:Cunning folk traditions and the Latter Day Saint movement

The Smith family practiced a form of folk religion,{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=xx–xxi}}: A 1985 memorandum sent from the headquarters of the LDS Church Educational System to regional and local administrators read, "Even if the [Mark Hofmann] letters were to be unauthentic, such issues as Joseph Smith's involvement in treasure-seeking and folk magic remain. Ample evidence exists for both of these, even without the letters." which, although not uncommon in this time and place, was criticized by many contemporary Protestants "as either fraudulent illusion or the workings of the Devil."{{citation |first=Keith |last=Thomas |title=Religion and the Decline of Magic |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1971 |page=256}} Both Joseph Smith Sr. and at least two of his sons worked at "money digging," using seer stones in mostly unsuccessful attempts to locate lost items and buried treasure.{{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|pp=42–43}} (saying that he had been a "money digger" but that it "was never a very profitable job to him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it"). {{citation |journal=Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |volume=1 |issue=43 |date=July 1838 |title=Elders Journal}}. For a discussion of Smith's money-digging activities by an academic LDS biographer, see {{harvnb|Bushman|2005|pp=48–49}}. In a draft of her memoirs, Lucy Mack Smith referred to folk magic:

I shall change my theme for the present, but let not my reader suppose that because I shall pursue another topic for a season that we stopt our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles or soothsaying, to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation. But whilst we worked with our hands, we endeavored to remember the service of and the welfare of our souls.{{Citation

| last = Smith

| first = Lucy Mack

| author-link = Lucy Mack Smith

| title = Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. [3]

| place = Nauvoo, IL

| year = 1844

| url = https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/40

}}

Smith reports using seer stones in the translation of the Book of Mormon,"[https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/11 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]]", p. 9, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 1, 2020. as well as in the reception of several early revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants.{{citation |last=Vancleave |first=James R. B. |title=David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness |pages=239–40 |editor=Lyndon W. Cook |chapter=letter to Joseph Smith III}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/seer-stones?lang=eng|title=Seer Stones|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}

{{see also|Joseph Smith and the criminal justice system}}

File:The astrologer of the nineteenth century (1825) (14783581323).jpg

From about 1819, Smith regularly practiced scrying, a form of divination in which a "seer" looked into a seer stone to receive supernatural knowledge.{{citation | title = Seer Stones | url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/seer-stones?lang=eng }} Smith usually practiced "peeping" or seeing by putting a stone at the bottom of a white stovepipe hat, putting his face over the hat to block the light, then divining information from the stone.{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=164}}; {{Harvtxt|Mather|1880|p=199}}. According to an account of an interview with Joseph Smith Sr., the 14-year-old Joseph borrowed a stone from a person working as a local crystal gazer {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|pp=305–306}} which reportedly showed him the underground location of another stone near his home, which he located at a depth of about twenty-two feet. According to another story, in either 1819 {{Harvtxt|Tucker|1867|p=19}} or 1822 {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=240}}, while the older Smith males were digging a well for a Palmyra neighbor, they found an unusual stone {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=163}}, described as either white and glassy and shaped like a child's foot or "chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped." {{Harvtxt|Roberts|1930|loc=1:129}}. Smith then used this stone as a seer stone.{{Harvtxt|Tucker|1867|p=20}}. Smith and his father achieved "something of a mysterious local reputation in the profession—mysterious because there is no record that they ever found anything despite the readiness of some local residents to pay for their efforts."{{Harvtxt|Ostling|Ostling|1999|p=25}}.

In late 1825, Josiah Stowell, a well-to-do farmer from South Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York, who had been searching for a lost Spanish mine near Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania with another seer, traveled to Manchester to hire Smith "on account of having heard that he possessed certain keys, by which he could discern things invisible to the natural eye."{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=69}}.

Early reports describe Smith being visited by a spirit in a thrice-repeating dream. In 1829, Martin Harris reported that Joseph had learned about the plate when a spirit of the Almighty visiting him in a dream. Joseph Sr. explained the "spirit" was a "little old man with a long beard", while an account based on Oliver Cowdery described "an angel of light" appearing to Smith in a dream.{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004}}, summarized in Occult Context of Joseph Smith's 1823 Discovery of Gold Plates @ 23min

Smith said that on the night of Sunday, September 21, 1823, an angel visited him and told him of the location of the gold plates that contained the Book of Mormon."[https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-circa-june-1839-circa-1841-draft-2/4 History, circa June 1839–circa 1841 [Draft 2]]," p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 21, 2020. While Smith is not known to have explicitly assigned significance to the date, it has been noted that September 21, 1823 was an especially auspicious night in astrological terms, being a full moon, and autumnal equinox.

Hyrum Smith inherited and passed down several relics to his descendents. These include a "Mars Dagger", Mars being the ruling planet of Joseph Smith Sr.'s birth year.{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=6792 of 23423}} Inscribed on one side of the dagger is the astrological symbol for mars, the occult seal of Mars, and "Adonay", a Hebrew word for "God". On the blade of the dagger is the zodiacal sign of Scorpio. Specially consecrated daggers or swords were often prescribed when drawing magic circles.Clay L. Chandler, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/45227185 "Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon"] Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought , Winter 2003, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Winter 2003), pp. 43-78 Published by: University of Illinois Press Several factors lead scholars to believe that the dagger originally belonged to Joseph Smith Sr.: Palmyra residents where the Smith family resided did not mention Hyrum as a participant in the frequent treasure digs that Joseph Smith Jr. and his father participated in, sources frequently mention Joseph Smith Sr. and his son Joseph Smith Jr. drawing magic circles, the astrological signs on the dagger belonged to Joseph Smith Sr. not Hyrum, and Joseph Sr. ordained Hyrum as a patriarch on his deathbed making him a natural heir of family heirlooms.

Both Joseph Smith Jr. and his father used divining rods.{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=4261 of 23423}}

One of Joseph Smith's early revelations, now canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants, stated that Oliver Cowdery had the power to use a divining rod. Cowdery was told that he had the gift of "working with the sprout, behold it hath told you things. Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature{{sic}} to work in your hands."Smith, J., & Marquardt, H. M. (2013). Joseph Smith's 1828–1843 revelations. Xulon Press Wording was changed in later editions of the Doctrine and Covenants referring to Cowdery's rod as the "gift of Aaron". The term "sprout" was often used to describe divining rods in the 1820s and '30s.

File:WillardRichards.jpg

Purportedly, Brigham Young used Cowdery's rod to mark the site of the Salt Lake TempleQuinn, D. M. (1994). The Mormon hierarchy: Origins of power. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates.

location 17249 of 17270 Apostle Anthon H. Lund wrote in his diary:

In the revelation to Oliver Cowdery in May 1829, Bro. [B. H.] Roberts said that the gift which the Lord says he has in his hand meant a stick which was like Aaron's Rod. It is said Bro. Phineas Young [brother-in-law of Oliver Cowdery and brother of Brigham Young] got it from him [Cowdery] and gave it to President Young who had it with him when he arrived in this [Salt Lake] valley and that it was with that stick that he pointed out where the Temple should be built.John P. Hatch, [https://archive.org/details/DanishApostleAnthonLund/page/n207/mode/2up?q=Aaron%27s+rod "Danish Apostle: The Diaries of Anthon H. Lund, 1890–1921"] Signature Books, 2006, page 128

In 1843, James C. Brewster, who had formed a splinter group, claimed that in 1836 prior to an Ohio treasure quest, that presiding Patriarch Joseph Smith Sr. "anointed the mineral rods and seeing stones with consecrated oil, and prayed over them in the house of the Lord in Kirtland."Quinn, D. M. (1994). The Mormon hierarchy: Origins of power. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates. e-book location 16740 of 17270

Heber C. Kimball was given a three and a half foot rod by Joseph Smith, with which he practiced rhabdomancy, believing "all he had to do was kneel down with rod in his hands and ... sometimes the Lord would answer his questions" by causing the rod to move.Solomon F. Kimball, "Sacred History," archives, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UtahStanley B. Kimball, [https://archive.org/details/OnThePottersWheelHeberKimball/page/n101/mode/2up?q=rod "On the Potter's Wheel: The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball"], Signature Books, 1987, page 65 According to Kimball, he would ask yes–no questions, movement meant "yes" and no movement meant "no". His use of the rod for divining continued until at least 1862.Quinn, D. M. (1994). The Mormon hierarchy: Origins of power. Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates. location 14683, 16920 of 17270

Apostle Willard Richards had a black cane that he used to lay on people's head who had a sickness in order to heal them "through the power of God."D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), e-book location 20546 of 23423.

{{main|Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)}}

In the early 1820s in the region where Joseph Smith grew up there was a subculture that practiced cunning folk traditions, including scrying through the use of "seer stones" or "peep stones".{{cite book

|last1 = MacKay

|first1 = Michael Hubbard

|last2 = Frederick

|first2 = Nicholas J.

|date = August 29, 2016

|title = Joseph Smith's Seer Stones

|publisher = Deseret Book Company

|page =

|isbn = 9781944394059

}}Walker, Ronald W. (1984) "[https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol24/iss4/4 The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting]", BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 24 : Iss. 4 , Article 4. Available at: Smith's hometown of Palmyra was no exception. Historian D. Michael Quinn states "Until the Book of Mormon thrust young Smith into prominence, Palmyra's most notable seer was Sally Chase, who used a greenish-colored stone. William Stafford also had a seer stone, and Joshua Stafford had a 'peepstone which looked like white marble and had a hole through the center.'"D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1987), 38. Historian Richard Bushman adds Chauncy Hart, and an unnamed man in Susquehanna County, both of whom had stones with which they found lost objects.Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1984), 70.

Smith's early use of seer stones is well documented but the provenance of each stone and the timeline are unclear. One account describes him borrowing the seer stone of a local girl, possibly Sally Chase, and using it to find his own first stone.

Joseph Smith's mother records that Sally Chase's abilities as a seer were used by locals to try to find and steal the gold plates from Joseph after he had obtained them.{{Citation

| last = Smith

| first = Lucy Mack

| author-link = Lucy Mack Smith

| title = Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845

| place = Nauvoo, IL

| year = 1845

| page = 116

| url = https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/123

}} "A young woman by the name Chase (Sister to Willard Chase) found a green glass, through which she could see many very wonderful things, and, among her great discoveries, she said that she saw, the precise place where 'Joe. Smith kept his gold Bible hid.' And, obedient to her directions, they gathered their forces and laid siege to the cooper shop."

Hiram Page, one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, was living with his in-laws the Whitmers in Fayette, New York. Smith arrived in August 1830 to discover Page using a black "seer stone" to produce revelations for the church. The revelations were regarding the organization and location of Zion. Cowdery and the Whitmer family believed the revelations were authentic. In response, Smith announced in a new revelation during the church's September conference that Page's revelations were of the devil (Doctrine and Covenants, {{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=Section 28|verse=11}}). At the conference there was considerable discussion on the topic. Page agreed to discard the stone and the revelations and join in following Smith as the sole revelator for the church. The members present confirmed this unanimously with a vote. The fate of the stone and revelations was not recorded by contemporary sources and has been the subject of interest ever since. Martin Harris's brother Emer stated second-hand in 1856 that the stone was ground to powder and the associated revelations were burned.Emer Harris statement, in Utah Stake General Minutes, Local Record 9629, ser. 11, vol. 10 (1855–60), 6 April 1856, Church History Library. Apostle Alvin R. Dyer stated that he had discovered Page's seerstone in 1955, that it had been passed down through Jacob Whitmer's family.Dyer, Alvin R., Refiner's Fire: The Significance of Events Transpiring in Missouri, 2nd ed. rev. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1968), 257-259 The validity of this claim has been questioned.

A young woman living at the home of David Whitmer in Ohio in 1838 reported receiving a number of revelations about the downfall of Joseph Smith by looking through a black stone that she had found. Some disaffected church members followed after her.{{Citation

| last = Smith

| first = Lucy Mack

| author-link = Lucy Mack Smith

| title = Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845

| place = Nauvoo, IL

| year = 1845

| page = 235

| url = https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/243

| quote= "At this time a certain young woman, who was living at David Whitmer's uttered a prophecy; which she said was given her, by looking through a black stone that she had found. This prophecy gave some altogether a new idea of things. She said, the reason why one third of the church would turn away from Joseph was, because that he was in transgression himself; and would fall from his office on account of the same; that David Whitmer or Martin Harris would fill Joseph's place: and that the one, who did not succeed him, would be councillor to him who did. This girl soon became an object of great attention among those who were disaffected. Dr. Williams, the ex justice of the peace, became her scribe; and wrote her revelations for her. Jared Carter, who lived in the same house with David Whitmer, soon imbibed the same spirit; and I was informed, that he said in one of their meetings, that he had 'power to raise Joe. Smith to the highest heaven, or Sink him down to the lowest hell.' ... his confession was received, and he was forgiven. But the rest of his party continued obstinate They still held their secret meetings at David Whitmer's; and when the young woman, who was their instructress was through giving what revelations she intended for the evening, she would jump out of her chair and dance over the floor, boasting of her power until she was perfectly exhausted. Her proselytes would also, in the most vehement manner, proclaim their purity and holiness, and the mighty power which they were going to have."}}

In 1841, apostles Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith confiscated several seer stones and grimoires from convert William Mountford in Staffordshire, England. The grimoires were destroyed and seer stones were sent to Nauvoo. Joseph Smith examined the stones and stated that they were "Urim and Thummim as good as ever was upon the earth" but that they had been "consecrated to devils."Stapley, Jonathan. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 110.

During his life, Alvin Smith had participated in a treasure dig under the direction of Luman Walters, a travelling necromancer.{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=37}}: "Another time, Alvin and Willard dug on property occupied by the Saunders family and owned by Palmyra justice of the peace Abner Cole. Alvin and Willard worked under the direction of a man named Walters, later identified as Luman Walters, a traveling necromancer who offered his services for a fee." After Alvin's death on November 19, 1823, the Smith family reportedly "heard a rumor that Alvin's body had been exhumed and dissected. Fearing it to be true, the elder Smith uncovered the grave on September 25, 1824, and inspected the corpse."{{Harvnb|Brodie|1971|p=28}}{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}} Following the exhumation, Joseph Smith Sr. printed a notice in the local newspaper on September 29, 1824 explaining that Alvin's body had been exhumed to verify it has not been removed from the grave.{{Cite news |date=September 29, 1824 |title=TO THE PUBLIC |work=Wayne Sentinel |quote=Whereas reports have been industriously put in circulation that my son Alvin had been removed from the place of his interment and dissected; which reports ... are peculiarly calculated to harrow up the mind of a parent and deeply wound the feelings of relations ... therefore, for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of such reports, I, with some of my neighbors this morning, repaired to the grave, and removing the earth, found the body, which had not been disturbed. This method is taken for the purpose of satisfying the minds of those who may have heard the report, and of informing those who have put it in circulation, that it is earnestly requested they would desist therefrom.}}Rough Stone Rolling, page 54, Richard Bushman. In Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet, historian Dan Vogel notes that "Joseph Sr.'s explanation for disinterring Alvin's body is questionable because one should have been able to determine if the grave had been disturbed without exhuming the body. It seems probable, therefore, that Joseph Sr. himself may have been the source of the rumor, that the story was a ruse to exhume Alvin's body for its use in attempting to get the gold plates."{{Harvnb|Vogel|2004|p=57}} However, this theory ignores the fact that Smith's neighbors were with him for the exhumation, and that Alvin's burial was only ten months prior.

Historian D. Michael Quinn, in his book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, suggests that the newspaper notice published by Smith Sr. is evidence that the "guardian," "spirit" or "angel" commanded Joseph to bring a piece of Alvin's body to the hiding place of the golden plates as a requirement for seeing them.{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|pp=158–59}} Quinn argues that when Smith did not do this, he was unable to see the plates for a second time and had to wait another year. Additionally, Quinn suggests that this information was obscured in official church history because it implies Smith's participation in necromancy.

In an account of the plates' discovery written by Joseph Knight Sr. (1805-1844):{{blockquote|He [Joseph] exclaimed "why Cant I stur this Book?" And he was answered, "you have not Done rite; you should have took the Book and a gone right away. You cant have it now." Joseph says, "when can I have it?" The answer was the 22nt Day of September next if you Bring the right person with you. Joseph says, "who is the right Person?" The answer was "your oldest Brother."{{Cite web |last=Knight Sr. |first=Joseph |title=Reminiscences |url=https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/37b7b91c-4148-45d6-8f32-df4acf06fe99/0/1}}}}

Residents of Pennsylvania recalled that in June 1828, Smith briefly joined the Methodist church but resigned after others in the church complained about his membership. One member recalled: "we thought it was a disgrace to the church to have a practicing necromancer, a dealer in enchantments and bleeding ghosts, in it."Joseph Smith and the Origins of The Book of Mormon, 2d ed., David Persuitte, p.77 In 1834, the book Mormonism Unvailed reported that Joseph Smith had "become very expert in the arts of necromancy, jugling, the use of the divining rod, and looking into what they termed a 'peep-stone'".Howe, Quoted in {{Harvnb|Vogel|2004}} The book featured an account of Smith neighbor William Stafford who relayed a story of Joseph sacrificing a black sheep to appease an evil spirit guarding a treasure.{{harvnb|Howe|1834|p=239}}: " Old Joseph and one of the boys came to me one day, and said that Joseph Jr. had discovered some very remarkable and valuable treasures, which could be procured only in one way. That way, was as follows : — That a black sheep should be taken on to the ground where the treasures were concealed — that after cutting its throat, it should be led around a circle while bleeding. This being done, the wrath of the evil spirit would be appeased : the treasures could then be obtained, and my share of them was to be four fold. To gratify my curiosity, I let them have a large fat sheep hey afterwards informed me, that the sheep was killed pursuant to commandment ; but as there was some mistake in the process, it did not have the desired effect".Vogel p. 41{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}}

{{Gallery

|title=Amulets, Charms and Talismans owned by members of the Latter Day Saint movement

|width=170 | height=170

|align=center

|File:Joseph Smith Jupiter Talisman.PNG

|Front and back of Joseph Smith Jupiter Talisman

|File:Joseph_Smith_Dove_Medallion.jpg

|Masonic Dove Medallion owned by Joseph Smith

|alt2=Masonic Dove Medallion owned by Joseph Smith

|File:Brigham Youngs Bloodstone.jpg

|Bloodstone amulet worn by Brigham Young

|alt3=Bloodstone amulet worn by Brigham Young

}}

Amulets, charms and talismans were part of the religious environment of the Smith family and other early Latter Day Saints.{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=6660 of 23423}}

Joseph Smith possessed a "Jupiter Talisman," a silver coin shaped device that would have been worn on Smith's body to grant "decisive victory over enemies, to defend against machinations, and to inspire the wearer thereof with the most remarkable confidence."{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=7395 of 23423}}Chandler, C. L. (2003). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/45227185 Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon.] Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 36(4), 43–78. The design of the talisman matches exactly those found in an 1801 grimoire titled The Magus.Francis Barrett, [https://archive.org/details/b22006795/page/174/mode/2up The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer; Being a Complete System of Occult Philosophy], Lackington Allen and Co., 1801 page 174 Family lore had it that Smith had it on his body the day of his martyrdom.

Smith, and then later Brigham Young, also owned a silver "Masonic Dove Medallion," which is inscribed on the back "Fortitude Lodge No. 42."{{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=7503 of 23423}} This masonic lodge was based out of New Brunswick, Canada, and it is unclear how it arrived into Smith's possession, as there are no known connections with that lodge and early Latter Day Saints. Additionally, a dove was not a common Masonic symbol in the early 1800s. The medallion was transferred to Brigham Young. Quinn speculates that the medallion could possibly be a charm associated with Venus, given the medallion is silver as prescribed in magic books and a dove is a symbol for Venus.

Brigham Young accepted the efficacy of seer stones, healing amulets and witches.Turner, J. G. (2014). Brigham young: Pioneer prophet. Belknap Harvard. Young had a bloodstone that according to his niece he wore around his neck on a chain for protection "when going into unknown or dangerous places."Richard Van Wagoner, Steven Turner [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/joseph-smith-the-gift-of-seeing/ "Joseph Smith:The Gift of Seeing"] Dialogue Journal, Summer 1982, page 66

File:John Steele Astrlogical Healing Remedy.PNG

Early Latter Day Saint movement members' views towards astrology ranged from acceptance to hostility, but were generally ambivalent, views reflected in the church's early leadership.Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: pages 112-113. For example, Orson Pratt condemned it, while William Clayton openly sought advice from astrologers into the 1860s.David J. Whittaker

"Almanacs in the New England Heritage of Mormonism" Brigham Young University Studies Vol. 29, No. 4 (FALL 1989), pp. 89-113In his 1845, 1846 almanac, Pratt still published astrological information as was standard practice for almanacs, but wrote that they were, "vulgar and erroneous ideas of the Ancients." Orson Pratt, Prophetic Almanac for 1846 (New York: New York Messenger Office, 1845)Allen, James B. No Toil Nor Labor Fear: The Story of William Clayton Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002 pages 328-338 In 1852, Brigham Young gave his approval to a convert to study and begin practicing astrology, only to change his recommendation a year later, calling it "a dangerous thing to meddle with".Donald G. Godfrey and Rebecca S. Martineau-McCarty, eds., An Uncommon Common Pioneer: The Journals of James Henry Martineau, 1828–1918 Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008, pages 15, 29, 37

William W. Phelps published an almanac in Utah from 1851 to 1866. The first edition did not include the standard astrological information expected of almanacs, calling them "matters of ancient fancy".W. W. Phelps, Deseret Almanac 1851, page 2Deseret Almanac 1853 page 3 Later editions did, even while criticizing their effectiveness, an indication that there was a demand for it. Phelps wrote and spoke often against astrology, but by 1857, after Brigham Young told him that astrology was true, Phelps changed his mind, believing instead that astrology was "one of the sciences belonging to the holy Priesthood perverted by vain man." By 1861, Young himself seems to have changed his mind about the utility of astrology, telling an individual who wanted to start an astrology school that, "it would not do to favor Astrology."Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: footnote 41.Brigham Young, office journal, December 30, 1861, Box 72, Folder 5. Brigham Young Office Files Church History Library Joseph F. Smith and his wife Levira consulted an astrologer in 1860, however later in life Smith grew to view astrology as originating with the devil.Taysom, Stephen C. Like a fiery meteor: The life of joseph f. smith. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2023{{rp|185}}

In 1868, the Salt Lake School of the Prophets decided that "Astrology was in opposition to the work of God. Hence saints should not be engaged in it," which was followed up with an article in the Deseret News decrying it. From that time on astrology has been considered an unacceptable practice.Stapley, Jonathan A. The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology. Oxford University Press, 2018: page 113.

One notable post-1868 exception was John Steele, who practiced astrology into the 20th century while in good standing with the church in Parowan and Toquerville, taking local leadership positions and eventually being called as a patriarch in 1903. Steele was an early pioneer and worked as the town's preeminent doctor.{{cite book |last1=Krakauer |first1=Jon |title=Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith |date=2004 |publisher=First Anchor Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1400032808 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/underbannerofhea00krak/page/240 240]–241 |edition=First Anchor Books |url=https://archive.org/details/underbannerofhea00krak|url-access=registration |access-date=November 28, 2018}} He was known for the way that he integrated medicine, magic, and astrology.{{cite journal |last1=Bate |first1=Kerry William |title=John Steele: Medicine Man, Magician, Mormon Patriarch |journal=Utah Historical Quarterly |date=Winter 1994 |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=71–90 |doi=10.2307/45062148 |jstor=45062148 |s2cid=254444688 |url=http://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/guest.jsp?smd=1&cl=all_lib&lb_document_id=34967 |access-date=November 19, 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{rp|73}} He practiced according to the ideas of Samuel Thomson. One of Thomson's theories was that elimination of toxins was key to curing patients; calomel was sometimes used to induce vomiting.{{cite journal|title = Heavy Metal Medicine|last = Koehler | first = Christopher S. W.|journal = Today's Chemist at Work|issn = 1062-094X|volume = 10|pages = 61–65|issue = 1|date = January 2001|url=https://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/tcaw/10/i01/html/01chemch.html |access-date = 2009-02-02}} Because Steele's son Robert Henry was killed by calomel, Steele preferred Thomson's herbal medicines.{{rp|75}} He considered himself a veterinarian, using an herbal "horse taming" mixture,{{rp|75–76}} and was known for his ability to set broken bones.{{rp|76}} He was also known for using black magic to fix problems, and people in the town solicited him for horoscopes.{{rp|77–82}} He was called "Doc", and he was often seen wearing a blue cape with red lining.{{cite news |last1=Van Leer |first1=Twila |title='Doc' Mixed Science and Quackery |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/528427/DOC-MIXED-SCIENCE-AND-QUACKERY.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065753/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/528427/DOC-MIXED-SCIENCE-AND-QUACKERY.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |access-date=November 19, 2018 |work=Deseret News |publisher=Deseret News Publishing Company |date=December 3, 1996}}

File:Coffin Cane Joseph Smith.jpg

When Joseph and Hyrum were killed in 1844, the bloodstained wooden boxes used to transport the body of Joseph Smith was cut up into a number of canes. Smith's body was exhumed seven months later to a different burial site, and the coffin used for transport then was also made into canes. Some of the canes were made from leftover wood from the burial coffins.Barnett, Steven G. (1981) [https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol21/iss2/8 "The Canes of the Martyrdom,"] BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 8 Owners of these canes included Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Snow, Perrigrine Sessions, Philo Dibble, James Bird, William S. Wadsworth, Heber C. Kimball, Lucius Scovil, Sidney Rigdon, and Dimick B. Huntington. Rigdon's was given to him after he had been excommunicated in 1845 in a magnanimous gesture by Brigham Young.

Various Latter Day Saints attested to the healing properties of these canes. In an 1857 sermon, Kimball stated that "the day will come when there will be multitudes who will be healed and blessed through the instrumentality of those canes, and the devil cannot overcome those who have them, in consequence of their faith and confidence in the virtues connected with them."

{{Portal|Latter Day Saint movement}}

• Phrenology and the Latter Day Saint movement
• Salamander letter
• The Magus (book)

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin|2}}

• {{Citation |last=Brodie |first=Fawn M. |author-link=Fawn M. Brodie |title=No Man Knows My History |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |place=New York |date=1971 |isbn=0-6797-3054-0}}
• {{Cite book |last=Bushman |first=Richard Lyman |author-link=Richard Bushman |title=Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling |year=2005 |place=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=1-4000-4270-4 |title-link=Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints) |title=Mormonism—No. II |journal=Tiffany's Monthly |volume=5 |year=1859 |pages=163–170 |url=http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Tiffany%27s_Monthly/volume_5/Number_4/Mormonism--No._II&oldid=314353 |issue=4}}
• {{Cite book |last=Howe |first=Eber Dudley |author-link=Eber Dudley Howe |title=Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of that Singular Imposition and Delusion, from its Rise to the Present Time |place=Painesville, Ohio |publisher=Telegraph Press |year=1834 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXJNAAAAYAAJ |oclc=10395314}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Lapham |first=La Fayette |title=Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates |journal=Historical Magazine |series=Second series |volume=7 |year=1870 |pages=305–309 |url=http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_Magazine_%28second_series%29/Volume_7/May_1870/Interview_with_the_Father_of_Joseph_Smith&oldid=314358}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Mather |first=Frederic G. |title=Early Days of Mormonism |journal=Lippincott's Magazine |volume=26 |issue=152 |year=1880 |pages=198–211 |url=http://olivercowdery.com/smithhome/1880Math.htm}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Ostling |first1=Richard |last2=Ostling |first2=Joan K. |author1-link=Richard and Joan Ostling |author2-link=Richard and Joan Ostling |title=Mormon America: The Power and the Promise |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |location=San Francisco |year=1999 |isbn=0-06-066371-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/mormonamericapow00ostl}}
• {{Cite book |last=Quinn |first=D. Michael |author-link=D. Michael Quinn |title=Early Mormonism and the Magic World View |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City |edition=2nd |year=1998 |isbn=1-56085-089-2}}
• {{Cite book |editor-last=Roberts |editor-first=B. H. |title=A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century I |publisher=Brigham Young University Press |isbn=0-8425-0482-6 |year=1930}}
• {{Cite book |last=Shipps |first=Jan |title=Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition |year=1985 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Chicago |isbn=0-252-01417-0}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Smith |title=Editor's note |journal=Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |volume=1 |issue=3 |date=July 1838a |url=http://www.solomonspalding.com/docs/eldjur03.htm}}
• {{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=Pomeroy |author-link=Pomeroy Tucker |title=Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism |place=New York |publisher=D. Appleton |year=1867 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=resQAAAAIAAJ}}
• {{Cite book |editor-last=Vogel |editor-first=Dan |editor-link=Dan Vogel |title=Early Mormon Documents |volume=1 |place=Salt Lake City |publisher=Signature Books |year=1996 |isbn=1-56085-072-8}}
• {{Cite book |last=Vogel |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Vogel |title=Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet |year=2004 |publisher=Signature Books |location=Salt Lake City, UT |isbn=1-56085-179-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/josephsmithmakin0000voge}}

{{refend}}

{{Latter Day Saint movement}}

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{{Folk religion}}

Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement

Category:Joseph Smith

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Latter Day Saint movement

Category:Mormon folklore

Category:Seership in Mormonism