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If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 11:41 pm
by _Jersey Girl
using a seer stone in a hat. Why does the LDS Church official website depict him translating Gold Plates sitting at a desk?

http://www.Mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1293-1,00.html

Jersey Girl

Re: If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormo

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:16 am
by _asbestosman
Jersey Girl wrote:using a seer stone in a hat. Why does the LDS Church official website depict him translating Gold Plates sitting at a desk?

http://www.Mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1293-1,00.html

Jersey Girl


Maybe there was more than one way that Joseph translated.

Re: If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormo

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:27 am
by _Jersey Girl
asbestosman wrote:
Jersey Girl wrote:using a seer stone in a hat. Why does the LDS Church official website depict him translating Gold Plates sitting at a desk?

http://www.Mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1293-1,00.html

Jersey Girl


Maybe there was more than one way that Joseph translated.


Could you give me a quote from Joseph Smith that supports that speculation?

Jersey Girl

Re: If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormo

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:45 am
by _asbestosman
Jersey Girl wrote:
asbestosman wrote:
Jersey Girl wrote:using a seer stone in a hat. Why does the LDS Church official website depict him translating Gold Plates sitting at a desk?

http://www.Mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1293-1,00.html

Jersey Girl


Maybe there was more than one way that Joseph translated.


Could you give me a quote from Joseph Smith that supports that speculation?

D&C 9 at least makes it apparent that some studying it out in the mind was important. Apparently asking and receiving wasn't how it worked. I would think a stone in a hat that does the work for you wouldn't exactly require much studying it out in your mind.

Re: If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormo

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:50 am
by _Jersey Girl
asbestosman wrote:
Jersey Girl wrote:
asbestosman wrote:
Jersey Girl wrote:using a seer stone in a hat. Why does the LDS Church official website depict him translating Gold Plates sitting at a desk?

http://www.Mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1293-1,00.html

Jersey Girl


Maybe there was more than one way that Joseph translated.


Could you give me a quote from Joseph Smith that supports that speculation?

D&C 9 at least makes it apparent that some studying it out in the mind was important. Apparently asking and receiving wasn't how it worked. I would think a stone in a hat that does the work for you wouldn't exactly require much studying it out in your mind.


I might be confused. Was Joseph required by God to translate, study or both?

Jersey Girl

Re: If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormo

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:51 am
by _moksha
Jersey Girl wrote:
asbestosman wrote:
Jersey Girl wrote:using a seer stone in a hat. Why does the LDS Church official website depict him translating Gold Plates sitting at a desk?

http://www.Mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1293-1,00.html

Jersey Girl


Maybe there was more than one way that Joseph translated.


Could you give me a quote from Joseph Smith that supports that speculation?

Jersey Girl

I think the line of reasoning goes that he used:
1. The Power Stone
2. Direct Channeling without a device
3. Urim and Thummin Goggles

Image
Urim and Thummin Goggles approximation

Re: If the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormo

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:54 am
by _asbestosman
Jersey Girl wrote:I might be confused. Was Joseph required by God to translate, study or both?

D&C 9 was given to Oliver Cowdery and instructed Oliver to study it out in his mind if Oliver wanted to translate. It seems logical that Joseph would have had to do the same. Therefore I would say that God said both.

Actually, in another section of the D&C God does command us to study about other lands and various such things.

Urim and Thummim

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:00 am
by _Gazelam
From what I understand, Joseph tried useing the Urim and Thummim originaly, but went with what he was comfortable with, which was the stone he had used previously.

The Stone did not work as a straight conduit. What actually occured was an education in translation. When Joseph had learned the language after this fashion, he stopped useing the Stone and Urim and Thummim.

So the answer is, both are correct. yes he used the stone in the Hat, and yes he sat at the desk.

Gaz

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:10 am
by _maklelan
A few different methods are documented, and it also doesn't make for good art to show a dude crawling into a hat. Artists are pretty much on their own when it comes to church art, which is why Jesus visiting the Nephites is always shown with rubble all over the place when it was almost a year after the destruction, and why Harry Anderson painted all the angels in the Second Coming as women. Should we get on Brinkley's back for painting Joseph incredibly stacked when Jews in that day didn't have Gold's Gyms to work out at? Should we whine about people painting Christ with a beard when it was illegal for JEwish men to have beards unless they were married? (Well, that's a whole other thread.) As far as I know, the church has not yet canoonized any art. I'll be sure to keep my eyes out, though.

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:18 am
by _Jersey Girl
maklelan wrote:A few different methods are documented, and it also doesn't make for good art to show a dude crawling into a hat. Artists are pretty much on their own when it comes to church art, which is why Jesus visiting the Nephites is always shown with rubble all over the place when it was almost a year after the destruction, and why Harry Anderson painted all the angels in the Second Coming as women. Should we get on Brinkley's back for painting Joseph incredibly stacked when Jews in that day didn't have Gold's Gyms to work out at? Should we whine about people painting Christ with a beard when it was illegal for JEwish men to have beards unless they were married? (Well, that's a whole other thread.) As far as I know, the church has not yet canoonized any art. I'll be sure to keep my eyes out, though.


Gee, I don't know maklelan, should you expect a church to accurately depict a historical event?

Jersey Girl