Urim-n-Thummim

"Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer  " --- 1 Samuel 9:9

Lucy Mack Smith quote...

"Early in the morning of September 23, 1837, Joseph returned home from Hill Cumorah after retrieving the plates, spectacles, and breastplate. As Joseph entered the house, Lucy Mack Smith said, “I trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost again by some small failure in keeping the commandments, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room to conceal my feelings. Joseph saw this and followed me. Mother, said he. Do not be uneasy. All is right. See here, said he, I have got the key. I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made."

Lucy Mack Smith quote...

"I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26)

"And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow.  Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages;  And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he should discover to every creature who should possess the land the iniquities and abominations of his people;

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

"And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim..."  -- Abraham 3:1

"Abraham sought the Lord diligently, and finally he had given unto him a Urim and Thummim, in which he was enabled to obtain a knowledge of many things that others were ignorant of. I think the meaning of the name of this instrument is Light and Perfection, in other terms, communicating light perfectly, and intelligence perfectly, through a principle that God has ordained for that purpose." --- Journal of Discourses, vol. 24, pg. 262

"When the brother of Jared was coming to this land the Lord gave him some very remarkable visions, and, among other things he gave him the Urim and Thummim, prepared two crystal stones in two rims of a bow, and sanctified them, and showed to the brother of Jared many marvelous things..."  --- Journal of Discorses, vol. 19, pg. 208

"Noah, after having preached the Gospel and published glad tidings among the nations, was commanded to build an ark. He had a Urim and Thummim by which he was enabled to discern all things pertaining to the ark, and its pattern. He was a great Prophet, and predicted many things, and his records, no doubt, were hidden up, and will come forth in due time" --- Journal of Discourses, vol 16:50

" The reason of this was that Aaron was appointed to be a judge among the children of Israel, occupying a similar place among that people that the President of the Bishopric occupies in the Church. But he was blessed above those who have been ordained to the same calling in this dispensation, for he was in possession of the Urim and Thummim, and by virtue of this instrument he could inquire of the Lord in relation to every case that should be brought before him for adjudication. The judgment of man is naturally very weak and imperfect, and inasmuch as Aaron was required to judge the people of God, it was of the utmost importance that all his decisions should be given in righteousness, that there should be no imperfections connected with them, and for that reason the Lord gave express instructions to Aaron, through his brother Moses, to have a breastplate. In this breastplate were twelve stones, representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and in the center of these rows of stones the Urim and Thummim was placed, and when he was required to render judgment upon any matter, he inquired of the Lord through it, and was enabled to give decisions according to the word of the Lord." --- Journal of Discourses, vol. 19:206

"Smith would take the plates and translate the characters one at a time.  The graven characters would appear in succession to the seer, and directly under the character, when viewed through the glasses, would be the translation in English.  Sometimes the character would be a single word, and frequently and entire sentence.  In translating the characters, Smith, who was illiterate and but little versed in Biblical lord, was ofttimes compelled to spell the words out, not knowing the correct pronunciation, and Mr. Whitmer recalls the fact that at that time Smith did not even know that Jerusalem was a walled city."  --- Millennial Star, 48:36

Article appeared in the Chicago Tribune, 15 December 1885

The Saints Herald, March 9 1822

Notes:

It appears from my current study, that a seer stone can only "see" the current location of an object or events now happening, while the Urim-n-Thummin can see 'all things past, present & Future"   --- CKS Oct 17, 2022

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seer_stone_(Latter_Day_Saints)