|
#22 The Facts On The Mormon Church
22. Was Joseph Smith an occultist?
No one can deny that Joseph Smith was an occultist. Dr Martin
observes that "what most Mormons do not recognize is the fact that Joseph Smith
was an occultist, and that Mormonism had occult origins." As is true for many
practitioners, both Smith's parents were involved in the occult. This may have
brought Joseph a kind of hereditary transference and/or predisposition to
psychic ability. Smith claims he received his first supernatural visitation of
"angels" at the age of 14.
Smith also had occult powers and, along with a number of other early Mormon
leaders, was involved in various occult practices. (In 1826, he was arrested,
tried, and found guilty of fortune-telling in Bainbridge New York.) Smith
employed what he called a "Jupiter Talisman"-an amulet supposedly possessing
supernatural powers intended to bring wealth, influence, and power to its
possessor. He would also place "peepstones" or "seer" stones into a hat, place
his face into that hat, and see visions of buried treasures, lost property, etc.
As we have seen, this was the method by which the Book of Mormon was
allegedly translated.
But such activities are simply a variation upon the occult practice of
crystal gazing. Further, they are similar to other practices such as occult
psychometry and radionics. Nor was Smith alone in his use of seer stones
and amulets. The early Mormon people were also prone to use them as means to
contract and commune with the spirit world. Even today, many Mormons continue to
contract the spirit world to receive guidance and instruction.
That Smith has occult powers and may also have a number of spirit guides is
not surprising. Like mediums and spiritists in general, he had personal
experience that the so-called dead "are not far from us, and know and understand
our thoughts, feelings and emotions..." and that they could play an important
role in spiritual encouragement and growth. Both he and Brigham Young believed
that "we have more friends behind the veil than on this side," and that
knowledge of the spirit world was crucial to personal salvation.
Smith taught, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid
upon us is to seek after our dead," and "those Saints who neglect it {baptism
for the dead}, in behalf of their deceased relatives, do so at the peril of
their own salvation." Thus, "work for the dead is an important determining
factor in the Latter-day Saints' attempt to attain their ultimate salvation and
exaltation in the Kingdom of God."
Taken from The Facts On The Mormon Church, by
John Ankerberg and John Weldon. Published by Harvest House Publishers.
|