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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Use of sources/Divining rods to Kimball and Young
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Contents
Did Joseph give divining rods to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young?
| Christianity is satanic | A FAIR Analysis of: One Nation Under Gods A work by author: Richard Abanes
|
Those Power-Hungry Mormons |
AUTHOR'S CLAIM
One Nation under Gods, page 89 (hardback and paperback)
Joseph gave Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball divining rods "as a symbol of gratitude for their loyalty."
Author's Sources
Endnote 49-51, page 520 (hardback); page 518 (paperback)
- Stanley B. Kimball, Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer, 248-249; 256.
- Anthon H. Lund, Anthon H. Lund Journal, under July 5, 1901 quoted in D. Michael Quinn, BYU Studies, Fall 1978, vol. 18, 82, cited in Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 87.( Index of claims ).
OTHER SOURCES
- Richard Abanes, Becoming Gods: A Closer Look at 21st-Century Mormonism (Harvest House Publishers: 2005). 46. ( Index of claims ). Sources for the claim: Anthon H. Lund Journal, under July 5, 1901, "The Psychological Needs of Mormon Women," Sunstone, volume 6, number 2, page 67, and D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 206 ( Index of claims )
Answer
ONUG distorts the passage cited. It first describes Heber's dream in which Joseph gave him a rod, saying "the hand of God shall be with you." Thus, the book hides the fact that Heber saw this in a religious, not a magical, context. The source then reads:
- Later Joseph did give him and Brigham Young real rods, because "they were the only ones of the original twelve who had not lifted up their hearts against the Prophet." When Heber wanted to find out anything that was his right to know, "all he had to do was to kneel down with the rod in his hand, and . . . sometimes the Lord would answer his questions before he had time to ask them." At least twice in Nauvoo, for example, he had used this special rod. In September, 1844, he "went home and used the rod" to find out if Willard Richards would recover from an illness and if the church would overcome its enemies. In January, 1845, he inquired of the Lord "by the rod" whether the Nauvoo temple would be finished and if his sins were forgiven. All the answers were affirmative. Unlike the [p.249] cane, there are no family traditions regarding this unusual rod; it has completely disappeared. Perhaps it was an aid to guidance and revelation. There is no evidence that it was a divining stick or "water witch," popular at that time. (pp. 248-249, emphasis added)
ONUG provides this source for the claim that Brigham and Heber are provided with "diving rods"—yet, the source explicitly rejects the idea that they were 'divining sticks.' The rod's claimed ability was also clearly religious, not "magical"—the rod had no power except as an aide to revelation from God. There is ample biblical precedent for prophetic use of a rod (e.g., Numbers 17:6-10).
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