View source for Book of Mormon/Translation/Urim and Thummim

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{{H2
|L=Book of Mormon/Translation/Urim and Thummim
|H=The "Urim and Thummim" used by Joseph Smith to translate the "gold plates"
|S=
|L1=Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?
|L2=Question: What are the Nephite interpreters?
|L3=Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?
|L4=Question: Has the Church tried to hide Joseph's use of a seer stone?
|L5=Gospel Topics: "Joseph placed either the interpreters or the seer stone in a hat"
|L6=Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?
|L7=Gospel Topics: "Joseph Smith and his associates often used the term 'Urim and Thummim' to refer to the single stone as well as the interpreters"
|L8=Ensign (Jan. 2013): "He...referred to it using an Old Testament term, Urim and Thummim...He also sometimes applied the term to other stones he possessed"
|L9=W.W. Phelps (1833): "through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles—(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)"
|L10=Question: Which method of translation was more "believable": seer stone or Nephite interpreters?
|L11=Question: What does the Church teach investigators and members regarding the method by which the Book of Mormon was produced?
}}
</onlyinclude>
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}
{{:Question: What are the Nephite interpreters?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Has the Church tried to hide Joseph's use of a seer stone?}}
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:Book of Mormon Translation:Joseph placed either the interpreters or the seer stone in a hat}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:Joseph Smith and his associates often used the term “Urim and Thummim” to refer to the single stone as well as the interpreters}}
{{:Source:Dirkmaat:Ensign:January 2013:He...referred to it using an Old Testament term, Urim and Thummim...He also sometimes applied the term to other stones he possessed}}
{{:Source:Phelps:The Evening and The Morning Star 1:58:through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles—(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)}}
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:Book of Mormon Translation:These two instruments—the interpreters and the seer stone—were apparently interchangeable}}
{{:Question: Which method of translation was more "believable": seer stone or Nephite interpreters?}}
{{:Question: What does the Church teach investigators and members regarding the method by which the Book of Mormon was produced?}}

{{InterpreterBar
|author=Roger Nicholson
|authorlink=http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/author/rogern/
|title=The Spectacles, the Stone, the Hat, and the Book: A Twenty-first Century Believer’s View of the Book of Mormon Translation
|link=http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-spectacles-the-stone-the-hat-and-the-book-a-twenty-first-century-believers-view-of-the-book-of-mormon-translation/
|vol=5
|start=121
|end=190
|date=June 7, 2013
|summary=This essay seeks to examine the Book of Mormon translation method from the perspective of a regular, nonscholarly, believing member in the twenty-first century, by taking into account both what is learned in Church and what can be learned from historical records that are now easily available. What do we know? What should we know? How can a believing Latter-day Saint reconcile apparently conflicting accounts of the translation process? An examination of the historical sources is used to provide us with a fuller and more complete understanding of the complexity that exists in the early events of the Restoration. These accounts come from both believing and nonbelieving sources, and some skepticism ought to be employed in choosing to accept some of the interpretations offered by some of these sources as fact. However, an examination of these sources provides a larger picture, and the answers to these questions provide an enlightening look into Church history and the evolution of the translation story. This essay focuses primarily on the methods and instruments used in the translation process and how a faithful Latter-day Saint might view these as further evidence of truthfulness of the restored Gospel.
}}

{{SummaryItem
|link=Book of Mormon/Translation/Method
|subject=Chronology of translation methods
|summary=We have a number of accounts of the translation process from the perspective of various contemporary second-hand witnesses who viewed the Prophet as he dictated to his scribes. The only person other than Joseph who attempted to directly translate was Oliver Cowdery. Oliver, however, did not record any details regarding the exact ''physical'' process that he employed during his attempt&mdash;we only have the ''spiritual'' aspect of the process.
}}

{{endnotes sources}}
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[[de:Das Buch Mormon/Übersetzung/Urim und Thummim]]
[[es:El Libro de Mormón/Traducción/Urim y Tumim]]
[[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Tradução/Urim e Tumim]]