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Who Is Your Personal Mediator?

The bishop plays a critical role in the LDS Church and in lives of those who are striving to repent of their sins. Bishops often have members of their congregation confess private and personal sins to them. Why exactly do LDS members feel the need to confess these sins specifically to their bishop rather than some other godly role model in their life?

According to the official churchofjesuschrist.org website, I believe that it is abundantly clear that LDS Church doctrine states that if you commit a serious sin (breaking the law of chastity), that you are then required to confess that sin to your bishop. And only after doing so will God forgive you of that sin.

Imagine that a faithful member of the LDS Church committed a serious sin and felt great sorrow for disobeying God. This person confesses their sin to God. They also confess to their close friends and ask for prayer, support and accountability. The articles above are clear that even though this person is sincerely repentant of their sin, they would still not be forgiven because they have not confessed their sin to their bishop.

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A mediator is someone who is “in between” you and God. He is the one who can reconcile your relationship with God and declare that you are clean and forgiven. We have all broken God’s law (Romans 3:23; James 2:10). According to God’s Word, who must we confess all of our sins to as our personal mediator in order to become forgiven of our sins?

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

According to God’s Word, who do we need to confess our sins to? The one who is faithful and just to forgive us. Jesus alone is the only mediator between man and God the Father. A personal/direct mediator is someone who you can directly approach. By confessing our serious sins directly to God and God alone, we can find forgiveness. If I am required to confess my serious sins to my bishop, who has then become my personal/direct mediator?

James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

We read here that it is good to confess our sins to one another. The purpose is for accountability, prayer, and support. Is it good to confess our sins to one another to help us overcome them? Absolutely! Are we required to confess our sins to a specific individual on earth before we can receive God’s forgiveness? Absolutely not!

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Let us remember what Scripture has stated: that we can go directly to God alone as our mediator, confess all of our sins directly to Him and he will personally forgive us of all our sins and unrighteousness. There is no one else that we are required to confess to in order to receive forgiveness of sins.

This privilege of being able to have that direct access to Jesus by going directly to Him in prayer as our personal mediator and laying down all of your sins (regardless of how serious they are) at the foot of the cross is what it means to have a personal relationship with Him.

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In general, the more we talk with someone, the stronger that relationship becomes. Prayer is how we talk to God. The more we talk with God, the stronger that relationship becomes.

John 14:14 “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

We also see an example of Stephen the martyred apostle pray to Jesus in Acts 7:59

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

This faithful apostle who gave up his life for the gospel clearly prayed to Jesus. And Jesus himself said that we can pray to him and ask him for anything. Why then does the LDS Church teach that we can’t pray to Jesus? Can you honestly call Jesus your “best friend” and “personal” savior when you are not even allowed to pray/talk to him?

Growing up, Michael Jordan was my favorite basketball player. I remember having a Michael Jordan basketball card collection with over 50 different cards. I looked at his statistics and read books about him as well. Today, I feel like I know a LOT about Michael Jordan…but it would be delusional for me to ever say that I have a personal relationship with Michael Jordan. In the same way, just because I might know and read a lot about Jesus from the Scriptures, that doesn’t automatically mean that I have a personal relationship with Jesus. If I am never praying/talking to Jesus, then it would also be a mistake to believe that I have a strong, personal relationship with him as well.

Believe it or not, focusing on a personal relationship with Jesus has been strongly discouraged by the LDS Church when apostle Bruce McConkie said:

“It is no secret that many false and vain and foolish things are being taught in the sectarian world even among us about our need to gain a special relationship with the Lord Jesus. . . . In an attempt to be truer than true [Christians] devote themselves to gaining a special, personal relationship with Christ that is both improper and perilous. . . . Another peril is that those involved begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed. In this connection a current and unwise book, which advocates gaining a special relationship with Jesus, contains this sentence—“Because the Savior is our mediator, our prayers go through Christ to the Father, and the Father answers our prayers through His Son.” This is plain sectarian nonsense. Our prayers are addressed to the Father and the Father only. They do not go through Christ. (Bruce R. McConkie – Quorum of the 12, Church News, 3/20/82)

The primary concern is that in general, Latter Day Saints are missing out on this personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. My sincere hope is that one day you will have a relationship with Jesus (right side of the picture above) where you can pray directly to him and lay all of your sins at the foot of the cross with no one else being involved for the forgiveness of your sins, regardless of how serious they are. This is what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus as your personal mediator and direct Savior. Praying to God the Father is great! But let’s remove the prohibition from praying to Jesus as well. I invite you to ponder and pray about these things, and most importantly to look to the teachings of Jesus and his apostles for guidance.

Please let me know your thoughts, things you appreciated or things that you disagreed with in the comment section below. Thank you for reading and God bless!

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Joseph Smith: Patterns Of A Sexual Predator

A number of faithful LDS historians agree that Joseph Smith had sexual relations with a number of his plural wives. After reading the firsthand accounts from some of these women, the pattern becomes very alarming as we see:

  1. Joseph approaching these women when no one else is around. It’s the two of them and he privately teachings these young women about polygamy, very much in a grooming fashion.
  2. Joseph secretly marries these young women, thus deceiving Emma.
  3. Joseph sleeps with many of these young women.
  4. He repeats this pattern with others.

Faithful LDS Historians

  1. Brian C Hales: “I have documented sexual relations in twelve of his non-polyandrous plural marriages.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/dialogues/hales-quinn/“
  2. Todd Compton: “In a significant number of marriages, there is evidence for sexual relations.” (In Sacred Loneliness, p. 15)
  3. Todd Compton: “Fanny Alger’s marriage to Joseph in Kirtland, Ohio, established a pattern that was repeated in Nauvoo, Illinois, which is: Smith secretly marries a teenage servant or family friend living in his home,” (In Sacred Loneliness, p. 25)
  4. Brian C Hales: “It appears that only two or perhaps three children were born through those unions.” (https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/testimonies/scholars/brian-c-hales)

Statements From Plural Wives About Their Sexual Relationship with Joseph Smith

  • Keep in mind that Joseph Smith was 37 years old when he was sleeping with these teenagers. One of the six was 22 years old, but he married all 6 of them in the span of one year in 1843.
  1. Emily Partridge (19 years old when married Smith): She was asked under oath in the Temple Lot case, “Do you make the declaration that you ever slept with him (Joseph Smith) in the same bed?” to which she answered, “Yes sir.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/emily-dow-partridge-evidence-of-sexuality/)
  2. Malissa Lott (19 years old): Joseph Smith III (president of RLDS Church) asked Malissa Lott if she was the Joseph Smith’s “wife in very deed,” to which she answered, “Yes.” Q: Did you ever room with Joseph as a wife? A: Yes sir. Q: Was it more than once? A: Yes sir, and more than twice.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/plural-wives-overview/malissa-lott/)
  3. Lucy Walker (17 years old): Joseph Smith Jr III asked Lucy if she lived with the prophet as his wife, to which she answered: “He was my husband sir.” Theodocia Davis (Lucy’s niece) reported that, “Lucy Walker told her that she lived with Joseph Smith as a wife.” D. H. Morris (acquaintance of Lucy) also reported Lucy saying that she “married Joseph Smith as a plural wife and lived and cohabited with him as such.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/lucy-walker-evidence-of-sexuality/)
  4. Eliza Partridge (22 years old): Benjamin F. Johnson was a faithful LDS member and secretary of Joseph Smith. He wrote that: “The first plural wife brought to my house with whom the Prophet stayed, was Eliza Partridge.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/eliza-maria-partridge-evidence-of-sexuality/)
  5. Sarah Lawrence (17 years old): Lucy Walker stated that: “I know that [Emma] gave her consent to the marriage of at least four women to her husband as plural wives, and she was well aware that he associated and cohabited with them as wives.” Sarah Lawrence was one of the four wives. (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/sarah-lawrence-evidence-of-sexuality/)
  6. Maria Lawrence (19 years old): Maria was one of the 4 wives that Lucy referenced in the last statement above.

    Other Wives Joseph Had Sexual Relations With
  7. Almera Woodard Johnson (30 years old): She admitted that “On a certain occasion in the spring of the year 1843…I was sealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith…After this time, I lived with the Prophet Joseph as his wife, and he visited me at the home of my brother Benjamin F. at Macedonia.” We also have a number of testimonies from Almera’s brother, confirming this as well in a number of different quotes:
    • “He [Joseph Smith] remained two days, lodging at my house with my sister as man and wife and to my certain knowledge he occupied the same bed with her.”
    • “He [Joseph Smith] was at my house … where he occupied my sister Almira’s room and bed.”
    • “I saw her (Almera) married to him in the summer of 1843, and I further know that they roomed together as husband and wife at various times in my home at Macedonia, where he associated with other of his plural wives and various times as he had occasion.” – This one was more disturbing as Benjamin states that Joseph simply would make his rounds and sleep a number of his other plural wives. 
    • “The Prophet again Came and at my house occupied the same room & bed with my Sister.”
    • “The Prophet stayed … there [at my house] with my sister Almira as his wife.
  8. Louisa Beaman: Joseph Noble was the man who sealed Louisa and the prophet. Noble was asked: Question: Do you know whether Joseph Smith ever lived any with Louisa Beaman as his wife? Answer (from Noble): I know it for I saw him in bed with her. Q: How do you know he did A: Well, I was there. Q: And you saw them go to bed together. A: I gave him counsel. (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/louisa-beaman-evidence-of-sexuality/)

Joseph Married Many Women Behind Emma’s Back

  1. ChurchofJesusChrist.org – “Emma likely did not know about all of Joseph’s sealings.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng)
  2. MormonR.org – “Did Joseph marry women without the consent or knowledge of Emma? Yes…there is evidence that Emma was unaware of some plural marriages.” (https://mormonr.org/qnas/VvSJBb/joseph_smith_and_polygamy)
  3. BYU in regard to Fanny Alger: “While the historical record is incomplete, it seems that Joseph entered his first plural marriage without informing his legal wife, Emma Hale Smith.” (https://rsc.byu.edu/reason-faith/joseph-smiths-practice-plural-marriage)
  4. Fanny Alger: Oliver Cowdery accused Joseph Smith of having a dirty, nasty, filthy affair with Fanny Alger. LDS historian Todd Compton states that this first plural marriage established a pattern of Joseph secretly marrying a teenage servants behind Emma’s back. (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/fanny-alger-evidence-of-sexuality/) (Faithful LDS Historian, Todd Compton – In Sacred Loneliness, p. 25)
  5. Lucy Walker – Temple Lot Disposition: “She [Emma] did not consent to my marriage… she did not know anything about it at all.” (https://maydaymagazine.com/freeing-lucy-by-alyssa-witbeck/)
  6. Emily Partridge: “I and my sister Eliza received it and were married to br. Joseph about the same time, but neither of us knew about the other at the time, everything was so secret.” – To clarify: Joseph married Emily first, and then married Eliza just four days later…but neither of the sisters (who lived in the same house!) were aware that the other was also married to the prophet. After this point, Emma decided to try and support polygamy by selecting 4 wives for Joseph to marry. And two of the women she chose were Emily and Eliza, which Joseph was already sealed to and he didn’t want to tell Emma about it. So in order to further deceive Emma, they performed a second “sham” wedding to make Emma believe that it was their first time being sealed. I feel so bad for Emma. (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/plural-wives-overview/emily-dow-partridge/)

Firsthand Account From Plural Wives

  1. Emily Partridge: “He came into the room where I was one day, when I was in the room alone, and asked me if I could keep a secret. I was about eighteen years of age then I think, — at any rate, I was quite young. He asked me if I could keep a secret, and I told him I thought I could, and then he told me that he would sometime, if he had an opportunity, — he would tell me something that would be for my benefit, if I would not betray him, and I told him I wouldn’t.
    Well it run along for a good while, — I don’t know just how long, and there was no opportunity of saying anything to me more than he had, and one day he sat in the room alone, and I passed through it and he called to me or spoke to me, and called me to him, and then he said that he had intended to tell me something, but he had no opportunity to do so, and so he would write me a letter, if I would agree to burn it as soon as I read it, and with that I looked frightened, for I thought there was something about it that was not just right, and so I told him that I would rather that he would not write to me, — that he would not write me any letter, and then he asked me if I wanted him to [not] say any more, and I said yes, that I did not want to hear anything more about it at all, for I had got a little frightened about it.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/plural-wives-overview/emily-dow-partridge/)
  2. Lucy Walker: “In the year 1842, President Joseph Smith sought an interview with me, and said: “I have a message for you. I have been commanded of God to take another wife, and you are the woman.” My astonishment knew no bounds. This announcement was indeed a thunderbolt to me. He asked me if I believed him to be a prophet of God. “Most assuredly I do,” I replied. He fully explained to me the principle of plural or celestial marriage. He said this principle was again to be restored for the benefit of the human family, that it would prove an everlasting blessing to my father’s house, and form a chain that could never be broken, worlds without end. “What have you to say?” he asked. “Nothing.” How could I speak, or what could I say? He said, “If you will pray sincerely for light and understanding in relation thereto, you shall receive a testimony of the correctness of this principle. I thought I prayed sincerely, but was so unwilling to consider the matter favorably that I fear I did not ask in faith for light. Gross darkness instead of light took possession of my mind. I was tempted and tortured beyond endurance until life was not desirable. Oh that the grave would kindly receive me, that I might find rest on the bosom of my dear mother. Why should I be chosen from among thy daughters, Father, I am only a child in years and experience, no mother to counsel [she died in January, 1842]; no father near to tell me what to do in this trying hour [he was on a mission to a warmer climate to help his health]. Oh, let this bitter cup pass. And thus I prayed in the agony of my soul.
    The Prophet discerned my sorrow. He saw how unhappy I was, and sought an opportunity of again speaking to me on this subject, and said: “Although I cannot, under existing circumstances, acknowledge you as my wife, the time is near when we will go beyond the Rocky Mountains and then you will be acknowledged and honored as my wife.” He also said, “This principle will yet be believed in and practiced by the righteous. I have no flattering words to offer. It is a command of God to you. I will give you until tomorrow to decide this matter. If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you.” (https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/plural-wives-overview/lucy-walker/)

Joseph was an unrepentant sexual predator who ought to be quickly dismissed as a prophet of God. Even though Joseph Smith was a false prophet, Christ is still king 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!

The Gold Plates Never Physically Existed In Reality

The Three Witnesses

When reading this testimony statement of the three witnesses, it is very ambiguous and often leads the reader to an inaccurate perception of what actually happened. For example, all it says is: we three witnesses saw an angel and we saw the plates…and that’s it! It fails to mention what these witnesses independently stated. Things like Joseph taking the 3 of them into the woods to fervently pray to see the gold plates…and their prayers failed. Nothing happened. Then they fervently prayed a second time…and again, nothing happened. Martin Harris thought it was his fault due to his lack of faith and he walks away from the group. Shortly after that happened, the 3 of them (David, Oliver, and Joseph) have a vision of seeing the angel and the gold plates. Joseph then finds Martin, they pray together and Martin finally sees the angel and the gold plates. People often state how different this story actually is compared to how they imagined it was based on reading the witness statement.

  1. It’s important to note that in the witness statement in front of the Book of Mormon, the three witnesses do not claim that they saw AND handled the plates…but only that an angel appeared and showed them the gold plates. Some might argue with the wording, “that we beheld and saw the plates…” that this means that they held the plates. If we keep reading, the next sentence states that, “we beheld and bear record that these things are true.” Similar to when John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John isn’t telling people to go and physically hold Jesus. It’s a dramatic way of saying, “Look at that!” Or in the witnesses’ case, “We were amazed as we saw the plates!” When reading their independent testimonies, it becomes abundantly more clear that they never claimed to physically handle the gold plates.
  2. David Whitmer – An Address to All Believers (1887): “In June, 1829, the Lord called out to Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and myself as the three witnesses, to behold the vision of the Angel, as recorded in the fore part of the Book of Mormon, and to bear testimony to the world that the Book of Mormon is true.” – David states that testimony of the three witnesses in the front of the Book of Mormon was a vision of the angel who showed them the plates. (https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/three-witnesses/david-whitmer/statements/)

3. Zenas Gurley interviewed David Whitmer (1885) – Gurley was an elder and leader in early LDS Church who always believed in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. In this interview, he asked David a number of questions: “Gurley: Do you know that the plates seen with the Angel on the table were real metal, did you touch them?   Whitmer: “We did not touch nor handle the plates.” – David is clarifying that none of the 3 witnesses ever physically touched the gold plates. (https://whitmercollege.com/interviews/zenas-h-gurley-1885/)

4. It’s important to note that Oliver Cowdery was Joseph’s scribe when translating the Book of Mormon in 1829 and was also the one who penned both of the witness statements (the 3 and the 8). Just two months prior to him writing these statements, he tried to translate Scripture by using a stick (D&C 8 / BofC 7). There’s no way around it: this is absurd and an obvious warning sign that we should be very skeptical of anything this man claims as divine truth.

5. Martin Harris: After Joseph Smith died, James Strang rose up and claimed to be the next prophet, seer, and revelator of the Lord’s Church. He even claimed to have found ancient plates of Lehi, he had witnesses, and he was able to translate the plates into new Scripture. I hope we can all see how James Strang flat out copied Joseph Smith’s template of Mormon origins…yet Martin Harris didn’t seem to care and ended up joining Strang’s movement and believed his story and claim of being the next prophet. If Martin was duped this easily following a false prophet now, what does this speak to how credible or gullible of a witness he actually was? (https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/a-witness-in-england-martin-harris-and-the-strangite-mission)

The Eight Witnesses

To start, the statement of the 8 witnesses does appear to be much more blunt in claiming to have handled the gold plates, but again, this statement was written by Oliver Cowdery who has lost a lot of credibility in my opinion after discovering that just two months prior, he tried to translate Scripture with a stick. Additionally, if the account of the three witnesses was misleading, there’s a good chance that this account is misleading as well.

1. John Whitmer interviewed by Theodore Turley, who was an early member and pioneer at the time of this discussion: John Whitmer stated, “I now say, I handled those plates; there were fine engravings on both sides. I handled them…they were shown to me by a supernatural power;” – John says that they were shown to me by a supernatural power just like when David Whitmer said he the gold plates by the power of God in a vision. If any of these witnesses talk about seeing something by the power of God or by a supernatural power, that is the clue that this is a visionary experience. The 3 witnesses constantly state that the gold plates were shown to them by the power of God, and not of man. We also read that some of the eight witnesses previously hefted a box that they were told contained the gold plates. The most likely explanation is that the 8 witnesses were physically hefting a box while having a vision of the gold plates…and remember: to these people, seeing something with their “spiritual eye” was just as real and compelling as seeing something with their natural eye. (https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/eight-witnesses/john-whitmer/statements/)

2. Marvin Hill (faithful LDS historian) on Hiram Page – “Hiram Page does not say he saw the plates, but that angels confirmed him in his faith.” Additionally, we read in D&C 28 that Hiram discovered a seer stone of his own and attempted to use it to receive revelations for the church in 1833. Some later sources say that Hiram recorded 16 pages of revelation in that one sitting. When Joseph Smith caught wind of this, he became concerned with the prophetic competition and snuffed it out by claiming that Hiram’s seer stone and his revelations were from the devil. So Joseph had Hiram’s stone and his revelations destroyed. But this also raises a question: if Hiram was wrong about his seer stone, should we believe his testimony about the gold plates? If he couldn’t even tell the difference between revelations from God and revelations from Satan, does that make him a credible witness? (“Brodie Revisited: A Reappraisal” – Marvin Hill)

3. Here is the scenario we are left with: the three witnesses never physically handled the gold plates, but then the eight witnesses do claim to have physically handled the gold plates. This presents an obvious problem, but let’s start with the question of: which people had the most direct access to the gold plates and were most intimately involved in the translation process?

A. Emma Smith: she was around the gold plates just about all day long but never physically saw or touched them. She did move something that looked like plates covered by a cloth, but she never verified and claimed to see the gold plates.

B. The three witnesses: Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer were Joseph’s closest associates in translating the gold plates.

These 4 people with the most direct access never claimed to physically touch the gold plates. But then you have these 8 other people who were much less involved and had far less access to the gold plates claiming that they did physically touch the gold plates. Are we really supposed to believe that the people on the inside of this operation never got to physically touched them…but the people on the outside who were far less involved did?

To form this into a statement: if the gold plates truly were a physical item, it does not make sense for Joseph to show them to the less involved witnesses, but not to his closest collaborators. That’s why from a logical perspective, it must first be demonstrated that the people on the inside who were closest to Joseph physically touched the gold plates. Only after doing so can we then seriously consider whether or not the people on the outside touched the gold plates as well.

The Unofficial Witnesses

  • Mary Whitmer: Claimed that a man with a large face and a beard showed her the plates one day while she was doing chores on the farm. She referred to this man as brother Nephi then returned to tell Joseph Smith and the others about this experience. Then Joseph decided for Mary that this man was actually Moroni. First off, why would Joseph be correct over Mary when Joseph wasn’t even there to see the man? And secondly, if you look at any pictures or previous descriptions of Moroni, he does not have a large face with a beard. This description sounds nothing like him. This testimony also comes from a second-hand source 50 years later. Overall, this testimony is very shaky and inconsistent. (https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/another-account-of-mary-whitmers-viewing-of-the-golden-plates)

At the end of the day, we are left with very inconsistent statements from uncredible witnesses. Yes, they never denied their testimonial experience of seeing the gold plates…but again, this doesn’t mean much coming from a group of people who believe in the gift of “second sight.” Seeing something in a vision with their “spiritual eye” is just as real/compelling as seeing it in reality with their natural eye.

Even though the gold plates never physically existed, Christ is still king 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!

Joseph Smith: From Treasure Seer to Religious Seer

Joseph Smith practiced folk magic and used a seer stone to try to find buried treasure. (Treasure digging was part of folk magic)

  1. 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:

  1. 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)

  1. 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)
  2. 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!