by Christopher C. Smith Christopher C. Smith is a PhD candidate at Claremont Graduate University and is completing a dissertation on early Mormon views of Native Americans. Stage 1, 1860–1861: Théodule Devéria The first hints of difficulties with the Book of Abraham appeared in the late 1850s when French scholar Théodule Devéria wrote …
Tag: Joseph Smith Papers Project
SL10364: Oliver Cowdery’s Rod of Nature
Masonic, magic, and religious lore regarding the rod of Aaron simmered in the burned-over district during the Second Great Awakening. Oliver Cowdery had already received revelations through a rod before meeting Joseph Smith, who revealed that Oliver would translate ancient texts just as Joseph had with seer stones. When the Joseph Smith Papers Project published …