User:Feoffer/sandbox Folk magic in early Mormonism

Seer stones spectacles Urim and Thumim Bleeding ghost.. Spirit in thrice repeated dream. Angel Nephi Moroni

Burned-over district lore and magic

Buried treasure

Captain William Kidd was believed to have buried treasure before his 1701 surrender to authorities in New York and subsequent execution for piracy.^[1] A broadside song, "Captain Kidd's Farewell to the Seas, or, the Famous Pirate's Lament", popularized the common belief that Kidd had buried his treasure as well as a bible.^[1] The song was reportedly a childhood favorite of Mormonism founder Joseph Smith.^[1]

Mound-builder myths and the origin of Native Americans

Giants

Dream interpretation and ghosts

Dowsing

Astrology

Scrying

"glass-looking"

Charms and talismans

Magic parchments

Magic circles

Smith family and folk magic

Luman Walters digs

Josiah Stowell patronage

In October 1825, Josiah Stowell of South Bainbridge, New York visited his eldest son, Simpson Stowell, in Palmyra, New York.^[2]

Trial

Joseph Knight patronage

By November 1826, Josiah Stowell could no longer afford to continue searching for buried treasure, and Smith traveled to Colesville, New York for a few months to work for Joseph Knight Sr.^[3] Smith directs further excavations on Knight's property and at other locations around Colesville.^[4]

Elopement

Timeline

1822 - Smith, hired to dig a well on the Chase property, finds a stone / 'seer stone' he later uses for scrying.
Night of Sept. 22/23, 1823 (Autumnal Equinox)
Nov. 19, 1823 - Alvin dies of medical error, funeral preacher suggests he is in hell.
Sept 29, 1824 - Alvin exhumation reported
1825 Oct.–Nov. - Harmony PA treasure dig
1826 March 20th - Disorderly person trial

1827 Jan. - Elopes
Night of Sept. 22/23, 1827 (Autumnal Equinox) - plates reportedly obtained
1827 Nov./Dec. - move to Harmony
1828 June 15 - Smith firstborn dies

^ ^a ^b ^c Huggins, Ronald V. (2003). "From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 36 (4).
^ https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-locations-of-joseph-smiths-early-treasure-quests/
^ Jessee 1984, p. 32
^ Vogel 1994, pp. 227, 229

[dialogue-1] Huggins, Ronald V. (2003). "From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 36 (4).

[2] ttps://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-locations-of-joseph-smiths-early-treasure-quests/

[3] Jessee 1984, p. 32

[4] Vogel 1994, pp. 227, 229

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