The seer stone

[clackamascoug]

Maybe it's the meds; but that looks like an Egyptian mummified scrotum and testicle.

[Uncle Ted]

i wonder if there is any possibility of showing the actual stone publicly? photos are cool, but it would be better to see the actual stone.

The Huff Post said that it will be kept in the church vault...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...ef=mostpopular

It would be nice if it was in the church history museum and part of the new renovation. Maybe on display in a hat that folks could stick their face into.

[Joe Public]

The Huff Post said that it will be kept in the church vault...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...ef=mostpopular

It would be nice if it was in the church history museum and part of the new renovation. Maybe on display in a hat that folks could stick their face into.

OK - I laughed.

[Uncle Ted]

Maybe it's the meds; but that looks like an Egyptian mummified scrotum and testicle.

I don't think the stone shown above is really native to upstate New York area so maybe there is something to what you are saying about the source of this thing.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Maybe it's the meds; but that looks like an Egyptian mummified scrotum and testicle.

It has to be the meds. Totally out of character for you to have bizarre, creepy thoughts.

[Northwestcoug]

What I think is really interesting is that the urim and thummim is fading into obscurity, and the seer stone is taking precedence. A generation ago EVERYONE knew the U&T was the instrument used by JS to translate. Now it almost seems to be an afterthought, as it is officially acknowledged that the seer stone was used in most of the translation process.

I'll take up the PAC weirdness challenge. Both instruments are very weird, especially today. Comparing them, I'm not sure if one is weirder than the other. However, the official story that JS started off with the U&T when he received the plates, then did most of it later with the stone he had for many years previously, is very weird. If the stone had/has power, why even start with the U&T? Why go through the trouble of saving it for JS when he had the seer stone all along? Not to mention why even keep the plates hidden for centuries if he didn't need them at all (yes, it was a physical connection to the divine that facilitated JS's translation; I know the drill).

Is there any contemporary account of the U&T (I mean the breastplate with glasses one), other than what JS talked about? Did a scribe see it? I think Lucy Mack Smith talked about it, but I believe it was decades after and I don't think she claimed to have seen it. I don't know of any other contemporary account, whereas we have at least a few who knew of the seer stone.

It's just weird.

[hostile]

Mormons have the Joseph Smith death mask, the dried blood on the jailhouse floor (until recently),and those cool authentic clay bricks you can buy when you visit Nauvoo.

or have someone mail them to you for Christmas

[falafel]

More photos. This is the brown bag made by Emma Smith to carry the stone.

Not buying it Emma. That's clearly an animal scrotum.

[Flystripper]

Not buying it Emma. That's clearly an animal scrotum.

definitely a curelom scrotum.

[Sleeping in EQ]

When will Deseret Book sell replicas?

Since the stone works, why isn't President Monson using it?

[Jeff Lebowski]

When will Deseret Book sell replicas?

Since the stone works, why isn't President Monson using it?

You aren't reading the news releases either.

[Sleeping in EQ]

You aren't reading the news releases either.

I'm reading the news releases. I'm just also making lame attempts at humor.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm reading the news releases, I'm just also making lame attempts at humor.

Gotcha. Carry on.

[Jeff Lebowski]

PFS analyzes the reaction in Mormondom:

http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/fait...ph-smiths-seer

[Dwight Schr-ute]

My favorite comment so far on the photos, and in point with DH's comment about how they are being processed depending on your level of belief:

When I saw the picture of the stone, I must say I was pretty amazed at the color and shape, to think one so small. I never expected to see the stone, did not need to, I had enough faith to understand the Book of Mormon is the word of God...the accounts of the Prophet Joseph and his scribes are one in working toward the restoration of the Gospel of Christ...God bless all who except the restored Church upon faith.

Maybe I'm off, but I interpreted the comment to mean that she didn't need to see the seer stone to know that the BOM was translated by the power of God. As if someone has been doubting all these years due to the lack of evidence, but now that the stone has been displayed, there's no more need to doubt. What if this would have been the actual gold plates? Same principle, but definitely a more interesting reaction.

I highlighted the spelling error just because I found the slip to be pretty funny, given the context.