Everything You Need to Know About Seer Stones (Peep Stones)

In the Book of Mormon, various prophets had access to a revelatory instrument known as the “interpreters” or “directors.” This object was eventually sealed with the gold plates and delivered to Joseph Smith in 1827, who described it as “two stones in silver bows and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim.” Smith further remarked that “the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times” (Joseph Smith—History 1:35). In addition to having an Old World counterpart in seer stones in the Bible, the Nephite interpreters delivered to Joseph Smith have fascinating New World analogs.

Mesoamerica

In modern Mesoamerica, anthropologists have noted the presence of shamanic seers known as aj-meen or hmeen, which literally means “one who knows and does” or “practitioner.” Now you may be asking, “What is the seer stone made of?” According to Mark Alan Wright, “The aj-men use crystals, clear rocks, or even fragments of broken glass bottles as a medium through which they receive revelation.” These stones are called a zaztun (plural zaztuno’ob), which means “clear stone” or “stone of light.” Because of their reflective properties, some stones are fashioned into a small ritual mirror. Others are transparent or translucent, allowing the user to instead look through them.

Michael R. Ash has noted that quartz, jade, and obsidian have all been used as zaztun. While quartz is typically white or transparent, jade and obsidian are usually colored green or black. Yet even these stones are sometimes found in white or transparent varieties, making them possible candidates for the white seer stone, which several 19th-century sources described as being “white” or “transparent.”

While still present among the modern Maya, the practice of using a zaztun to receive revelation dates back at least to the Early Classic period, and perhaps even earlier. They were especially used in divinatory practices whereby the shaman could communicate with the heavens. According to John J. McGraw, these “crystals are often associated with divinatory scrying, that is, obtaining occult information through flashes of light or images on any of a variety of reflective surfaces.” Furthermore, as explained by Mesoamericanist Karl Taube, “Ancient Mesoamerican mirrors were surely considered to be sources of information” comparable to “reading a sacred book.”

Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houston note that the ritual specialists who use zaztuno’ob are “seemingly imbued with far greater spiritual and perhaps real power” than others. “These specialists still play an important role in divination and prophecy, using their peep stones to scry the future.” Taube also notes that the Huichol shaman apprentices use these devices “as a channel of communication with the deity” of the sacred location wherein they practice. Similarly, Wright notes these stones provide “the means of communicating with the Otherworld and enable the ritual specialist to tap into divine powers.”

Such stones are often acquired through some sort of divine intervention. According to Wright, “Maya shamans believe that true zaztuno’ob are gifts from the gods that have been intentionally placed along their paths for them to find.” A shaman may receive “spiritual guidance to lead them to where they will find” the stone and sometimes may even be “given vivid dreams or visions of where it is located.”

On several points, the use of the zaztuno’ob among the Maya matches the Book of Mormon’s description of the interpreters remarkably well. In at least one instance, it can be said that the interpreters were a direct gift from God. In Ether 3:1, the brother of Jared “did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones” which he hoped would give light for his people’s barges.

However, after communicating with the Lord face to face, the brother of Jared was given two additional stones to be used as divining instruments: “And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write” (Ether 3:23–24).

Wright believes that this event is comparable to the divine bestowal of a zaztun to Mesoamerican shamans, albeit done in a much more profound way: “The brother of Jared went up the mount with sixteen stones, but he came down with eighteen; the two extra stones were the interpreters that were given to him by the Lord. Just as Maya ritual specialists believe their clear stones are gifts directly from their gods, the brother of Jared was given his peep stones by the Lord himself.”

Zaztuno’ob and Sacred Bundles

In addition to being worn or used for revelation, zaztuno’ob were often sealed inside a sacred bundle of objects. According to Ash, these bundles included “sacred items such as stelae, body parts, weapons, figurines, sacred stones, mirrors, and earflares,” but could also contain “clothing and regalia” as well as “sacred writings or tools for writing.”

When Moroni sealed the plates in a stone box, he included the interpreters, breastplate, Liahona, and the sword of Laban alongside them. Each of these relics has parallels with one or more of the items typically stored in the sacred bundles.

Interestingly, Mesoamerican bundles are often depicted as being opened “during the onset of a new era,” during times of crisis, or to reestablish a familial right or claim to legitimacy. Ash noted that this describes the Book of Mormon perfectly: “The Book of Mormon, like Mesoamerican bundles, was also opened in a time of crisis, and in a new era—a time of restoration of things that had been lost.”

Thus, the preservation of the interpreters fits a Mesoamerican context as Moroni looked forward to the time when the Book of Mormon would be unsealed and translated for the world in a distant age.

The degree to which ancient shamanic rituals in Mesoamerica invoked genuine supernatural power can’t be known. It is possible that many of these beliefs and practices were grounded in mere superstition. On the other hand, the gospel of Jesus Christ can accommodate a wide variety of genuine spiritual gifts, as well as the proper or improper use of such gifts.

Thus, it is possible that at least some of the shamanic scrying activities in ancient America could have involved genuine spiritual gifts or power. This recalls the experience of Joseph Smith himself, who had a true gift for spiritual sight or visions but had to learn how did Joseph Smith obtain the brown seer stone and use that gift only for divinely sanctioned purposes, including the proper use of his own brown seer stone.

To whatever extent such gifts actually operated in ancient Mesoamerica, it is clear that the Book of Mormon’s discussion of sacred revelatory stones is at home in that cultural worldview. This correlation is meaningful within the theological framework of the gospel, since God often communicates to his servants within their own cultural context.

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Mormonism Explained is a resource that was designed to provide objective and factual information about Mormonism, its history, doctrines, and policies. Our team of researchers consults experts and primary sources to present factual information on a variety of topics relevant to the Mormon Church.

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