There are a lot of benefits. First, we’d bring back hat wearing. Two, whenever we have questions, we’d bury our faces in our hats and meditate.

I can’t see the downsides here other than opening ourselves to mockery. We might as well just wear funny underwear so none will notice. Ooh wait….

I will say I’ve never heard the point of a “supernatural artifact,” as you say, is to draw a link between believer and diviner. They can be presented that way as part of the “smoke and mirrors” aspect of divination, but I was taught they are merely foci, and my experience has corroborated that.

I neither use nor keep “supernatural artifacts” for the reasons I explained above. They are unnecessary. unless commanded/guided by God I don’t see a need for them. To the contrary, I find they encourage hubris and dependency, and invite far more trouble than revelation.

But most people who use them today don’t use them to create a role for themselves, or to elevate themselves above others, I’d wager. It’s just that the people who do are the ones you hear about. Most of the people I have known who train with and use objects for divination keep them fairly private.

I have to content myself with focusing on being faithful to my covenants and doing good as Jesus taught. That is “faith” I can understand.

At WWE, Brian Whitney provides a bunch of source quotes from LDS sources on seer stones and translation. Very helpful.

At Mormon Matters, a two-part podcast panel featuring D. Michael Quinn (LDS historian, author of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View), Ron Barney (LDS historian, worked with the Church History Department for 35 years), and Ann Taves (non-LDS scholar of religion with interests in Mormonism and visionary religious experience). Great discussion.

At Radio West, a podcast on seer stones featuring Ben Park and Matt Bowman, two young LDS historians. I haven’t listened to this yet but I’m sure Ben and Matt are worth listening to.

Joseph expected them to work–so they did.

This is just my opinion …

I think the best way to develop the best of who we are as people is through a process of experience and reflection on that experience. (This is at the core of Mormonism.) We can also use abstraction to think about our experience, but I think the heart of the process is a concrete experience and reflection on that experience. I like to think that “truth” is out there in the world for everyone to experience.

Talismans and supernatural artifacts given by the divine to aid the chosen ones are at the heart of wonderful stories. I love these stories. I truly do. But I don’t think this is a good way to live one’s life.

Primarily, I have no experience with supernatural artifacts. As I said above, I value and trust my experience with the world. I’m open to new experiences. If you have a supernatural item, I would love to see it.

I also believe the world has plenty of wonder without magical trinkets. These last couple years I’ve started keeping bees. Anyone who feels the need to embellish our world with magic should learn about honey bees. There’s plenty of mystery there to keep you occupied for decades. The world is already full of wonder without superstition.

To my mind, supernatural artifacts aren’t about revealing new truths about the world. Supernatural artifacts are about carving out a role for the reader of the artifact. The artifact is used to create a relationship between the diviner and the believer. Given the asymmetrical nature of the knowledge received from the artifact, the relationship is ripe for abuse.

This is my last comment on this thread. If I had anything intelligent to add to this conversation, I’ve surely added it by now.

This is being presented very differently to the other treatments of history. Is this the new way? Will the older essays now appear in the Ensign too, and there be conference talks? Will they be discussed in church?

So it’s not the stone you object to, but the claim of exclusive knowledge?

Did Joseph claim that?