This article was revised on 9/25/24

Check out this Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired August 17-21, 2015 Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  

Also consider this Viewpoint on Mormonism series that originally aired August 23-27, 2021 titled “Joseph Smith as Translator” Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

By Eric Johnson

Art can be very powerful. It tells a story. For instance, what is your idea when you see this photograph from June 1989 regarding the issue of China and democracy?

This image had a powerful effect on many who knew little about the details of the June 1989 student uprising in China but were affected by this solitary image. Or what do you see when you view this painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo?

The artist wanted the reader to feel a certain way and even believe as he does. There is power in visual imagery such as these.

The Translation of the Book of Mormon and Church Art

For many years, Latter-day Saints were led to believe that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by looking directly at the gold plates that he supposedly dug up out of the ground in 1827 that had been buried by Moroni, whom leaders have taught was the last living Nephite, in the fifth century AD. This same Moroni is said to have come back as an angel about fourteen centuries later; Moroni introduced Smith to the plates in 1823, allowing him to take them home in 1827.

For decades, the image of the translation process as advertised by the church is typified in this cover from the February 2001 Ensign magazine, an official publication of the LDS Church:

Look at the painting carefully. Joseph Smith is peering down at the gold plates, with his fingers running across one of the plates of the unsealed portion. Since it is taught that only one-third of the plates were unsealed, it appears that he’s almost at the end of his translation. The candle light provides illumination, with a quill pen standing on the table to the very left, symbolizing that this portrayal is during the time of translation. We assume that Oliver Cowdery or one of several other transcribers is sitting on the other side of the table writing down Smith’s words. The conclusion any objective observer would have when looking at this painting is that Joseph Smith is translating the plates, letter by letter and word by word, by literally looking at the plates.

Another example can be found on page 53 in the Church History in the Fulness of Times Religion 341-43, 2nd edition, published in 2000.

Notice the picture by Del Parson. The plates are out, with Oliver writing down as fast as Smith could dictate. The last line on page 53 says that “he translated, with the Urim and Thummim. . .” However, no Urim or Thummim is shown by Parson. Smith appears to look at the plates with his naked eyes, his fingers touching the plates. Again, this seems to be the normal way the church portrayed the translation. The seer stone was hardly ever mentioned, although it certainly was occasionally referenced. For instance, Seventy B.H. Roberts made mention of the stone several times in the early 20th century as did 17th President Russell M. Nelson, who referenced David Whitmer’s account in the July 1993 Ensign magazine. Still, there was absolutely no emphasis on this seer stone or much conjecture, except for those General Authorities who absolutely refuted the seer stone being used in the translation process of the Book of Mormon. Let me just cite a couple.

One was Apostle John Widtsoe, who wrote the following:

The charge of “crystal gazing” came of course from Joseph Smith’s use of the ‘Seer Stone’ (though there is no evidence that he used the Seer Stone in sacred work,) and the Urim and Thummim, and from his treasure hunting in his employment by Josiah Stoal to dig for treasure, and from Joseph’s story that he found golden plates, buried in a hill. It is a marvel that authors writing against Joseph Smith’s spiritual claims would stoop to mull over interminably, charges evidently manufactured by admitted enemies to suit their purposes (Joseph Smith—Seeker after Truth, Prophet of God, p. 80).

He also wrote:

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 (Ibid., p. 267).

Another General Authority who denied that Smith used the seer stone in his spiritual work was 10th President Joseph Fielding Smith, who once served as the church’s historian. In his 3-volume classic series Doctrines of Salvation–you can’t get more official with a book title than “doctrines of salvation”–he wrote:

While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22-24 (Doctrines of Salvation 3:225).

He also said,

SEER STONE NOT USED IN BOOK OF MORMON TRANSLATION. We have been taught since the days of the Prophet that the Urim and Thummim were returned with the plates to the angel. We have no record of the Prophet having the Urim and Thummim after the organization of the Church. Statements of translations by the Urim and Thummim after that date are evidently errors. 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. While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22-24” (Doctrines of Salvation 3:225-226).

Now fast forward almost two decades later. In the December 2017 Ensign magazine, Seventy Marcus B. Nash wrote an article titled “Joseph Smith: Strength out of Weakness.” A painting we have never seen before was shown on pages 58 and 59. Here it is:

Another version of this painting–with minor differences–was published in the January 2020 Ensign magazine dedicated to the Book of Mormon. This was included on pages 38-39 in the article titled “The Translation of the Book of Mormon: A Marvel and a Wonder”  authored by Seventy LeGrand R. Curtis Jr.:

Notice how the scribe (we assume it is Oliver Cowdery) sits on one side of the table opposite of Joseph Smith.  The plates are covered in a white cloth bag, a much different portrayal than what is depicted in the 2001 church painting. A top hat sits behind the plates, as only an eighth (or so) of the front part of the hat can be seen. Smith’s hand rests on the hat, as if he is steadying it. His cupped hand appears to be an attempt to help keep light out in order for him to better read the words shining off the seer stone; an informed audience would assume that a seer stone rests at the bottom of the hat.

Why is the hat only partially shown? In the 2017 Ensign article, a short description of the stone is given but nothing else. Unless I missed something, this had been the first artist’s portrayal of the hat (and assumed seer stone). I believe that the hat is only partially shown in order to not draw undue attention to those who might skim the article and hardly notice the introduction of a hat with an assumed seer stone inside.

There are a few minor differences between the 2017 and 2020 paintings. For one, the 2017 version has a black hat, while the hat in the the 2020 version is white. Smith is looking up in the first painting, while he is more hunched over and appears ready to look into the hat in the second. In the first, he writes down what Smith has just told him while in the second he puts his quill pen into the ink as he prepares for the next words from Joseph Smith. Also, a candle is shown in the second painting, which is not there in the  first. Otherwise, it appears everything else is the same.

In 2024, a new painting was displayed at the Church History Museum across the street from Temple Square (see photo at the beginning of the article). It shows Smith, with his right hand on the covered plates and his left hand holding a top hat that we can assume holds the seer stone. No mention is made in the description of the seer stone or the actual translation process.

What about the Seer Stone?

For decades most Latter-day Saints took the translation of the Book of Mormon in the way that earlier portrayals depicted it. Imagine the surprise of many Mormons when a 2015 Gospel Topics Essay admitted that the seer stone was used in the translation of the Book of Mormon. (See MRM’s review of the essay here.) If the reader doubts this, I suggest finding a former Latter-day Saint who is willing to be honest and ask, “Were you always taught about the seer stone in the Book of Mormon translation?” I was never a Latter-day Saint, so I cannot state this definitely from my own experience. However, I have asked several dozen former Mormons this question and the answer is always “no!” Often I have been told how they were also never taught that Smith had married multiple wives (including teenagers and married women) or that the Book of Abraham was a spiritual, not literal, translation. These are other admissions that were made in the Gospel Topics Essays that were published between 2013-15.

In 2015, one church historian brought up the seer stone in a church magazine in conjunction with the urim and thummim:

Not all the details about the translation of the Book of Mormon are known, but Joseph and his scribes did mention his use of two instruments. One was the Urim and Thummim (called the “interpreters” in the Book of Mormon), which Joseph received with the plates and “which consisted of two transparent stones set in the
rim of a bow.” The other instrument was a seer stone that Joseph had found some years before. Both of these instruments helped him translate the plates “by the gift, and power of God. (Steven E. Snow, “Joseph Smith in Harmony,” Ensign, September 2015, p. 55).

Today there is a display in the Church History Museum (across the street from Temple Square) portraying the actual seer stone. Take a tour with us at the museum by clicking here.

In the January 2020 article, Curtis reports matter-of-factly about the seer stone as if this information was a fact that all Saints have always been taught. He quotes David Whitmer’s account on page 40:

Joseph Smith 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. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.

Curtis adds:

All of us who have tried to read illuminated words on a screen can understand why Joseph would have used a hat or something else to screen out extraneous light when he was reading the words on the seer stone.

This Seventy writes as if what he says is common knowledge all Latter-day Saints always knew. After all, Whitmer wrote his pamphlet in the 1880s, close to a century and a half ago! Yet what about the time before 2015? Many questions are unanswered, including these:

• Why did the LDS Church leaders make it appear that Smith ran his finger over the literal Book of Mormon plates when they certainly knew this was not the case? (Possible answer: It looks more spiritual to have uncovered plates and no hat/seer stone than having the Mormon founder look at a magic rock to get the translation.)
• What was it that made the church come to terms with the real history? (Possible answer: The Internet has shed too much of the history for the church to deny this fact any longer, and perhaps coming to terms is nothing more than damage control.)
• If Smith didn’t need to look at the plates for the actual translation of the Book of Mormon, then why did he have to take the plates home with him in 1827 when they were so heavy, most likely weighing over 200 pounds? (See here.)
• Did the plates need to be near-by in order to translate them, even though Smith didn’t look at them with his literal eyes? (Possible answer: Does God work through “osmosis”? If so, it seemed like the translation could have just as easily come with the seer stone even if the plates were three miles away.)

Every Latter-day Saint ought to wonder why the church now appears to be so eager to tell its history in its magazines pages and include art that had never appeared before 2017.

Conclusion and Something to Think About

Yes, the Seer Stone had been acknowledged by church leaders in the years before the 2015 Gospel Topics essay was published. Rarely was the seer stone mentioned, let alone pointed to in the translation of the Book of Mormon. Things changed in 2015 when several unnamed church historians wrote a Gospel Topics essay admitting that the seer stone was used in the translation of the Book of Mormon. A number of Latter-day Saints testify have testified that they were taught about the seer stone before 2015. For instance, Justin Porter wrote on the MRM Facebook page and said, “I do know that when I was a kid going to church they always taught us that’s how the Book of Mormon was translated, by Joseph Smith looking in his top hat with the seer stones, so nothing has changed, at least not in the last 40 years.”

However, I’ve talked to a number of Latter-day Saints who deny that their local leaders taught this. Concerning the church art depicting the Book of Mormon translation, ex-Mormon Mindy Martin wrote,  “It’s true…growing up, there was never a piece of church art with Joseph looking in a hat but rather leaning very inquisitively over the plates. It’s blatant deception.” She’s right. And as pointed out in this article, several leaders vehemently denied the stones were ever used by Smith in his spiritual work.

Today, the church leaders is banking on the story that Smith did use the seer stone. The purpose of this article was to show how the church–through its writings and artwork depicting the translation process–never gave the impression that a seer stone was used prior to 2015. Why? Probably because it sounds strange that Smith kept the plates covered in a bag while he peered into a top hat and watch a stone light up so he could give the exact words to his scribe. This whole process seems strange and could have been easily rejected in the 20th century where superstition is minimized in importance. Credit the Internet, perhaps more than anything else, for this change of heart. Regardless of the reason, the church has now changed its tune and no longer stresses the idea that Smith translated with his naked eyes–at least the artwork has changed to no longer show this to be the case.

My questions are, Why did the church deceive both its people and the general public? And shouldn’t Latter-day Saints be dismayed that, for many years, they were lied to? This should cause a Latter-day Saint to pause.

• See the article “Should Church Art Coincide with the Facts?”
• Check out the 8-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast series that aired in October 2015: Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8
• 10 reasons why a person ought to consider becoming a Christian