Misplaced Pages

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96-478: The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon ; they also stated that they had heard God's voice, informing them that the book had been translated by divine power. The Three are part of twelve Book of Mormon witnesses , who also include Smith and

192-499: A Christian primitivist church, called the "Church of Christ ". The Book of Mormon attracted hundreds of early followers, who later became known as " Mormons ", "Latter Day Saints", or just "Saints". In 1831, Smith moved the church headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio , and in 1838 changed its name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". After the church in Ohio collapsed due to a financial crisis and dissensions, in 1838, Smith and

288-501: A Great Apostasy began in Christianity not long after the ascension of Jesus , marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies, and followers dividing into different ideological groups. Additionally, Latter Day Saints claim the martyrdom of the apostles led to a loss of priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances . According to Latter Day Saint churches, God re-established

384-621: A U.S. state . This change resulted in the formation of several small sects that sought to maintain polygamy and other 19th-century doctrines and practices, now referred to as " Mormon fundamentalism ". Other groups originating within the Latter Day Saint movement followed different paths in Missouri , Illinois , Michigan , and Pennsylvania . For the most part, these groups rejected plural marriage and some of Smith's later teachings. The largest of these, Community of Christ (known previously as

480-538: A 1986 article in Nature included dowsing in a list of "effects which until recently were claimed to be paranormal but which can now be explained from within orthodox science." Specifically, dowsing could be explained in terms of sensory cues , expectancy effects , and probability . Science writer Peter Daempfle has noted that when dowsing is subjected to scientific testing, it fails. Daempfle has written that although some dowsers claim success, this can be attributed to

576-484: A certain spot and appeared to be making the sign of the cross; but Teresa says, "Really I cannot be sure if it were the sign he made, at any rate he made some movement with the twig and then he said, ' Dig just here '; they dug, and lo ! a plentiful fount of water gushed forth, excellent for 'drinking, copious for washing, and it never ran dry.' " As the writer of this Life remarks: "Teresa, not having heard of dowsing, has no explanation for this event", and regarded it as

672-412: A complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and claim to have similar views about the nature of Jesus ' atonement , resurrection , and Second Coming as traditional Christianity . Nevertheless, Mormons agree with non-Mormons that their view of God is significantly different from the trinitarian view of

768-402: A decree of the inquisition in 1701, forbidding its employment for purposes of justice. An epigram by Samuel Sheppard, from Epigrams theological, philosophical, and romantick (1651) runs thus: Some Sorcerers do boast they have a Rod, Gather'd with Vowes and Sacrifice, And (borne about) will strangely nod To hidden Treasure where it lies; Mankind is (sure) that Rod divine, For to

864-490: A good deal of his characteristic jargon and 'seeing with the spiritual eye,' and the like." John H. Gilbert, the typesetter for most of the Book of Mormon, said that he had asked Harris, "Martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes?" According to Gilbert, Harris "looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, 'No, I saw them with a spiritual eye." Two other Palmyra residents said that Harris told them that he had seen

960-694: A means to salvation. However, beginning with his accounts of the First Vision in the 1830s and 1840s, Smith—who said that Christ had told him not to join any existing church—departed significantly from traditional Christianity, claiming all churches of his day were part of a Great Apostasy that had lost the authority to direct Christ's church. Mormonism does not characterize itself as a Protestant religion, as Smith taught that he had received revelation direct from Christ to restore his original church. Mormons believe that God, through Smith and his successors, restored these truths and doctrinal clarifications, and, initiating

1056-416: A mid-line guess, an advantage of 0.04%, and that the five other "good" dowsers were on average farther than a mid-line guess. Enright emphasized that the experimenters should have decided beforehand how to statistically analyze the results; if they only afterward chose the statistical analysis that showed the greatest success, then their conclusions would not be valid until replicated by another test analyzed by

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1152-421: A miracle. This, I believe, is the first historical reference to dowsing for water. In 1662, divining with rods was declared to be " superstitious , or rather satanic " by a Jesuit , Gaspar Schott , though he later noted that he was not sure that the devil was always responsible for the movement of the rod. In southern France in the 17th century, it was used to track criminals and heretics . Its abuse led to

1248-625: A new heavenly dispensation, restored the original church and Christianity taught by Jesus. For example, Smith rejected the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity as of one body and substance, with no "body, parts, or passions", and instead taught that the Godhead included God, the Eternal Father, also known as Elohim ; his only-begotten son in the flesh, Jesus Christ, also known as Jehovah , the savior and redeemer of

1344-535: A short cord or thread is the tool of choice for many modern dowsers. The dowser holds the cord in one hand and allows the pendulum to swing freely. The dowser then observes how the pendulum is swinging and interprets the motion to offer insights. A 1990 double-blind study was undertaken in Kassel , Germany, under the direction of the Gesellschaft zur Wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften (Society for

1440-412: A surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shewn unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God

1536-562: A tree or bush. Some dowsers prefer branches from particular trees, and some prefer the branches to be freshly cut. Hazel twigs in Europe and witch-hazel in the United States are traditionally commonly chosen, as are branches from willow or peach trees . The two ends on the forked side are held one in each hand with the third (the stem of the Y) pointing straight ahead. The dowser then walks slowly over

1632-485: Is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water , buried metals or ores , gemstones, oil , claimed radiations ( radiesthesia ), gravesites , malign "earth vibrations" and many other objects and materials without the use of a scientific apparatus . It is also known as divining (especially in water divining ), doodlebugging (particularly in the United States, in searching for petroleum or treasure ) or water finding , or water witching (in

1728-565: Is no more effective than random chance . It is therefore regarded as a pseudoscience . Dowsing originated in ancient times, when it was treated as a form of divination . The Catholic Church , however, banned the practice completely. Reformer Martin Luther perpetuated the Catholic ban, in 1518 listing divining for metals as an act that broke the first commandment (i.e., as occultism ). Old texts about searching for water do not mention using

1824-466: Is no text accompanying the woodcut. By 1556, Georgius Agricola 's treatment of mining and smelting of ore , De Re Metallica , included a detailed description of dowsing for metal ore. ...There are many great contentions between miners concerning the forked twig, for some say that it is of the greatest use in discovering veins, and others deny it. ... All alike grasp the forks of the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that

1920-448: Is that Mormonism is a form of Christianity, but is distinct enough from traditional Christianity so as to form a new religious tradition, much as Christianity has roots in but is a distinct religion from Judaism. The Mormonism that originated with Smith in the 1820s shared strong similarities with some elements of 19th-century Protestant Christianity including the necessity of baptism, emphasis on family, and central doctrine on Christ as

2016-603: The Nauvoo Expositor , and formed their own church . The city council of Nauvoo, Illinois , led by Smith, subsequently had the printing press of the Expositor destroyed. In spite of Smith's later offer to pay damages for destroyed property, critics of Smith and the church considered the destruction heavy-handed. Some called for the Latter Day Saints to be either expelled or destroyed. Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum,

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2112-579: The ADE 651 , Sniffex , and the GT200 . In consequence of these frauds, in 1999 the United States National Institute of Justice issued advice against buying equipment based on dowsing. The device used by a dowser is typically referred to as a dowsing or divining rod, even though it may not be rod-shaped. Traditionally, the most common method used is the dowsing twig, a forked (Y-shaped) branch from

2208-616: The Aaronic priesthood from John the Baptist in May 1829, after which they had baptized each other in the Susquehanna River . Cowdery said that he and Smith later that year had gone into the forest and prayed "until a glorious light encircled us, and as we arose on account of the light, three persons stood before us dressed in white, their faces beaming with glory." Smith and Cowdery reported that one of

2304-632: The Assistant President of the Church , were both killed by a mob while in a Carthage, Illinois jail , and several individuals within the church claimed to be the senior surviving authority and appointed successors. These various claims resulted in a succession crisis. Many supported Brigham Young, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ; others Sidney Rigdon , the senior surviving member of

2400-642: The Eight Witnesses . The joint statement of the Three Witnesses— Oliver Cowdery , Martin Harris , and David Whitmer —has been printed (with a separate statement by the Eight Witnesses) in nearly every edition of the Book of Mormon since its first publication in 1830. All three men eventually broke with Smith and the church he organized, although Harris and Cowdery were eventually rebaptized into

2496-715: The First Presidency . Emma Hale Smith failed to persuade William Marks , the president of the Presiding High Council and a Rigdon supporter, to assume leadership and the surviving members of Smith's immediate family remained unaffiliated with any larger body until 1860, when they formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Joseph's eldest son Joseph Smith III as prophet. These various groups are sometimes referred to under two geographical headings: "Prairie Saints" (those that remained in

2592-765: The First World War Gallipoli campaign , sapper Kelly became well known for finding water for the British troops. In the late 1960s during the Vietnam War , some United States Marines used dowsing when locating weapons and tunnels. As late as in 1986, when 31 soldiers were taken by an avalanche during an operation in the NATO drill Anchor Express in Vassdalen , Norway, the Norwegian army attempted to locate soldiers buried in

2688-544: The Mendip Hills in Somerset , England in the 17th century the natural philosopher Robert Boyle , inspired by the writings of Agricola, watched a practitioner try to find "latent veins of metals". Boyle saw the hazel divining rod ( virgula divinatoria ) stoop in the hands of the diviner, who protested that he was not applying any force to the twig; Boyle accepted the man's genuine belief but himself remained unconvinced. Towards

2784-789: The Midwest United States ); and "Rocky Mountain Saints" (those who followed Young to what would later become the state of Utah). Today, the vast majority (over 98 percent) of Latter Day Saints belong to the LDS Church, which reports over 16 million members worldwide. The second-largest denomination is the Missouri-based Community of Christ, which reports 252,000 members. Small denominations that trace their origins to Rigdon, James Strang , or other associates of Smith's still exist, and several fundamentalist sects which separated from

2880-633: The Nicene Creed of the 4th century. Mormons consider the Bible as scripture and have also adopted additional scriptures. These include the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants , and Pearl of Great Price , although not all denominations use all books as part of their scriptures. Mormons not only practice baptism and celebrate the eucharist but also participate in religious rituals not practiced in traditional Christianity. Focusing on differences, some Christians consider Mormonism "non-Christian"; members of

2976-971: The early Christian church as found in the New Testament through Joseph Smith. In particular, Latter Day Saints believe that angels such as Peter , James , John , and John the Baptist appeared to Smith and others and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Thus, Smith and his successors are considered modern prophets who receive revelation from God to guide the church.     * ^  Membership worldwide; generally church-reported; with an occasional exception     ^ Once larger [REDACTED] Media related to Latter Day Saints at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] The dictionary definition of Latter-Day Saint at Wiktionary [REDACTED] Works related to Category:Mormons at Wikisource [REDACTED] Quotations related to Category:Latter Day Saints at Wikiquote Divining rod Dowsing

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3072-560: The "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"), was formed in Illinois in 1860 by several groups uniting around Smith's son, Joseph Smith III . The founder of the Latter Day Saint movement was Joseph Smith, and to a lesser extent, during the movement's first two years, Oliver Cowdery . Throughout his life, Smith told of an experience he had as a boy having seen God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings, who told him that

3168-488: The "latter days", before the Second Coming of Christ , and is used to distinguish the members of the church, which considers itself the restoration of the ancient Christian church. Members are therefore often referred to as " Latter-day Saints " or "LDS", and among themselves, "saints". The Latter Day Saint movement classifies itself within Christianity, but as a distinct restored dispensation . Latter Day Saints hold that

3264-474: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), 250,000 in Community of Christ , and several other denominations with memberships generally ranging in the thousands of members. The predominant theology of the churches in the movement is Mormonism , which sees itself as restoring again on Earth the early Christian church ; their members are most commonly known as Mormons . An additional doctrine of

3360-528: The Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvellous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before

3456-490: The LDS Church after it rejected plural marriage in 1890 claim tens of thousands of members. Most members of Latter Day Saint churches are adherents to Mormonism , a theology based on Joseph Smith's later teachings and further developed by Brigham Young, James Strang and others who claimed to be Smith's successors. The term Mormon derives from the Book of Mormon , and most of these adherents refer to themselves as Latter Day Saints or Mormons. Mormonism and Christianity have

3552-505: The LDS Church, focusing on similarities, are offended at being so characterized. Mormons do not accept non-Mormon baptism. Mormons regularly proselytize individuals actually or nominally within the Christian tradition, and some Christians, especially evangelicals , proselytize Mormons. The LDS Church has a formal missionary program with nearly 70,000 missionaries, with 15 training centers and 407 missions worldwide. A prominent scholarly view

3648-506: The Methodist church in Tiffin, Ohio , and, according to a lay leader of that church, publicly declared that he was "ashamed of his connection with Mormonism." Later, Cowdery reaffirmed his role in the establishment of Mormonism, though he lost editorship of a newspaper as a result. In 1848, after Smith's assassination, Cowdery reaffirmed his witness to the golden plates and asked to be readmitted to

3744-579: The Minerals, entering the rod, determine it to bow down, in order to render it parallel to the vertical lines which the effluvia describe in their rise. In effect the Mineral particles seem to be emitted from the earth; now the Virgula [rod], being of a light porous wood, gives an easy passage to these particles, which are also very fine and subtle; the effluvia then driven forwards by those that follow them, and pressed at

3840-544: The Scientific Investigation of the Parasciences). James Randi offered a US$ 10,000 prize to any successful dowser. The three-day test of some thirty dowsers involved plastic pipes through which water flow could be controlled and directed. The pipes were buried 50 centimeters (19.7  in ) under a level field, the position of each marked on the surface with a colored strip. The dowsers had to tell whether water

3936-608: The Three Witnesses and even later supported another group headed by his brother, John. In his pamphlet, "An Address to All Believers in Christ" (1887), Whitmer reaffirmed his witness to the golden plates, but he also criticized Smith, including the introduction of plural marriage . "If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon, if you believe that God spake to us three witnesses by his own voice," wrote Whitmer, "then I tell you that in June, 1838, God spake to me again by his own voice from

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4032-496: The United States). A Y-shaped twig or rod, or two L-shaped ones, called dowsing rods or divining rods are normally used, and the motion of these are said to reveal the location of the target material. The motion of such dowsing devices is generally attributed to random movement, or to the ideomotor phenomenon , a psychological response where a subject makes motions unconsciously. The scientific evidence shows that dowsing

4128-545: The Wealthiest (ever) they incline. Dowsing practices used in an attempt to locate metals are still performed much like they were during the 16th century. The 1550 edition of Sebastian Münster 's Cosmographia contains a woodcut of a dowser with forked rod in hand walking over a cutaway image of a mining operation. The rod is labeled in Latin and German; " Virgula Divina – Glück-Rüt " ('Rod Divine, Luck-Rod'), but there

4224-414: The administration of Joseph Smith, Jun., the prophet whom the Lord raised up for that purpose in these the latter days, that he may show forth his power and glory." David Whitmer first became involved with Joseph Smith and the golden plates through his friend, Cowdery, and became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses because of his longevity. Whitmer gave various versions of his experience in viewing

4320-431: The authenticity of the plates, but a contemporary critic of the church has noted that Harris rejected some important Mormon doctrines and that his sympathy for the LDS Church was tenuous. In a letter of 1870, Harris swore, "no man ever heard me in any way deny the truth of the Book of Mormon, the administration of the angel that showed me the plates, nor the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints under

4416-541: The avalanche using dowsing as a search method. Dowsing is still used by some farmers and water engineers in Britain; however, many of the country's utilities have distanced themselves from the practice. Early attempts at an explanation of dowsing were based on the notion that the divining rod was physically affected by emanations from substances of interest. The following explanation is from William Pryce 's 1778 Mineralogia Cornubiensis : The corpuscles... that rise from

4512-452: The best 43 among them for further tests. Water was pumped through a pipe on the ground floor of a two-story barn. Before each test, the pipe was moved in a direction perpendicular to the water flow. On the upper floor, each dowser was asked to determine the position of the pipe. Over two years, the dowsers performed 843 such tests and, of the 43 pre-selected and extensively tested candidates, at least 37 showed no dowsing ability. The results from

4608-648: The body of the church moved to Missouri. However, they were persecuted and the Latter Day Saints fled to Illinois. After Smith was killed in 1844, a succession crisis led to the organization splitting into several groups. The largest of these, the LDS Church, migrated under the leadership of Brigham Young to the Great Basin (now Utah ) and became known for its 19th-century practice of polygamy . The LDS Church officially renounced this practice in 1890 and gradually discontinued it, resulting in Utah Territory becoming

4704-434: The church after Smith's death. Whitmer founded his own Church of Christ . All three men upheld their testimony of the Book of Mormon at their deaths. On June 28, 1829, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris went into the woods near the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. and prayed to receive a vision of the golden plates . After some time, Harris left the other three men, believing his presence had prevented

4800-572: The church allows for prophets to receive and publish modern-day revelations . A minority of Latter Day Saint adherents, such as members of Community of Christ, have been influenced by Protestant theologies while maintaining certain distinctive beliefs and practices including continuing revelation , an open canon of scripture and building temples . Other groups include the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , which supports lineal succession of leadership from Smith's descendants, and

4896-472: The church before they were excommunicated in 1837–38. After Smith had selected the council of the Twelve Apostles , the Three Witnesses "called out the twelve men and gave each one a blessing." Oliver Cowdery was a school teacher and an early convert to Mormonism who served as scribe while Smith dictated what he said was a translation of the Book of Mormon. Like Smith, who was a distant relative, Cowdery

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4992-533: The church though he had criticized Smith's more recent innovations. By December 1837, a movement led by Warren Parrish plotted to overthrow Smith and replace him with Whitmer. After the collapse of the Kirtland Bank, confrontation grew between the dissenters and those loyal to Smith. Whitmer, his brother John , Cowdery, and others were harassed by the Danites , a secret group of Mormon vigilantes, and were warned to leave

5088-408: The church was referred to as the "Church of the Latter Day Saints" in early church publications, and in 1838 Smith announced that he had received a revelation from God that officially changed the name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". In 1844, William Law and several other Latter Day Saints in church leadership positions publicly denounced Smith's secret practice of polygamy in

5184-547: The church. But Parrish rejected the Book of Mormon, and Harris continued to believe in it. By 1840, Harris had returned to Smith's church. Following Smith's assassination, Harris accepted James J. Strang as a new prophet, and Strang also claimed to have been divinely led to an ancient record engraved upon metal plates . By 1847, Harris had broken with Strang and had accepted the leadership of fellow Book of Mormon witness, Whitmer. Harris then left Whitmer for another Mormon factional leader, Gladden Bishop . In 1855, Harris joined with

5280-454: The church. He never held another high office in the church, in part because he died sixteen months after his re-baptism. Martin Harris was a respected farmer in the Palmyra area who had changed his religion at least five times before he became a Mormon. A biographer wrote that his "imagination was excitable and fecund." One letter says that Harris thought that a candle sputtering was the work of

5376-404: The clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should be raised at that end where the two branches meet. Then they wander hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. It is said that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move their feet again and go away from that spot

5472-416: The county. Whitmer was formally excommunicated on April 13, 1838, and never rejoined the church. Whitmer moved to Richmond, Missouri , where he ran a livery stable and became a civic leader. After Smith's assassination, Whitmer, like Martin Harris, briefly followed James Strang , who had his own set of supernatural metal plates. Later, Whitmer organized his own splinter group based on his authority as one of

5568-439: The devil and that he had met Jesus in the shape of a deer and walked and talked with him for two or three miles. The local Presbyterian minister called him "a visionary fanatic." A friend, who praised Harris as "universally esteemed as an honest man" but disagreed with his religious affiliation, declared that Harris's mind "was overbalanced by 'marvellousness ' " and that his belief in earthly visitations of angels and ghosts gave him

5664-562: The distinctive theological developments they believe to have been developed later in Mormonism. The beliefs within the LDS Church with regard to saints are similar but not quite the same as the Protestant tradition. In the New Testament , saints are all those who have entered into the Christian covenant of baptism. The qualification "latter-day" refers to the doctrine that members are living in

5760-424: The divining twig, and the first account of this practice was in 1568. Sir William F. Barrett wrote in his 1911 book Psychical Research that: ...in a recent admirable Life of St. Teresa of Spain, the following incident is narrated: Teresa in 1568 was offered the site for a convent to which there was only one objection, there was no water supply; happily, a Friar Antonio came up with a twig in his hand, stopped at

5856-703: The end of the century, in 1691 the philosopher John Locke , who was born in the English West Country , used the term deusing-rod for the Old Latin name virgula divina . So, dowse is synonymous with strike , hence the phrases: to dowse / strike a light, to dowse / strike a sail. Dowsing was conducted in South Dakota in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to help homesteaders , farmers and ranchers locate water wells on their property. The military have occasionally resorted to dowsing techniques. In

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5952-457: The golden plates. Although less credulous than Harris, Whitmer had his own visions and owned a seer stone . In 1829, before testifying to the truth of the golden plates, Whitmer reported that while traveling with Smith to his father's farm in Fayette, New York, they had seen a Nephite on the road who suddenly disappeared. Upon arrival at his father's house, they were "impressed" that the same Nephite

6048-461: The grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, his brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of

6144-409: The hands caused by a phenomenon known as the ideomotor response : people's subconscious minds may influence their bodies without consciously deciding to take action. This would make the dowsing rod susceptible to the dowsers' subconscious knowledge or perception; and also to confirmation bias . Dowsing is in all other respects considered to be a pseudoscience . Psychologist David Marks in

6240-428: The heavens, and told me to 'separate myself from among the Latter Day Saints, for as they sought to do unto me, should it be done unto them. ' " Nevertheless, Whitmer is regarded by Mormons as an "enduring witness to the genuineness of the prophet Joseph Smith and his message." Latter Day Saint movement Collectively, these churches have over 17 million nominal members, including over 17 million belonging to

6336-468: The interviewer how he then could bear testimony that he had seen and heard an angel, Whitmer replied, "Have you never had impressions?" To which the interviewer responded, "Then you had impressions as the Quaker when the spirit moves, or as a good Methodist in giving a happy experience, a feeling?" "Just so," replied Whitmer. James Henry Moyle, a young Mormon lawyer, interviewed Whitmer in 1885 and asked if there

6432-537: The judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. The testimony was moved to the beginning of the Book of Mormon in later editions, with standardized spelling . The Three Witnesses were closely associated with Joseph Smith at the time he founded the church. Harris made a significant financial contribution to

6528-560: The last surviving brother of Joseph Smith, William , and declared that William was Joseph's true successor. In 1856, Harris was living in Kirtland and, as caretaker of the temple , gave tours to interested visitors. Despite his earlier statements regarding the spiritual nature of his experience, in 1853, Harris told one David Dille that he had held the forty- to sixty-pound plates on his knee for "an hour-and-a-half" and handled them "plate after plate." Even later, Harris affirmed that he had seen

6624-485: The local reputation of being crazy. Another friend said, "Martin was a good citizen. Martin was a man that would do just as he agreed with you. But, he was a great man for seeing spooks." During the early years, Harris "seems to have repeatedly admitted the internal, subjective nature of his visionary experience." The foreman in the Palmyra printing office that produced the first Book of Mormon said that Harris "used to practice

6720-553: The management of finances during the gathering of the Latter Day Saints in Jackson County and Kirtland as well as nine documented grievances, ultimately led to Cowdery's excommunication in April. Cowdery also refused a high council decision that he not sell lands on which he hoped to make a profit. After Cowdery's excommunication on April 12, 1838, he taught school, practiced law, and became involved in Ohio political affairs. He joined

6816-543: The more controversial Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints , which defends the practice of polygamy . The movement began in western New York during the Second Great Awakening when Smith said that he received visions revealing a new sacred text, the Book of Mormon , which he published in 1830 as a complement to the Bible . Based on the teachings of this book and other revelations, Smith founded

6912-458: The most important of which is that Christ is the savior of the world and that he suffered for the world's sins so that the penitent can return to live in heaven. A small fraction of Latter Day Saints, most notably those within Community of Christ, the second largest Latter Day Saint denomination, follow a traditional Protestant theology. Community of Christ views God in trinitarian terms, and reject

7008-521: The other Witnesses to the Book of Mormon had literally seen the golden plates—although, of course, he had not been present when Whitmer and Cowdery first stated they had viewed them. This account says that recantation of Harris, made during a period of crisis in early Mormonism, induced five influential members, including three apostles , to leave the church. Later in life, Harris strongly denied that he ever made this statement. In 1837, Harris joined dissenters, led by Warren Parrish , in an attempt to reform

7104-413: The places where the target (for example, minerals or water) may be, and the dowsing rod is expected to dip, incline or twitch when a discovery is made. This method is sometimes known as "willow witching." Some dowsers would hang a golden ring on the edge of the dowsing rod, or split the tip to slide in a silver coin. Many modern dowsers use a pair of L-shaped metal rods. One rod is held in each hand, with

7200-652: The plates and the angel: "Gentlemen," holding out his hand, "do you see that hand? Are you sure you see it? Or are your eyes playing you a trick or something? No. Well, as sure as you see my hand so sure did I see the Angel and the plates." In 1870, at the age of 87, Harris accepted an invitation to live in Utah Territory , where he was rebaptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and spent his remaining years with relatives in Cache County . In his last years, Harris continued to bear fervent testimony to

7296-526: The plates with "the eye of faith" or " spiritual eyes ." In 1838, Harris is said to have told an Ohio congregation that "he never saw the plates with his natural eyes, only in vision or imagination." A neighbor of Harris in Kirtland, Ohio, said that Harris "never claimed to have seen [the plates] with his natural eyes, only spiritual vision." One account states that in March 1838, Harris publicly denied that either he or

7392-483: The practitioner makes unconscious observations of the terrain and involuntarily influences the movement of the rod. Early investigations by members of the Society for Psychical Research endorsed this view. Committed parapsychologist G. N. M. Tyrrell also believed that the action of the rod was caused by involuntary muscular movements and debunked the theory of external influences. Dowsing over maps, prior to visiting

7488-489: The printing of the Book of Mormon. In addition, it has been argued that Smith and the Witnesses had a similar magical worldview. Grant H. Palmer wrote that moderns "tend to read into [the Witnesses'] testimonies a rationalist perspective rather than a nineteenth-century magical mindset .... They shared a common world view, and this is what drew them together in 1829." As a group, the Three Witnesses served only one other role in

7584-530: The remaining 6 were said to be better than chance, resulting in the experimenters' conclusion that some dowsers "in particular tasks, showed an extraordinarily high rate of success, which can scarcely if at all be explained as due to chance … a real core of dowser-phenomena can be regarded as empirically proven." Five years after the Munich study was published, Jim T. Enright , a professor of physiology who emphasized correct data analysis procedure, contended that

7680-505: The same method. He further pointed out that the six "good" dowsers did not perform any better than chance in separate tests. Another study published in Pathophysiology hypothesized that such experiments as this one that were carried out in the twentieth century could have been interfered with by man-made radio frequency radiation, as test subjects' bodies absorbed the radio waves and unconscious hand movement reactions took place following

7776-399: The same time by the atmosphere incumbent on them, are forced to enter the little interstices between the fibres of the wood, and by that effort they oblige it to incline, or dip down perpendicularly, to become parallel with the little columns which those vapours form in their rise. A study towards the end of the 19th century concluded that the phenomenon was attributed to cryptesthesia , where

7872-429: The short arm of the L held upright, and the long arm pointing forward. The upright arm is often free to rotate inside a tube. When something is "found," the rods move in synchrony. Depending on the dowser, they may cross over or swing apart. Glass or plastic rods have also been accepted. Straight rods are also sometimes used for the same purposes, and were common in early 19th century New England . A pendulum weight on

7968-415: The site, was also believed to work, hence some kind of clairvoyance was proposed. This was believed to act on the nervous system , rather than on the muscles directly. These various mechanisms remain in contention among dowsers. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries a number of dowsing-like devices were marketed for modern police and military use, primarily as explosive detectors, such as

8064-511: The standing waves or intensity variations. Science writers such as William Benjamin Carpenter (1877), Millais Culpin (1920), and Martin Gardner (1957) accept the view of some dowsers that the movement of dowsing rods is the result of unconscious muscular action . This view is widely accepted amongst the scientific community . The dowsing apparatus is known to amplify slight movements of

8160-460: The study's results are merely consistent with statistical fluctuations and not significant. He believed the experiments provided "the most convincing disproof imaginable that dowsers can do what they claim", stating that the data analysis was "special, unconventional and customized". Replacing it with "more ordinary analyses", he noted that the best dowser was on average 4 millimeters (0.16  in ) out of 10 meters (32.81  ft ) closer to

8256-515: The technique in silver mines in Wales. The Middle Low German name for a forked stick (Y-rod) was Schlag-Ruthe ('striking rod'). This was translated in the sixteenth century Cornish dialect to duschen ( duschan according to William Barrett ) ( Middle English , 'to strike, fall' ). By the seventeenth century the English term dowsing was coming into common use. In the lead-mining area of

8352-709: The three persons stated he was the Apostle Peter and named the others James and John . The three laid their hands upon the heads of Cowdery and Smith and ordained them to the Melchizedek priesthood . By 1838, Cowdery and Smith had a number of disagreements, including doctrinal differences about the role of faith and works, the Kirtland Safety Society , and what Cowdery called Smith's "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" with Fanny Alger . Smith's growing reliance on Sidney Rigdon as his first counselor and differences over

8448-431: The true church of Jesus Christ had been lost and would be restored through him, and that he would be given the authority to organize and lead the true Church of Christ. The Latter Day Saint church was formed on April 6, 1830, consisting of a community of believers in the western New York towns of Fayette , Manchester , and Colesville . The church was formally organized under the name of the "Church of Christ". By 1834,

8544-560: The twig becomes once more immobile. ... In the 16th century, German deep mining technology was in enormous demand all over Europe. German miners were licensed to live and work in England; particularly in the Stannaries (tin mines) of Devon and Cornwall and in Cumbria . In other parts of England, the technique was used in the royal mines for calamine . By 1638 German miners were recorded using

8640-487: The underground water table being distributed relatively uniformly in certain areas. According to archaeologist Kenneth Feder , "the vast majority of archaeologists don't use dowsing, because they don't believe it works." Psychologist Chris French has noted that "dowsing does not work when it is tested under properly controlled conditions that rule out the use of other cues to indicate target location." Water dowsers often achieve good results because random chance has

8736-527: The vision from occurring. The remaining three again knelt and said they soon saw a light in the air overhead and an angel holding the golden plates. Smith then went after Harris, and after praying at some length with him, Harris too said he saw the vision. The three men provided a single written statement titled " Testimony of Three Witnesses ", published at the end of the first edition of the Book of Mormon: Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we, through

8832-473: The world; and the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, an individual personage of spirit whose influence can be felt in many places at once. Further, Smith taught that the essence of all humans is co-eternal with God and that humans, as the spirit offspring of God the Father, have the potential to become like God. The LDS Church, the largest Mormon denomination, while acknowledging its differences with mainstream Christianity, often focuses on its commonalities, which are many,

8928-418: Was also a treasure hunter who had used a divining rod in his youth . Cowdery asked questions of the rod: if it moved, the answer was yes; if not, no. Cowdery also told Smith that he had seen the golden plates in a vision before the two ever met. Before Cowdery served as one of the Three Witnesses, he stated that he had already experienced two other important visions. Cowdery said that he and Smith had received

9024-406: Was any possibility that Whitmer had been deceived. "His answer was unequivocal ... that he saw the plates and heard the angel with unmistakable clearness." But Moyle went away "not fully satisfied .... It was more spiritual than I anticipated." In 1831, Whitmer moved with early Mormon believers to Kirtland, Ohio. In 1832, he followed the church to Jackson County, Missouri, and was named president of

9120-448: Was running through each pipe. All the dowsers signed a statement agreeing this was a fair test of their abilities and that they expected a 100% success rate. However, the results were no better than chance, and no one was awarded the prize. In a 1987–88 study in Munich by Hans-Dieter Betz and other scientists, 500 dowsers were initially tested for their skill, and the experimenters selected

9216-538: Was under the shed. Recounting the vision to Orson Pratt in 1878, Whitmer claimed to have seen not only the golden plates but the, Brass Plates , "... the sword of Laban, the Directors and the Interpreters ." On other occasions, Whitmer's vision of the plates seemed far less corporeal. When asked in 1880 for a description of the angel who showed him the plates, Whitmer said the angel "had no appearance or shape." Asked by

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