(March 24, 2014)
I thought about the Urim and Thummim, and what happened to them. Presumably they were taken by the Babylonians when Jerusalem was taken, and I wonder what purpose that they were put to there. And what happened to them thereafter.
Tradition states that the Urim and Thummim were mechanisms for resolving questions that required a question to be presented in a brief and simple way, and a yes or no answer would be given. That brings new light to the translation process of Joseph Smith if that is what he followed. Did he contemplate the narrative (as it had been told to him by Moroni and other angelic visitors) and come up with language that he then took to the Lord for the yes or no answer? That would explain a large number of seemingly small errors in the texts – things that give me no more heartburn because the things that he got right that he shouldn’t have far exceed the few things that appear mistakes to me in my hindsight.
And what does that say about us when we take things to the Lord. Many times, I will ask the Lord for answers but when is the last time I have presented the Lord with a simple yes or no question? I don’t think that I do it that often.
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