Was the seer stone or Urim & Thummim used for translating the Book of Mormon. I did a recent interview with Jonathan Neville & Jim Lucas who argued that a Urim & Thummim was used, relying primarily on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery who both said the urim & thummim was used. Scott Vance tells why he thinks a seer stone was used. He even references a source where Oliver Cowdery said a seer stone uwas used, and why Joseph & Oliver may not have wanted to reference a seer stone, and why nearly all historians say a seer stone was used for the Book of Mormon that we have. (Most historians agree that the Urim & Thummim was likely used for the lost 116 pages, and found the seer stone easier to use.)
Scott also gives a short primer on the Tim Ballard situation. Tim was the head of Operation Underground Railroad, a group which claimed to free sex slaves. Ballard has LDS ties and has been accused of sexual misconduct.
This week, I also talked to Dr Val Larsen. Despite our previous 3 hour conversation, we weren’t done talking about how Val believes many Nauvoo-era doctrines are available in the Book of Mormon, specifically theosis (exaltation), and Heavenly Mother. Val goes on to explain how he comes to those conclusions.
We’re continuing our conversation with Dr Val Larsen from James Madison University. Dr Larsen disputes the notion that Nauvoo doctrines are not in the Book of Mormon. He says the Orthodox doctrine of theosis, or what LDS would call Exaltation is in the Book of Mormon. We’ll examine the stories of Ammon, Aaron, & Lamoni to discuss how theosis is in the Book of Mormon. Check out our conversation…
Dr Larsen’s findings echo many claims made by Don Bradley. Do you think many later doctrines like exaltation, temple ceremonies, and heavenly mother are in the Book of Mormon?
Wheat & Tares 
Both great interviews. I like Scott Vance’s approach. He seems very hesitant to give definitive statements unless he has clear evidence, which is refreshing. I think “Brown Seer Stone” deserves it’s own VH1 “Behind the Music” style documentary chronicling its rise to fame, its rivalry with Urim and Thummin, eventual break-up with Hat, being lost to history, and finally its ultimate vindication as THE seer stone (What white stone? Green stone? Give me a break!). What ever happened to Hat, by the way? I would love to see an “Unsolved Mysteries” style show on the disappearance of Hat. I wonder if Hat ran away with Plates.
On the second interview, Dr. Val Larsen is obviously a smart guy, with some creative explanations for the apparent presence of Trinitarianism in Mosiah. Unfortunately, I think he’s making some dubious logical leaps between ancient Hebrew polytheism and BofM Christianity on one hand, and then between Deuteronomist Judaism and Trinitarianism on the other. Those are all just different types of shiny rocks, and he’s kind of thrown them together into one box.