Urim and Thummim

Paragraphs 8, 9, and 19.
And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God.
Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.
13) And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow.
14) Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages;
15) 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;
16) And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times.
20) And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.
21) And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these interpreters.
22) For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face of the earth.
23) And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.
24) And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:
25) I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works and their abominations; and except they repent I will destroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the land.
And Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, giving charge unto his son Nephi, who was his eldest son, concerning the plates of brass, and all the records which had been kept, and all those things which had been kept sacred from the departure of Lehi out of Jerusalem.
But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof.
23) And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.
24) For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.
Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
Short text containing a description of how the Urim and Thummim were to be used. Contradicts presumptions of biblical scholars and supports Joseph Smith.
Short description by Josephus.
"Left off shining 200 years before I composed this book, God having been displeased at the transgression of his laws."
This would be the 200 year mark where the Urim and Thummim left off shining.
Sectarian work defining an ideal law of Jerusalem.
The king is to request that the priest consult Urim and Thummim before going to war.
Cites Joseph Smith Jr.'s sister Katharine Smith Salisbury as follows:
"I well remember the trials my brother had, before he obtained the records. After he had the vision, he went frequently to the hill, and upon returning would tell us, "I have seen the records, also the brass plates and the sword of Laban with the breast plate and interpreters." He would ask father why he could not get them? The time had not yet come, but when it did arrive he was commanded to go on the 22d day of September 1827 at 2 o'clock. We had supposed that when he should bring them home, the whole family would be allowed to see them, but he said it was forbidden of the Lord."
A detail that were likely on the Lost 116 Pages based on statements by Joseph Smith and others:
  • The Liahona was used during some kind of Exodus in the promised land (probably Mosiah leaving the land of Nephi) to guide their journey. The Liahona guided them to the Urim and Thummim. The prophet took the Urim and Thummim to the tabernacle (because they had a portable tabernacle with them) to inquire as to what these things were, and the Lord asked the prophet what he had in his hands. He responded that he did not know and had come to inquire. The Lord told the prophet to put the Urim and Thummim to his face and cover it with an animal skin. When he did so, he could see the past, present, and future. The Liahona stopped functioning after this point.

Notes

There seem to have been at least 2 Urim and Thummim; One set used by the Israelites, and one used by the Jaredites. The Jaredites' Urim and Thummim appears to have passed to the Nephites, and then, eventually to Joseph Smith. This begs the questions, where did the Israelites' Urim and Thummim go, and was its nature and usage exactly the same?

The Jaredites' Urim and Thummim was created on Mount Shelem by Christ (Jehovah) at the time that he revealed himself to the Brother of Jared. It's express purpose was to allow for the future translation of The Book of the Brother of Jared. It was obtained by the Nephites (probably by Mosiah) by following the Liahona, and was left with the Gold Plates and then obtained by Joseph Smith, Jr.

Cross-References