"Our English word 'prophet' is derived from the Greek prophetes = 'spokesman'. To this corresponds  two sets of terms in Hebrew: ro'eh, 'seer' with its cognates hozeh, 'gazer' sopheh, 'spyer' and shmer, 'watchman' and the more specific nabi, ;prophet; literally 'spokesman', with it's cognates mal'ach, 'messenger' and melis, 'interpreter' (of Jehovah) -- Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 150

"And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; ...and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found." -- 1 Samuel 9:19-20

"And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times." --- Mosiah 28:16

"We learn from the Babylonians there was a word ARIK in the Sumerian language which signifies 'a seer'; Joseph was a seer of seers, and it was in virtue of his seership that Pharaoh had raised him to the dignity next to his own.  Egypt was especially the land of the seers."  --- Joseph of Egypt, p. 112

"And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet. And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God."  - Mosiah 8:15-16

"The Urim and Thummin is a stone, or other substance, sanctified and illuminated by the Spirit of the living God, and presented to those who are blessed with the gift of seeing." - Masterful Discourses of Orson Pratt, by N.B. Lundwall, p. 552

As the powers of seership are developed within a man, he becomes illuminated by the Spirit of God and can “see” into the past or future. Jesus was the most perfect example of this gift, as He was in all spiritual things. Examples of His seership ability are indicated in the following passages;

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, `Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!’ Nathanael saith unto him, `Whence knowest thou me?’ Jesus answered and said unto him, `Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. . . . Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these.’ (John 1:47-50)

* * *

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, `Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, [65] ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them.’ (Matt. 21:1-2)

* * *

Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, `Go into the city to such a man and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples, and the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.’ (Matt. 26:17-19)

* * *

Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. (Matt. 26:45)

* * *

And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and taken nothing; nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net brake. (Luke 5:5-6)

* * *

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take, give unto them for me and thee. (Matt. 17:27)

During the last week in September of 1830, a conference was held at Fayette. There were only sixty-two members of the Church at that time. At the conference much was said about Hiram’s peepstone. He acknowledge his error and promised to be loyal to his leader and cease consulting the stone for guidance. Oliver Cowdery had apologized for his course and so Hiram was re-instated in the good graces of his leader. The Page `peepstone’ however, has been preserved as a souvenir in the Archives of the Reorganized Church. The writer was permitted to examine it. It is a flat stone about seven inches long, four wide and one quarter inch in thickness. It is dark gray in color with waves of brown and purple across the surface. A small hole has been drilled through one end of it as if a string had been threaded through it. It is simply impressive enough to make a good paper weight, yet it became a tool through which the adversary attempted to stir up strife and create a schism in the Church. Hiram E. Page had received spurious information about the building up of Zion, which was a popular theme with the little flock. (Historical Background of the Doc. & Cov., by Cecil McGavin, p. 93)

However...

When Apostle Alvin R. Dyer was in Richmond, Missouri, he visited Mrs. Mayme Koontz, who possessed the Hiram Page stone. He described it as a light gray, highly polished stone, about 5″ by 3″ by 1/2” thick with two round holes in it. (???)

Mrs. Koontz stated that–

As to how this seer stone came into my possession, it has been handed down through one generation of the Whitmer family to the next generation until it finally was given to me, and I consider it a very great honor to have such a sacred trust in my possession. (Refiner’s Fire, by Alvin R. Dyer, p. 257)

 Sept. 26, 1830: To our great grief, however, we soon found that Satan had been lying in wait to deceive, and seeking whom he might devour. Brother Hiram Page had in his possession a certain stone, by which he had obtained certain `revelations’ concerning the upbuilding of Zion, the order of the Church, etc., all of which were entirely at variance with the order of God’s house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as in our late revelations. As a conference meeting had been appointed for the 26th day of September, I thought it wisdom not to do much more than to converse with the brethren on the subject, until the conference should meet. Finding, however, that many–especially the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery–were believing much in the things set forth by this stone, we thought best to inquire of the Lord concerning so important a matter. (D.H.C. 1:110)

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith the dangers of stone, and the source of its power:

"And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me and that Satan deceiveth him;." --- DyC 28:11

THE WILLIAM TITT AND OTHER STONES

" It is not safe to depend on peepstones in any case where evil spirits have the power to put false appearances before them while looking in a peepstone. If evil influences will not interfere, the verdict will be as true as preaching. That is my experience in the matter; also the Patriarch, Hiram Smith, the brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith held the same idea, but stated that our faith was not strong enough to overcome the evil influences that might interfere, but seemed to think that time would come..." --- Journal of Priddy Meeks, Utah State Historical Quarterly 10:200

"Dec. 27, 1841: I met with the Twelve at Brother Joseph’s. He conversed with us in a familiar manner on a variety of subjects, and explained to us the Urim and Thummim which he found with the plates, called in the Book of Mormon the Interpreters. He said that every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness, and most of those who do find one make an evil use of it; he showed us his seer stone.  --- Brigham Young, Mill. Star 26:118"

"A person may see the power of the devil displayed, and mistake it for the power of God, for without the light of the Spirit one cannot tell the difference between the power of the Lord and the power of the devil.  --- Brigham Young, J.D. 3:155