What is a seer stone?
Historically, seer stones are objects that people believed to possess supernatural properties. Seer stone users used them to receive divine revelations, locate hidden objects, or gain other forms of spiritual insight. These stones have appeared in various cultural and religious contexts, including ancient civilizations, folk traditions, and notably in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which includes Joseph Smith seer stones.
In ancient civilizations, seer stones, or similar objects, were used for divination and scrying. In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, for instance, priests and shamans would use various tools to interpret the will of the gods or foresee future events. In Genesis 44, Joseph of Egypt has a cup that he drinks out of “whereby indeed he divineth.” Mormons also believe that there were seer stones in the Bible as part of the Urim and Thummim, which the ancient Israelite priests used to divine the will of God on multiple occasions (Exodus 28:30; 1 Samuel 14:41-42).
Similar to ancient traditions, in European folk traditions, “peep stones” or “seeing stones” were commonly used for locating lost items, treasure hunting, and receiving visions. These practices were part of a broader tradition of folk magic that thrived in many European communities. These traditions were transplanted to New England as European immigrants made their way to the Americas.
Seer stones represent an interesting intersection of folklore and religion in early Mormon history. As a part of the New England community, Joseph Smith was familiar with the folk traditions surrounding seer stones and began using them sometime in his youth. Eventually, they would become some of the tools Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon.
How did Joseph Smith obtain the brown seer stone?
Joseph Smith had at minimum two seer stones. However, according to Brigham Young, Joseph Smith had five seer stones at some point. There are two known Joseph Smith seer stones and they are distinguished by their colors: the brown or chocolate seer stone and the white seer stone. Not counted among these stones are the Nephite interpreters, however, they served the same functions as the brown and white seer stones during the translation of the Book of Mormon. Because of this, some scholars count the Nephite Interpreters (Urim and Thummim) among Joseph Smith’s seer stones.
So, how did Joseph Smith obtain the brown seer stone? There are two common, credible stories about how Joseph Smith obtained his first seer stone. The two narratives are intertwined and are difficult to parse. However, the first account states that Joseph Smith found his first seer stone by gazing into someone else’s seer stone and the second is that he found the seer stone while digging a well. The most common locations for these accounts are Lake Erie and the Willard Chase farm. The most credible sources that confirm these accounts come from Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff.
Whether these are two separate accounts or if it is a single account, is unclear. Nor is it clear which account refers to the brown seer stone and which account refers to the white seer stone. Today, the brown seer stone is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which published pictures of it in 2015. What is the seer stone made of? The physical appearance of the brown seer stone makes it likely that the stone is made out of banded iron jasper. This type of stone is also called the Genesis Stone because of its extreme age. It can only be found in a few locations in the world, one of which is around the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie. So, the most likely scenario is that Joseph Smith found the brown seer stone on the shores of Lake Erie by looking into another person’s seer stone and found the white seer stone while digging a well at the Willard Chase farm.
By Todd Noall, Source Expert
Todd Noall is an author and religious scholar at Mormonism Explained with a focus on the history and theology of religion.
Fact Checked by Mr. Kevin Prince, Source Expert
Kevin Prince is a religious scholar and host of the Gospel Learning Youtube channel. His channel has garnered over 41,000 subscribers and accumulated over 4.5 million views. Mr. Prince also created the Gospel Learning App, a reliable platform where individuals seeking truth can access trustworthy answers to religious questions from top educators worldwide.
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