DiscussMormonism.com

Beastie made me think:

Are you now saying that the “hat trick” was inspired of God in all those practioners of folk magic? I ask because Joseph Smith clearly didn’t make this up, he borrowed this – and many of his other practices – from the folk magic of the time period.

So were all those folks looking at a rock in a hat inspired of God and really finding buried treasure with the trick?

We know that Joseph "translated" the Book of Mormon by looking at a stone in a hat, the same way he claimed to find buried treasure earlier. I know believing Mormons think he did translate the plates, but I'm wondering if you think he actually could see buried treasure through this means.

Runtu wrote:Beastie made me think:

Are you now saying that the “hat trick” was inspired of God in all those practioners of folk magic? I ask because Joseph Smith clearly didn’t make this up, he borrowed this – and many of his other practices – from the folk magic of the time period.

So were all those folks looking at a rock in a hat inspired of God and really finding buried treasure with the trick?

We know that Joseph "translated" the Book of Mormon by looking at a stone in a hat, the same way he claimed to find buried treasure earlier. I know believing Mormons think he did translate the plates, but I'm wondering if you think he actually could see buried treasure through this means.

If he did, don't you think it would be boasted about in church lesson material? Wouldn't there be witness testimony, like the gold plate witnesses, offered as proof that his stone worked? "Yea behold, we hired Joe Smith to find treasure with his stone and hat gizmo and he did, and we rejoiced." And the church would have stuck with the seer stone theory of translation if there was any evidence that it worked.

I don't even think Joseph believed that he could...


(Anyone who can digest the pickle of me being a "believer" and thinking the above; have at it).

SatanWasSetUp wrote:If he did, don't you think it would be boasted about in church lesson material? Wouldn't there be witness testimony, like the gold plate witnesses, offered as proof that his stone worked? "Yea behold, we hired Joe Smith to find treasure with his stone and hat gizmo and he did, and we rejoiced." And the church would have stuck with the seer stone theory of translation if there was any evidence that it worked.

Well, we do have Josiah Stowell's statement that Joseph almost found treasure, but an enchantment made the treasure slippery so that it went deeper when they tried to get it. They, did, however, locate a feather in a hole, under which Joseph said they would find treasure.

That should be sufficient enough, shouldn't it?

Doctor Steuss wrote:I don't even think Joseph believed that he could...


(Anyone who can digest the pickle of me being a "believer" and thinking the above; have at it).

Fascinating. I don't know how to digest that at all.

Yes. The treasure consisted of a cornucopia of dupes in the Burned Over District.

Sometimes I like to go into apologetic mode just to see what I would say.

I came up with this little diddy...

"Since Joseph Smith was pre-ordained to translate the Book of Mormon, he would have been given the gift of translating at birth. He could see things that others couldn't. Since God's preferred translation method was rocks and hats, it would only make sense that with this untrained talent, Joseph Smith would be able to see things by using a rock in a hat. Perhaps he was seeing the treasure in Cumorah 2, and just thought it was treasure buried under his feet? I kind of relate it to young Anakin Skywalker. He was strong in the force and was the only human that could pod race. He didn't know why, but his powers were there at an early age. It wasn't until he learned to channel these powers that he could really use them. Same with Joseph Smith."

Pretty good, huh?

Runtu wrote: They, did, however, locate a feather in a hole

This just sounds so dirty to me...

Doctor Steuss wrote:I don't even think Joseph believed that he could...


(Anyone who can digest the pickle of me being a "believer" and thinking the above; have at it).

Hmmm....digestion...pickle...

I've got plenty of jokes all of them verging on the fecal...

Dr. Steuss wrote:I don't even think Joseph believed that he could...

(Anyone who can digest the pickle of me being a "believer" and thinking the above; have at it).

It is not really a paradox, just an acknowledgment that God does not operate in that manner.

Blixa wrote:

Runtu wrote: They, did, however, locate a feather in a hole

This just sounds so dirty to me...

Is this one of those nefarious examples of animal husbandry?