Don't try this at home!

Yes, its been a while since I posted.

I've been thinking about some of the gnostic or mystical practices in early Mormonism, and I've wondered, "Why don't we do that anymore?"

For example, Brigham Young is quoted in History of the Church (7:285) as saying about seer stones, "[The Prophet] Joseph [Smith] said there is a stone for every person on Earth." Further, he said, "The president of the priests has a right to the Urim and Thummim, which gives revelation."

At left, one of Joseph's seer stones which was present on the altar of the Manti Temple at it's dedication.

So doesn't it sounds like all Elders Quorum presidents should have a seer stone? Why did we give this up? Who wouldn't want one?

Something Old, Something New

The other day I was browsing through early copies of the Deseret News (Utah's pioneer newspaper), and came across this little snippet from November 15, 1851:

NOTICE
In the posession of G.D. WATT is a BLOOD STONE; for the cure of all kinds of inward bleedings whatever,--a never failing remedy without medicine. No cure no pay. Mr. Watt may be seen at the Tithing Office.

I've read a little bit about this bloodstone belief. Brigham Young also had a bloodstone charm. He wore it on a chain next to his skin when he went into dangerous places. He thought it offered some element of protection. His original stone can be seen at the museum of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, in Salt Lake City. Here's a photo of a reproduction of Brigham's stone.



All of this makes me think of something like a lucky rabbit's foot-- some sort of charm, amulet or talisman that holds mystical power. It all seems very... nineteenth century. I was wondering if 21st century Mormons still hold to the sorts of mysticism as the old prophets, or if perhaps they have adopted more New Age varieties of mysticism. I have a cousin-in-law that practices something called "foot zoning." It seems to embrace elements of chakra, magnetism, and accupressure. Are these more representative of modern Mormon mysticism? Or do we still embrace peep stones as well?

My Definitions

I'm hoping that this can be a place to explore mystical elements of Mormon belief. I stumbled across a blog from a fellow who had literally written the book on Mormon mysticism, but from everything I could tell his idea of mysticism is just deep reading of the scriptures and kabbalistic texts. For him, it seemed that mysticism just means any theology that takes a lot of reading to figure out. This isn't my idea of mysticism, so I guess I'd better explain what I have in mind as far as that goes.

I was listening to the radio the other day, and I heard a radio program which featured an improv troupe from Chicago. They go around town and orchestrate strange happenings in which the unwitting participants have an unshakable feeling that something freakish is happening, outside of normal possibilities. For example, on a particular subway line, one person after another got on the train wearing no pants. After the car was loaded with pants-less people, a vendor came down the aisle selling pants.

I think that mysticism is sort of like that: it explores a world in which there are more possibilities than one might usually assume. I think that religion for the vast majority of Mormons occurs in a world where which fits neatly within the reality of their gentile neighbors, where nothing is amiss. For them, religion is defined by mandates and directives from HQ, and official interpretations of scripture, and theology explained in flow charts and diagrams. All of this is institutional in nature, top down.

On the other hand, I think there are many elements inherent in Mormon belief that operate in a different world, full of unexpected possibilities. These possibilities are created through personal choice and personal belief, quite independent of intstitutional practice. To generalize, we might say that many of these mystical practices are defined by the use of physical objects to effect tangible pro-active changes in destiny, cosmos, or knowledge. More common of these approaches would include priesthood applications with consecrated oil; fasting to alter fate; interpretation of dreams; prophesy using seer stones; water witching or other divination using sticks or rods, etc.

I would like to explore some of these ideas.

Our beginnings...

I believe in Santa Claus. When I was young, I believed in Santa with a fierce devotion that many aspire to in their religious belief. Santa, as an idea, is a beautiful thing. I felt so then and I still feel that way. The great thing about Santa is that his reality make many other things possible as well.

When I was about 10 my mother decided that my belief might cause me to suffer teasing from my more jaded friends. On Christmas night that year, after all the presents were opened and festivities concluded, she tucked me into bed and proceeded to tell me the realities of her Santa charade. I was shocked! I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe it. I cried, I held my breath, I told her she was a liar. When I asked my friends about it, they confirmed her lie.

For me, Santa is a symbol of possibilities, and also a reality on some level. I want to believe. I might feel the same way about UFOs, and Sasquatch. I think there are all sorts of possibilities, in places we don't expect. This causes me to wonder about mystic elements of the Mormon religion. I have some reservations about many of the concepts that are proposed as mainstream doctrine, but I also want to believe in some of the more mystical elements. Tangible objects tied to religion fascinate me particularly: the seer stone, the consecrated oil, the symbology of the temple.

We all have some element of belief, and some element of doubt. Doubt is what allows faith something to push against. Some might find faith in the temple, and not in the seer stone; others may find the opposite. I would like to explore the more tangible, physical artifacts and practices which give expression to faith.