So that's the magical stone, eh?
Oh gee. Ain't this an age of miracles! The Pope defies his church's cannon to grant forgiveness to people who've made abortions; and now this...
Mormon church releases photos of 'seer stone' used by founder Joseph Smith
"The LDS Church provided a new glimpse of its origins Tuesday by publishing the handwritten "printer's manuscript" of the Book of Mormon and photos of the "seer stone," a dark, egg-size polished rock founder Joseph Smith claimed to have used to produce the faith's sacred scripture.
Both items are included in the just-released "Revelations and Translations: Volume 3," the 11th publication in the groundbreaking Joseph Smith Papers Project, as part of an effort to be "more transparent" about Mormonism's past, LDS Church Historian Steven E. Snow said at a news conference.
Smith said he was led to a set of buried gold plates, which recorded the history of ancient American civilizations and a visit to this continent by Jesus Christ. The Mormon prophet said he was able to "translate" the "reformed Egyptian" language, using spiritual tools, including his "seer stone."
So there it is. The magical pebble stone Joseph Smith used to receive the divine fax messages. I'm no expert, but looks like a Tiger eye stone to me. If memory serves, the claim is that Smith discovered this insignificant piece of geology in New York while helping his dad plow a field, or dig a well, or something of that sort. And all heaven broke loose upon him.
One might wonder why show the stone and those documents now. Has the LDS Church figured it's in a period of stagnation, or deterioration, or something? And it needs a new grand stunt? I'm not too familiar with the current dynamics within their cult, so I'm not sure. All I know is, it's all bullshit. But we already knew that, didn't we. Since we're going to talk about Faith & Reason this month.
Smith's purported "translations" of those Egyptian scriptures have been examined, and it's been established he was wrong in all his translations. They've compared his scribblings to the book of Abraham wherever possible, found the exact paper he ganked used for inventing his doctrine - and it became evident that indeed, he had zero formal Egyptian hieroglyphic training, and close to zero understanding of the texts. In a nutshell, he pulled it all out of his ass. But ya know, teaching the controversy, and all that sort of BS.
Additionally, LDS "scholars" have been trying to find evidence, any archeological evidence that the Lamanites came from Mesoamerica - to no avail. But of course, as we might expect to be the pattern with any religious cult, the regular Mormons don't seem to give a shit about the historical veracity of their Scripture anyway. It's just that they've been taught from day one into a lifestyle and have developed a sense of belonging to a close-knit community, and that's all that matters to them. As in any other religious cult, big or small. One might put it in other words, as well: many among them might fear the total social suicide that would follow from leaving said community. The stigma and marginalization, the destruction of their personal life. It's not like there haven't been plenty of examples about this.
And this extends to any such closed religious or cultural community - to one extent or another.
Btw, it's been curious to observe some Mormons' reactions to this new "revelation". As one Facebook commenter recently put it, they've met the news with a mix of "humor, cynicism, denial, avoidance and panic".
So next up: the LDS Church finally pulls those famed tablets out of their collective ass, too. Now wouldn't that be a sensation!
Now, I suppose you probably agree with me that the whole Mormon mythos is one big pile of stinking cat-poop. And you wouldn't be wrong. In that case, may I just casually remind you of Stephen F Roberts' words:
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one less god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
For convenience, you could paraphrase this by substituting "god" with "story", "myth", or "narrative" if you like - and you'd get my entire point.
Mormon church releases photos of 'seer stone' used by founder Joseph Smith
"The LDS Church provided a new glimpse of its origins Tuesday by publishing the handwritten "printer's manuscript" of the Book of Mormon and photos of the "seer stone," a dark, egg-size polished rock founder Joseph Smith claimed to have used to produce the faith's sacred scripture.
Both items are included in the just-released "Revelations and Translations: Volume 3," the 11th publication in the groundbreaking Joseph Smith Papers Project, as part of an effort to be "more transparent" about Mormonism's past, LDS Church Historian Steven E. Snow said at a news conference.
Smith said he was led to a set of buried gold plates, which recorded the history of ancient American civilizations and a visit to this continent by Jesus Christ. The Mormon prophet said he was able to "translate" the "reformed Egyptian" language, using spiritual tools, including his "seer stone."
So there it is. The magical pebble stone Joseph Smith used to receive the divine fax messages. I'm no expert, but looks like a Tiger eye stone to me. If memory serves, the claim is that Smith discovered this insignificant piece of geology in New York while helping his dad plow a field, or dig a well, or something of that sort. And all heaven broke loose upon him.
One might wonder why show the stone and those documents now. Has the LDS Church figured it's in a period of stagnation, or deterioration, or something? And it needs a new grand stunt? I'm not too familiar with the current dynamics within their cult, so I'm not sure. All I know is, it's all bullshit. But we already knew that, didn't we. Since we're going to talk about Faith & Reason this month.
Smith's purported "translations" of those Egyptian scriptures have been examined, and it's been established he was wrong in all his translations. They've compared his scribblings to the book of Abraham wherever possible, found the exact paper he ganked used for inventing his doctrine - and it became evident that indeed, he had zero formal Egyptian hieroglyphic training, and close to zero understanding of the texts. In a nutshell, he pulled it all out of his ass. But ya know, teaching the controversy, and all that sort of BS.
Additionally, LDS "scholars" have been trying to find evidence, any archeological evidence that the Lamanites came from Mesoamerica - to no avail. But of course, as we might expect to be the pattern with any religious cult, the regular Mormons don't seem to give a shit about the historical veracity of their Scripture anyway. It's just that they've been taught from day one into a lifestyle and have developed a sense of belonging to a close-knit community, and that's all that matters to them. As in any other religious cult, big or small. One might put it in other words, as well: many among them might fear the total social suicide that would follow from leaving said community. The stigma and marginalization, the destruction of their personal life. It's not like there haven't been plenty of examples about this.
And this extends to any such closed religious or cultural community - to one extent or another.
Btw, it's been curious to observe some Mormons' reactions to this new "revelation". As one Facebook commenter recently put it, they've met the news with a mix of "humor, cynicism, denial, avoidance and panic".
So next up: the LDS Church finally pulls those famed tablets out of their collective ass, too. Now wouldn't that be a sensation!
Now, I suppose you probably agree with me that the whole Mormon mythos is one big pile of stinking cat-poop. And you wouldn't be wrong. In that case, may I just casually remind you of Stephen F Roberts' words:
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one less god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
For convenience, you could paraphrase this by substituting "god" with "story", "myth", or "narrative" if you like - and you'd get my entire point.