship
6 Aug 2019

Seer Stones, Salamanders, and Early Mormon “Folk Magic” in the Light of Folklore Studies and Bible Scholarship

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The 2015 publication of an Ensign article on, and especially photos of, one of Joseph Smith’s seer stones still owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints caused quite a sensation in the blogosphere. Mormon studies as a discipline has struggled to make sense of seer stones too. These responses are understandable, considering how often communities tend to presume little change in ritual practice over time and how identity groups tend to see others’ actually quite similar practices—separated by time or culture—as superstitious and our own as pious and commonsensical. This essay, by folklorist Eric Eliason, seeks to bring to bear the insights of both folklore scholarship and folklore-informed ancient Near Eastern scholarship on the issue of early Mormon seer stones in particular and American frontier folk magic in general.

Spirit Babies and Divine Embodiment
6 Aug 2019

Spirit Babies and Divine Embodiment

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Eric A. Eliason, a BYU Professor of English who specializes in folklore, explores the phenomenon of prebirth experiences (encounters with spirit children not yet born) and how this folk tradition is deeply enmeshed with official LDS doctrines. Encounters with spiritual beings are reported more frequently in the general population than the more academically respectable mystic or transcendent states of notable people in various religious traditions. In fact, rather than sensationalizing a mystic experience by presenting it as tangible, scholars find that people more likely to obfuscate or “mystify” what were originally straightforward meetings with personlike beings. Eliason suggests that an experience-centered approach to studying spiritual realities can help us understand foundational Mormon reports of encounters with spirits, such as Joseph Smith’s First Vision and Moroni’s appearances.

Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision
6 Aug 2019

Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision

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In Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision: Apocalyptic Revelation in Narrative Context, Matthew Scott Stenson explores the qualities of apocalyptic literature found in the first two books of Nephi. Stenson shows how new insights can be gained by reading Nephi’s record from the perspective of this ancient literary genre.

Isaiah 49:23–26 expresses the following dramatic prophecy portraying the Lord as a divine warrior:

And thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

This theme of the Lord as a divine warrior protective of his people is also used extensively by the early Nephite prophets in their teachings to describe the eschatological dualism between righteousness and wickedness that will exist in the last days. This passage, quoted both by Nephi (1 Ne. 21:23–26) and Jacob (2 Ne. 6:6 18), is in a way as messianic and apocalyptic in content and symbolic quality as are the biblical books of Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation. While it is arguably the most significant passage on deliverance in the first half of the Book of Mormon, many other Nephite texts likewise give valuable knowledge and assurances to the covenant people of the Lord on earth in the last days in the form of sweeping apocalyptic revelations. These densely allusive prophetic teachings are similar in message to the prophetic writings of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature.

Ann Booth’s Vision and Early Conceptions of Redeeming the Dead among Latter-day Saints
6 Aug 2019

Ann Booth’s Vision and Early Conceptions of Redeeming the Dead among Latter-day Saints

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In March 1840, Ann Booth, a new Latter-day Saint convert in Manchester, England, had a vision of the spirit world in which she saw an LDS apostle teach and baptize John Wesley. She also saw in vision some of her family be baptized, and she later learned that the apostle she had seen was David W. Patten. Brigham Young, in Manchester, wrote a copy of the vision in a letter to his wife, in Nauvoo, and the vision became known in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith talked about this vision to the Church in October 1840 and taught that spirits will have the gospel taught to them, but they will not be baptized in the spirit world. The article places this vision in the context of a larger conversation about the history of Christian and LDS beliefs regarding the salvation of the unbaptized dead.

“An Angel or Rather the Savior” at the Kirtland Temple Dedication
6 Aug 2019

“An Angel or Rather the Savior” at the Kirtland Temple Dedication

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At the Kirtland Temple dedication on March 27, 1836, President Frederick G. Williams testified that he saw a “holy angel” enter the temple during the opening prayer. Nine witnesses wrote about the event, and even though details in their records conflict, it is evident that the angel Williams had seen was the Savior. The vision fulfilled prophecy about the members of the First Presidency each becoming a witness of the Savior.

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