Impact:   Once I found out that Joseph Smith put his head into a hat to look at peep stones, the same stones he went fortune hunting with, it shook my world.  I wondered what else the church had white-washed and kept from me?  The polyandry, polygamy and lying to Emma was another big issue for me.  Then I had to look at the story of mobs being after an innocent man because Satan didn’t want the gospel restored.  Made way more sense that people would be upset with shenanigans then they would be with religion.

Name: Kim

Date: 25 Jul 2014

Impact Topic: Book of Mormon Translation

Impact:  I felt betrayed. After learning this stuff, I lost all trust in our leaders and everything they’ve said. If they lied about this, what else have they / will they lie about?  And since the devil is “the father of lies,” what does that say about our church?

Impact Topic: Book of Mormon Translation

Name: Heather

Date: 11 July 2014

Impact Topic: Book of Mormon Translation

Name: Kevin

Date: 11 July 2014

Impact:  When I was younger the image reinforced Joseph’s diligence in what must have been a monumental task. When I learned about Joseph apparently using a seer stone in his hat to facilitate an experience of receiving the BoM by revelation the illustration became quaint and rather dull to me. I much prefer the notion of revealed meaning of an ancient text.

Impact Topic: Book of Mormon Translation

First Name: Jarel

Date: 11 Jul 2014

Impact: This issue for me was less that Joseph used the stone in the hat method to translate, it was hurtful because I could be raised and educated in the church and make it to age 27 without ever knowing that. It made me realize that the modern day leaders were okay with lying to members and investigators in order to paint a more believable picture. The hypocrisy of this coming from an organization that requires members to be “honest in all their dealings with their fellow men” makes me feel betrayed and angry.

Impact Topic:  Book of Mormon Translation

First Name: Daniel

Date: 11 JUL 2014

Impact:  It is telling that in this article, “Urim and Thumim” now include the seer stone.  My whole life Urim and Thumim were the spectacles attached to a breast plate, not a seer stone.  The new definition is “either the interpreters or the seer stone.”