http://godstilllovesus.org/forums/3/topics/1715 en-us 60 http://godstilllovesus.org/forums/3/topics/1715 <p>haha, i think mormons thinking about them is a funny way to say it. The Prophet Joseph Smith recieved them along with the plates and by tying them together he used them to translate the &#8220;golden&#8221; plates. I put golden in &#8221;&#8221; because no one really knows if they were made of gold, they just describe them as appearing as gold. Refering more to the color then the actual substance. Most say that because of how maliable gold is that the plates were most likely an alloy of metals w/ gold :)))</p> Sat, 31 Jan 2009 23:40:08 -0000 godstilllovesus.org:3:1715:16382 LdsGal202 http://godstilllovesus.org/forums/3/topics/1715 <p>I know what Mormons and other Smithian groups think about them :)</p> <p>That they were a tool used to discern choices need not seem very unusual. Even the Apostles cast lots to make choices. At times, if invoked, God was believed by many to act through otherwise random chance, or to favor whichever side He wished to win (hence the concept of trial by combat). Casting lots for decision-making, it is worth noting, is a binary formula; it produces a &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; answer. If the two stones worked in complementary fashion, they could produce four results, but it seems unlikely that in determining guilt or innocence or verifying a course of action, anything more than a positive or negative result would be necessary.</p> <p>It is interesting that this practice bears so much resemblance to pagan rites of consulting oracles. Much could be made of it for many different interpretations due to that similarity.</p> Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:18:55 -0000 godstilllovesus.org:3:1715:16381 Arandur http://godstilllovesus.org/forums/3/topics/1715 <p>Two of the most mysterious &#8220;items&#8221; in the OT, very little is said about them. They were actually worn by the High Priest in &#8220;pouches,&#8221; either on his shoulders, or behind the breastplate. <br />Due to the intentional (IMO) lack of description, and they&#8217;re relative importance, they&#8217;re puzzling. I&#8217;ve heard some pretty wacky conjecture on what they actually are. Some believe they&#8217;re a reference to the two stone tablets of Moses, some believe they were devices that &#8220;charged&#8221; the Ark, some believe that one of them was the &#8220;Shamir,&#8221; and nobody really knows. Even rabbinacal texts are pretty silent on them.</p> Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:09:45 -0000 godstilllovesus.org:3:1715:16378 Satolkin http://godstilllovesus.org/forums/3/topics/1715 <p>These seer stones were given to the ancient prophets and worn on a brass plate along with 12 other stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. These stones were a gift made from God to help the Prophets of old recieve revelation from our Heavenly Father. Any one have any thoughts you want to share about this? :)))</p> Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:00:38 -0000 godstilllovesus.org:3:1715:16372 LdsGal202