LDS church releases photos of Joseph Smith's seer stone
(KUTV) As part of an ongoing effort to demystify some of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' history, officials today released rare images of Joseph Smith's seer stone, said to help in translating scripture, along with the original printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon.
Both were unveiled Tuesday morning as part of the church's ongoing "Joseph Smith Papers Project."
The papers provide a first-ever look at Joseph Smith's seer stone. The church says it's the very stone Smith, the founder of the LDS church, used to interpret the words that led to the Book of Mormon.
"Scholars of Mormon history will enjoy reading this, and even members of the church will find it very interesting," said church historian Elder Steven E. Snow. "This was copied from the original manuscript, which was dictated by the prophet Joseph."
The two volume series called, "Revelations and Translations, Volume 3: Printer's Manuscript of the Book of Mormon," comes complete with pictures of the original handwritten printer's manuscript on one side and typed words on the opposite page.
"It's not something that church members typically know a lot about, so I think they'll find this period of time that we talk about and these kinds of things quite interesting," said Snow.
The publication includes large colored pictures of the seer stone believed to be Joseph Smith's tool for interpreting tablets that provided the content for the Book of Mormon.
"It might be new to many members of the church who might not be as informed about the seer stone and its use in the translation process," said Snow.
The original printed manuscript was owned by Community of Christ, a group that split from the LDS Church after Joseph Smith was killed in 1844.
Representatives from Community of Christ said the partnership they've now formed with the LDS Church to release these manuscripts is almost 50 years in the making.
"The real value is it's going to make available to the general public information that probably the scholarly community has been familiar with," said Lachlan Mackay, Nauvoo historical sites coordinator.
The printer's manuscript will be available online for free sometime next year. Joseph Smith's seer stone will be put on public display in an LDS Church visitors center in Harmony, Pennsylvania.
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