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Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Seer Stones: The Urim & Thummim
Understanding how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon using seer stones, and the ancient tradition behind the Urim and Thummim.
Joseph Smith Seer Stones: Joseph Finds a Seer Stone
In rural 1820s America, seer stones were common folk beliefs—and young Joseph Smith's gift with one would shape the future of his movement.
Learn About Joseph Smith Seer Stones
Understanding Joseph Smith's teenage fascination with seer stones requires knowing the cultural context in which he lived.
Urim and Thummim: Sacred Artifact History (Part 2)
Was there one Urim and Thummim passed through generations, or did the Lord provide them as needed for each covenant people?
Urim and Thummim: Sacred Artifact History (Part 1)
No sacred artifact appears across more books of scripture, geographies, and hands throughout time than the Urim and Thummim.
Joseph Smith's Seer Stones
Seer stones appear throughout scripture—so why does Joseph Smith's use of them unsettle believers today?
Helen Mar Kimball: Joseph's Marriage Examined
Don Bradley unpacks the Helen Mar Kimball narrative, tracing how her father's proposal became a story about Joseph Smith's manipulation—and where the evidence diverges from that account.
Joseph Smith & Fanny Alger: Evidence & Accounts
Historian Don Bradley explores how chronological evidence and primary sources illuminate the nature and discovery of Joseph Smith's earliest plural marriage.
Joseph Smith & Fanny Alger: Dating the Evidence
Don Bradley uses converging historical evidence to narrow the timeline of Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger's relationship to a specific window in 1836.
Joseph Smith Wives: Official Declarations 1 and 2 (Part 3)
Joseph Smith prepared the Articles of Faith as a summary of Church beliefs for audiences outside the faith, emphasizing the principle of living revelation.
Joseph Smith Wives: Official Declarations 1 and 2 (Part 2)
Official Declarations 1 and 2 clarify the Church's positions on polygamy and the priesthood restriction, providing context for understanding both Joseph Smith's wives and Blacks in Mormonism.
Joseph Smith Wives: Official Declarations 1 and 2 (Part 1)
President Wilford Woodruff issued Official Declaration 1 in response to federal pressure, fundamentally changing the Church's stance on plural marriage.