Twenty-Three (1828)Thummim was what the true advanced authors wanted the text to say, not a literal
translation of the inscribed characters found on the plates. What Emma would recall was
that Joseph would place the Urim and Thummim in his hat and peer into the hat to receive
what he would tell her to write down. The following is how Joseph actually worked the
Urim and Thummim:
Shortly after receiving the two rocks secured within the tin/silver enclosure, and
with Moroni’s help and supervision, Joseph heated the metal alloy to fully remove it from
enclosing the rocks. The U&T works in much the same way a modern (circa 2012) cell phone
operates. The user must hold the two rocks together, which completes the circuit necessary
to cause the rocks’ hidden technology to work. The energy to power them is taken directly
from the physical body of the person holding the rocks.^65
Anciently, even Mormon himself was unable to operate the stones.^66 His son Moroni
picked them up one day as a youth and they lit up for him, to Mormon’s surprise and
excitement. Now it was to be Joseph who would be the “battery” for the rocks, which, when
touched together, created a soft but bright luminescent screen on which he would receive
the texts or video stream from an advanced technological source.
Joseph was placed under a strict mandate to never allow another mortal to view the
rocks while they were operating. With that mandate, Joseph would at times, if necessary,
place the rocks inside a large, oversized felt hat, place his hands inside to complete the
rocks’ circuitry, and force his face down onto the rim until no light could be seen. He only
did this when he knew others were around who thought he was in the process of translating
or receiving “direction from God.” At other times, a large partition would be placed
between him and his scribe that ensured that none would see the light emanating from the
stones. While some accounts vary concerning the manner in which Joseph translated and
used the Urim and Thummim, none is reliable, as no one ever actually saw them work; nor
did they know the lengths Joseph would go to in order to conceal the translation process of
the plates. As already explained, the plates were a necessary prop to maintain the
motivation of Joseph and of others to believe in and support his work.
Seeking for Signs
If the inhabitants of the earth were supposed to know about advanced beings, their
powers, and how things really were in the Universe, these beings would have appeared to
the whole world and not just to a young American boy. Our mortal education, however,
was not complete in the early 1800’s, nor would it be for another 300 plus years—and the
most important lessons were yet to come. The final test of our individual humanity was yet
to be given. It was a test that, if we knew the “teacher” was looking over our shoulder, we
would never cheat on and would make sure we answered the way the observing teacher
expected us to answer, not how we would if no one was observing us. Joseph, therefore,
was very careful never to divulge or reveal a technology or any empirical evidence that
would have verified his claims.
Joseph’s critics asked for witnesses, proofs, and verifiable evidence that his claims
were real and not the invention of his mind. “Did he come with power and true authority?”
they would wonder. Wouldn’t any man claiming such things have to prove himself? But even
if Joseph had shown how the U&T worked, his enemies and critics would have downplayed it
as the “workings of the devil,” or some other magical process Joseph had learned.