Cunning folk traditions and the Latter Day Saint movement
Early church leaders were tolerant of these traditions, but by the beginning of the 20th century folk practices were not considered part of the orthopraxy of most branches of the movement, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[5] The extent that the founder of the movement Joseph Smith and his early followers participated in the culture has been the subject of controversy since before the church's founding in 1830, and continues to this day.[6][7]
Joseph Smith family
The
I shall change my theme for the present, but let not my reader suppose that because I shall pursue another topic for a season that we stopt our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles or soothsaying, to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation. But whilst we worked with our hands, we endeavored to remember the service of and the welfare of our souls.[11]
D. Michael Quinn has written that Lucy Mack Smith viewed these magical practices as "part of her family's religious quest" while denying that they prevented "family members from accomplishing other, equally important work."[12] Jan Shipps notes that while Smith's "religious claims were rejected by many of the persons who had known him in the 1820s because they remembered him as a practitioner of the magic arts," others of his earliest followers were attracted to his claims "for precisely the same reason."[13]
Smith reports using seer stones in the translation of the Book of Mormon,[14] as well as in the reception of several early revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants.[15]
Treasure-seeking activities
From about 1819, Smith regularly practiced
In late 1825, Josiah Stowell, a well-to-do farmer from
Visit of Angel Moroni
Smith said that on the night of Sunday, September 21, 1823, an
Mars Dagger
Hyrum Smith inherited and passed down several relics to his descendents. These include a "Mars Dagger", Mars being the ruling planet of Joseph Smith Sr.'s birth year.[21] Inscribed on one side of the dagger is the astrological symbol for mars, the occult seal of Mars, and "Adonay", a Hebrew word for "God". On the blade of the dagger is the zodiacal sign of Scorpio.[21] Specially consecrated daggers or swords were often prescribed when drawing magic circles.[22] Several factors lead scholars to believe that the dagger originally belonged to Joseph Smith Sr.: Palmyra residents where the Smith family resided did not mention Hyrum as a participant in the frequent treasure digs that Joseph Smith Jr. and his father participated in, sources frequently mention Joseph Smith Sr. and his son Joseph Smith Jr. drawing magic circles, the astrological signs on the dagger belonged to Joseph Smith Sr. not Hyrum, and Joseph Sr. ordained Hyrum as a patriarch on his deathbed making him a natural heir of family heirlooms.[21]
Amulets, Charms and Talismans
Amulets, charms and talismans were part of the religious environment of the Smith family and other early Latter Day Saints.[23]
Joseph Smith possessed a "Jupiter Talisman," a silver coin shaped device that would have been worn on Smith's body to grant "decisive victory over enemies, to defend against machinations, and to inspire the wearer thereof with the most remarkable confidence."[24][25] The design of the talisman matches exactly those found in an 1801 grimoire titled The Magus[24][26] Family lore had it that Smith had it on his body the day of his martyrdom.[24]
Smith, and then later Brigham Young, also owned a silver "Masonic Dove Medallion," which is inscribed on the back "Fortitude Lodge No. 42."[27] This masonic lodge was based out of New Brunswick, Canada, and it is unclear how it arrived into Smith's possession, as there are no known connections with that lodge early Latter Day Saints.[27] Additionally, a dove was not a common Masonic symbol in the early 1800s. The medallion was transferred to Brigham Young and then Historian D. Michael Quinn has suggested that the medallion could possibly be a charm associated with Venus, given the medallion is silver as prescribed in magic books and a dove is a symbol for Venus.[27]
Brigham Young accepted the efficacy of seer stones, healing amulets and witches.[28] Young had a bloodstone that according to his niece he wore around his neck on a chain for protection "when going into unknown or dangerous places."[23][28][29]
Divining Rods
Both Joseph Smith Jr. and his father used divining rods.[30]
One of Joseph Smith's early
Purportedly, Brigham Young used Cowdery's rod to mark the site of the Salt Lake Temple[33] Apostle Anthon H. Lund wrote in his diary:
In the revelation to Oliver Cowdery in May 1829, Bro. [B. H.] Roberts said that the gift which the Lord says he has in his hand meant a stick which was like Aaron's Rod. It is said Bro. Phineas Young [brother-in-law of Oliver Cowdery and brother of Brigham Young] got it from him [Cowdery] and gave it to President Young who had it with him when he arrived in this [Salt Lake] valley and that it was with that stick that he pointed out where the Temple should be built.[34]
In 1843, James C. Brewster, who had formed a splinter group, claimed that in 1836 prior to an Ohio treasure quest, that presiding Patriarch Joseph Smith Sr. "anointed the mineral rods and seeing stones with consecrated oil, and prayed over them in the house of the Lord in Kirtland."[35]
Heber C. Kimball was given a three and a half foot rod by Joseph Smith, with which he practiced rhabdomancy, believing "all he had to do was kneel down with rod in his hands and ... sometimes the Lord would answer his questions" by causing the rod to move.[36][37] According to Kimball, he would ask yes–no questions, movement meant "yes" and no movement meant "no". His use of the rod for divining continued until at least 1862.[38]
Apostle Willard Richards had a black cane that he used to lay on people's head who had a sickness in order to heal them "through the power of God."[39]
Coffin Canes
When Joseph and Hyrum were killed in 1844, the bloodstained wooden boxes used to transport the body of Joseph Smith was cut up into a number of canes. Smith's body was exhumed seven months later to a different burial site, and the coffin used for transport then was also made into canes.[39] Some of the canes were made from leftover wood from the burial coffins.[40] Owners of these canes included Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Snow, Perrigrine Sessions, Philo Dibble, James Bird, William S. Wadsworth, Heber C. Kimball, Lucius Scovil, Sidney Rigdon, and Dimick B. Huntington. Rigdon's was given to him after he had been excommunicated in 1845 in a magnanimous gesture by Brigham Young.[39]
Various Latter Day Saints attested to the healing properties of these canes. In an 1857 sermon, Kimball stated that "the day will come when there will be multitudes who will be healed and blessed through the instrumentality of those canes, and the devil cannot overcome those who have them, in consequence of their faith and confidence in the virtues connected with them."[39][40]
Seer Stones
In the early 1820s in the
Smith's early use of seer stones is well documented but the provenance of each stone and the timeline are unclear. One account describes him borrowing the seer stone of a local girl, possibly Sally Chase, and using it to find his own first stone.[32]
Joseph Smith's mother records that Sally Chase's abilities as a seer were used by locals to try to find and steal the gold plates from Joseph after he had obtained them.[44] "A young woman by the name Chase (Sister to Willard Chase) found a green glass, through which she could see many very wonderful things, and, among her great discoveries, she said that she saw, the precise place where 'Joe. Smith kept his gold Bible hid.' And, obedient to her directions, they gathered their forces and laid siege to the cooper shop."
A young woman living at the home of David Whitmer in Ohio in 1838 reported receiving a number of revelations about the downfall of Joseph Smith by looking through a black stone that she had found. Some disaffected church members followed after her.[47]
In 1841, apostles Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith confiscated several seer stones and grimoires from convert William Mountford in Staffordshire, England. The grimoires were destroyed and seer stones were sent to Nauvoo. Joseph Smith examined the stones and stated that they were "Urim and Thummim as good as ever was upon the earth" but that they had been "consecrated to devils."[48]
Astrology
LDS Church members' views towards astrology ranged from acceptance to hostility, but were generally ambivalent, views reflected in the church's leadership.
William W. Phelps published an almanac in Utah from 1851 to 1866. The first edition did not include the standard astrological information expected of almanacs, calling them "matters of ancient fancy".[52][56] Later editions did, even while criticizing their effectiveness, an indication that there was a demand for it.[52] Phelps wrote and spoke often against astrology, but by 1857, after Brigham Young told him that astrology was true, Phelps changed his mind, believing instead that astrology was "one of the sciences belonging to the holy Priesthood perverted by vain man."[52] By 1861, Young himself seems to have changed his mind about the utility of astrology, telling an individual who wanted to start an astrology school that, "it would not do to favor Astrology.[57][58]
In 1868, the Salt Lake School of the Prophets decided that "Astrology was in opposition to the work of God. Hence saints should not be engaged in it," which was followed up with an article in the Deseret News decrying it. From that time on astrology has been considered an unacceptable practice.[59]
One notable post-1868 exception was
See also
- List of references to seer stones in the Latter Day Saint movement history
- Phrenology and the Latter Day Saint movement
- Salamander letter
- The Magus (book)
Notes
- ^ a b Luffman, Dale E. The Book of Mormons Witness to Its First Readers. Community of Christ Seminary Press, 2013. ebook location 1719 of 4274
- ^ Walker, Ronald W. (1984) "Joseph Smith: The Palmyra Seer," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 24 : Iss. 4 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol24/iss4/5
- ^ Owen Davies, Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2003);
- ^ Stapley, Jonathan. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 106.
- ^ Stapley, Jonathan. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 4, 107.
- ^ a b Walker, Ronald W. (1984) "Joseph Smith: The Palmyra Seer," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 24 : Iss. 4 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol24/iss4/5
- ^ For a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apologetic point of view, see: https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Occultism_and_magic
- ^ Quinn 1998, p. xx–xxi: A 1985 memorandum sent from the headquarters of the LDS Church Educational System to regional and local administrators read, "Even if the [Mark Hofmann] letters were to be unauthentic, such issues as Joseph Smith's involvement in treasure-seeking and folk magic remain. Ample evidence exists for both of these, even without the letters."
- ^ Thomas, Keith (1971), Religion and the Decline of Magic, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 256
- ^ Smith 1838a, pp. 42–43 (saying that he had been a "money digger" but that it "was never a very profitable job to him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it"). "Elders Journal", Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1 (43), July 1838. For a discussion of Smith's money-digging activities by an academic LDS biographer, see Bushman 2005, pp. 48–49.
- ^ Smith, Lucy Mack (1844), Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. [3], Nauvoo, IL
- ^ Quinn 1998, p. 55: "Joseph Smith's mother did not deny her family participation in occult activities but simply affirmed that these did not prevent family members from accomplishing other, equally important work." In a note at Vogel 1996, p. 285 (n. 84), Dan Vogel argues that this sentence from the draft may have been excised from the 1853 edition of Lucy Mack Smith's memoirs because of its allusion to folk magic, "which was a sensitive subject for those not wishing to give credence to claims made in affidavits collected in 1833 by Philastus Hurlbut."
- ^ Shipps 1985, p. 18.
- ^ "History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]," p. 9, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 1, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/11
- ^ Vancleave, James R. B., "letter to Joseph Smith III", in Lyndon W. Cook (ed.), David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness, pp. 239–40 See also https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/seer-stones?lang=eng
- ^ Seer Stones
- ^ Harris (1859, p. 164); Mather (1880, p. 199). According to an account of an interview with Joseph Smith Sr., the 14-year-old Joseph borrowed a stone from a person working as a local crystal gazer Lapham (1870, pp. 305–306) which reportedly showed him the underground location of another stone near his home, which he located at a depth of about twenty-two feet. According to another story, in either 1819 Tucker (1867, p. 19) or 1822 Howe (1834, p. 240), while the older Smith males were digging a well for a Palmyra neighbor, they found an unusual stone Harris (1859, p. 163), described as either white and glassy and shaped like a child's foot or "chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped." Roberts (1930, 1:129). Smith then used this stone as a seer stone.Tucker (1867, p. 20).
- ^ Ostling & Ostling (1999, p. 25).
- ^ Vogel (2004, p. 69).
- ^ "History, circa June 1839–circa 1841 [Draft 2]," p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 21, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-circa-june-1839-circa-1841-draft-2/4
- ^ a b c Quinn 1998, p. 6792 of 23423
- ^ Clay L. Chandler, "Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon" Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought , Winter 2003, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Winter 2003), pp. 43-78 Published by: University of Illinois Press
- ^ a b Quinn 1998, p. 6660 of 23423
- ^ a b c Quinn 1998, p. 7395 of 23423
- ^ Chandler, C. L. (2003). Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon. Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 36(4), 43–78.
- ^ Francis Barrett, The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer; Being a Complete System of Occult Philosophy, Lackington Allen and Co., 1801 page 174
- ^ a b c Quinn 1998, p. 7503 of 23423
- ^ a b Turner, J. G. (2014). Brigham young: Pioneer prophet. Belknap Harvard.
- ^ Richard Van Wagoner, Steven Turner "Joseph Smith:The Gift of Seeing" Dialogue Journal, Summer 1982, page 66
- ^ Quinn 1998, p. 4261 of 23423
- ^ a b Smith, J., & Marquardt, H. M. (2013). Joseph Smith's 1828–1843 revelations. Xulon Press
- ^ ISBN 9781944394059.
- ^ Quinn, D. M. (1994). The Mormon hierarchy: Origins of power. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates. location 17249 of 17270
- ^ John P. Hatch, "Danish Apostle: The Diaries of Anthon H. Lund, 1890–1921" Signature Books, 2006, page 128
- ^ Quinn, D. M. (1994). The Mormon hierarchy: Origins of power. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates. e-book location 16740 of 17270
- ^ Solomon F. Kimball, "Sacred History," archives, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah
- ^ Stanley B. Kimball, "On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball", Signature Books, 1987, page 65
- ^ Quinn, D. M. (1994). The Mormon hierarchy: Origins of power. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates. location 14683, 16920 of 17270
- ^ a b c d D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), e-book location 20546 of 23423.
- ^ a b Barnett, Steven G. (1981) "The Canes of the Martyrdom," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 8
- ^ Walker, Ronald W. (1984) "The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 24 : Iss. 4 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol24/iss4/4
- ^ D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1987), 38.
- ^ Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1984), 70.
- ^ Smith, Lucy Mack (1845), Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, Nauvoo, IL, p. 116
- ^ Emer Harris statement, in Utah Stake General Minutes, Local Record 9629, ser. 11, vol. 10 (1855–60), 6 April 1856, Church History Library.
- ^ Dyer, Alvin R., Refiner's Fire: The Significance of Events Transpiring in Missouri, 2nd ed. rev. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1968), 257-259
- ^ Smith, Lucy Mack (1845), Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, Nauvoo, IL, p. 235 "At this time a certain young woman, who was living at David Whitmer's uttered a prophecy; which she said was given her, by looking through a black stone that she had found. This prophecy gave some altogether a new idea of things. She said, the reason why one third of the church would turn away from Joseph was, because that he was in transgression himself; and would fall from his office on account of the same; that David Whitmer or Martin Harris would fill Joseph's place: and that the one, who did not succeed him, would be councillor to him who did. This girl soon became an object of great attention among those who were disaffected. Dr. Williams, the ex justice of the peace, became her scribe; and wrote her revelations for her. Jared Carter, who lived in the same house with David Whitmer, soon imbibed the same spirit; and I was informed, that he said in one of their meetings, that he had 'power to raise Joe. Smith to the highest heaven, or Sink him down to the lowest hell.' ... his confession was received, and he was forgiven. But the rest of his party continued obstinate They still held their secret meetings at David Whitmer's; and when the young woman, who was their instructress was through giving what revelations she intended for the evening, she would jump out of her chair and dance over the floor, boasting of her power until she was perfectly exhausted. Her proselytes would also, in the most vehement manner, proclaim their purity and holiness, and the mighty power which they were going to have."
- ^ Stapley, Jonathan. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 110.
- ^ John Steele papers, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Provo, Utah
- ^ a b Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 112.
- ^ Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: pages 112-113.
- ^ a b c d David J. Whittaker "Almanacs in the New England Heritage of Mormonism" Brigham Young University Studies Vol. 29, No. 4 (FALL 1989), pp. 89-113
- ^ In his 1845, 1846 almanac, Pratt still published astrological information as was standard practice for almanacs, but wrote that they were, "vulgar and erroneous ideas of the Ancients." Orson Pratt, Prophetic Almanac for 1846 (New York: New York Messenger Office, 1845), 2 found online at:https://archive.org/details/PropheticAlmanac18441845/page/n25/mode/2up
- ^ Allen, James B. No Toil Nor Labor Fear: The Story of William Clayton Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002 pages 328-338
- ^ Donald G. Godfrey and Rebecca S. Martineau-McCarty, eds., An Uncommon Common Pioneer: The Journals of James Henry Martineau, 1828–1918 Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008, pages 15, 29, 37
- ^ W. W. Phelps, Deseret Almanac 1851, page 2. online at https://archive.org/details/deseretalmanacfo00phel/page/n1/mode/2up, Deseret Almanac 1853 page 3 online at https://archive.org/details/deseretalmanacfo04phel/page/n1/mode/2up
- ^ "Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: footnote 41.
- ^ Brigham Young, office journal, December 30, 1861, Box 72, Folder 5. Brigham Young Office Files Church History Library
- ^ Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 113.
- ISBN 978-1400032808. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ ]
- ISSN 1062-094X. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ Van Leer, Twila (December 3, 1996). "'Doc' Mixed Science and Quackery". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Toquerville". Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Arizona Gazetteer and Business Directory. R.L Polk & Co. 1884. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
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