Beliefs
Mormons believe that the Urim and Thummim of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon were the functional equivalent of the Urim and Thummim mentioned in the Old Testament. Previously, it was thought that there was no evidence that the latter were ever used to translate unknown texts. However, Dr. Cornelis Van Dam of the Theological Colleges of the Canadian Reformed Churches recently published a book titled The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel, in which he examines a new possible role of these ancient Israelite objects. Van Dam puts forth the idea that the Urim and Thummim were actually used in ancient Israel as a means of receiving revelation from God. Some Mormons believe that there were three different Urim and Thummims: the one of the Old Testament (Exodus 28:30) and two mentioned in the Book of Mormon, one used by the Jaredites and the other by King Mosiah. LDS members believe that the one used by Smith is the one originally possessed by the Jaredites.
Read more about this topic: Urim And Thummim (Latter Day Saints)
Famous quotes containing the word beliefs:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)
“It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“We are born believing. A man bears beliefs as a tree bears apples.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)