Joseph Smith practiced folk magic and used a seer stone to try to find buried treasure. (Treasure digging was part of folk magic)
- Joseph Smith – Elder’s Journal, 1838: There is a section in this article where a number of questions were answered by Joseph Smith as the editor, which was then published by Thomas Marsh who was the president of the quorum of the 12. Here is one of the questions that was asked:
Question: “Was not Jo Smith a money digger?” Answer (by Joseph Smith in 3rd person): “Yes, but it was never a very profitable job to him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it.” – Joseph is admitting that for a time, he had the illegal occupation of a glass looker which does not speak too well for his character. (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/elders-journal-july-1838/11) (Scriptural Central acknowledges that this was Joseph responding: https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/did-a-magic-world-view-influence-the-coming-forth-of-the-book-of-mormon)
2. Joseph Smith – 1826 Court hearing which recorded Joseph’s own testimony: “He had a certain stone which he occasionally looked at to determine where hidden treasures in the bowels of the earth were; that he professed to tell in this manner where gold mines were a distance underground… and had “looked” (worked) for Mr. Stowell several times…” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/joseph-smiths-1826-trial?lang=eng)
3. LDS Church Website: “The young Joseph Smith accepted such familiar folk ways of his day, including the idea of using seer stones to view lost or hidden objects.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2015/10/joseph-the-seer?lang=eng)
4. D&C 8:6 / Book of Commandments 7:3 – In the middle of translating the Book of Mormon with a seer stone, Joseph affirmed that dowsing rods are also a legitimate way to receive revelations and that God blessed Oliver Cowdry with the gift of using dowsing rods in order to translate the Book of Mormon. Originally in the Book of Commandments, the gift of using the dowsing rod was called, “the gift of working with the rod.” A few years later, Joseph wanted to change this to make it sound more Biblical. That is why it now says in the Doctrine & Covenants, “the gift of Aaron.” Joseph and the witnesses utilized folk magic tools all the way through the Book of Mormon translation and never repudiated these practices. As their folk magic beliefs evolved into becoming more focus on religion, their use for magic was no longer needed and was phased out.
5. Richard Bushman – Faithful LDS historian: “Magic and religion melded in Smith family culture…Stories of spirits guarding buried treasure were deeply enmeshed in the region’s rural culture…buried treasures and lost mines were detected through dreams, divining rods, or stones…Joseph Jr. never repudiated the stones or denied their power to find treasure.” – Joseph and his family did not see these folk magic practices as being opposed to Christianity. Rather, their version of Christianity blended folk magic with elements of Protestantism together into one. (https://josephsmithfoundation.org/03-magic-did-joseph-smith-mix-christianity-with-nineteenth-century-tradition-and-magical-powers-did-he-attempt-to-employ-dark-arts-to-discover-hidden-treasure/)
6. Lucy Smith (Joseph’s mother): “…many who had lost property or sought for hidden treasures, would come to Joseph, supposing that he possessed certain means by which he could discern things that could not be seen by the natural eye…” – “certain means” = seer stone and dowsing rods = magic sticks and rocks (https://josephsmithfoundation.org/03-magic-did-joseph-smith-mix-christianity-with-nineteenth-century-tradition-and-magical-powers-did-he-attempt-to-employ-dark-arts-to-discover-hidden-treasure/)
Treasure digging elements in the Book of Mormon:
- Helaman 13:18 “And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God, that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth shall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land,” – Referencing buried treasure that will not be found due to God’s curse/enchantment.
Helaman 13:31 “And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them.” – The buried treasure became “slippery” and moved somewhere else or disappeared due to the curse/enchantment.
2. Mormon 1:18 “And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof 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.” – Again, we read about buried treasure becoming slippery and being out of reach due to the Lord’s curse/enchantment.
Joseph Consistently saw many things in his seer stone that were not real (buried treasure & guardian spirits)
- Josiah Stowell (believed in Joseph’s treasure seer abilities) – 1826 Court hearing: Stowell stated that Joseph had the “skill of telling where hidden treasures in the earth were by means of looking through a certain stone…once to tell him about money buried in Bend Mountain in Pennsylvania, once for gold on Monument Hill, and once for a salt spring.” – Joseph is consistently approaching Josiah Stowell and saying “Hey, I see treasure in my stone and it revealed to me that it’s located over here. Follow me!” and he was wrong and the stone was giving him false visions every single time. (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-docket-entry-20-march-1826-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1)
- Jonathan Thompson (believed in Joseph’s treasure seer abilities) – 1826 Court hearing: “That the last time he (Joseph) looked (into the stone) he discovered distinctly the two Indians who buried the trunk, that a quarrel ensued between them, and that one of said Indians was killed by the other, and thrown into the hole beside the trunk, to guard it…Thompson says that he believes in the prisoner’s professed skill…but on account of an enchantment, the trunk (treasure chest) settled away…” – Joseph received a vision saying that there were two Indians who were arguing, then one of them was killed by the other, and the dead Indian is now the guardian spirit who casted an enchantment and caused the treasure to slip away. But again, if the treasure is imaginary, so is the guardian spirit. (https://bhroberts.org/records/ThBvrb-pWLwnb/anonymous_account_of_js_1826_trial_over_seer_stone)
- At the end of the day, we are left with the fact that Joseph had a terrible track record of seeing supernatural things that were not real: buried treasure, guardian spirits, and even one of the spirits being described as an Indian. If he was constantly wrong about seeing spirits before, is it wise to trust his later claims of seeing other spirits: Moroni, an angel with a flaming sword, the first vision, etc.
Even though Joseph Smith was a false prophet, Christ is still the savior and the rock that cannot be moved. I invite you to read through the 4 Biblical gospels and reconstruct your faith so that it is built on the direct teachings of Jesus and his apostles as found in the New Testament.
Thank you for reading, God bless, and remember to never stop chasing after Jesus!
JLLDS Ministries 