Book of Mormon Evidence: Mesoamerican Seer Stones

In the Book of Mormon, various prophets had access to a revelatory instrument known as the “interpreters” or “directors.”1 This object was eventually sealed with the gold plates and delivered to Joseph Smith in 1827, who described it as “two stones in silver bows and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim.” Smith further remarked that “the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times” (Joseph Smith—History 1:35). In addition to having an Old World counterpart in the biblical Urim and Thummim, the Nephite interpreters delivered to Joseph Smith have fascinating New World analogs.2

Mesoamerican Zaztuno’ob

In modern Mesoamerica, anthropologists have noted the presence of shamanic seers known as aj-meen or hmeen, which literally means “one who knows and does” or “practitioner.”3 According to Mark Alan Wright, “The aj-men use crystals, clear rocks, or even fragments of broken glass bottles as a medium through which they receive revelation.”4 These stones are called a zaztun (plural zaztuno’ob), which means “clear stone” or “stone of light.”5 Because of their reflective properties, some stones are fashioned into a small ritual mirror. Others are transparent or translucent, allowing the user to instead look through them.6 

Michael R. Ash has noted that quartz, jade, and obsidian have all been used as zaztun.7 While quartz is typically white or transparent, jade and obsidian are usually colored green or black. Yet even these stones are sometimes found in white or transparent varieties, making them possible candidates for the Nephite interpreters (which several 19th-century sources described as being “white” or “transparent”).8

While still present among the modern Maya, the practice of using a zaztun to receive revelation dates back at least to the Early Classic period, and perhaps even earlier.9 They were especially used in divinatory practices whereby the shaman could communicate with the heavens. According to John J. McGraw, these “crystals are often associated with divinatory scrying, that is, obtaining occult information through flashes of light or images on any of a variety of reflective surfaces.”10 Furthermore, as explained by Mesoamericanist Karl Taube, “Ancient Mesoamerican mirrors were surely considered to be sources of information” comparable to “reading a sacred book.”11 

Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houston note that the ritual specialists who use zaztuno’ob are “seemingly imbued with far greater spiritual and perhaps real power” than others. “These specialists still play an important role in divination and prophecy, using their crystals to scry the future.”12 Taube also notes that the Huichol shaman apprentices use these devices “as a channel of communication with the deity” of the sacred location wherein they practice.13 Similarly, Wright notes these stones provide “the means of communicating with the Otherworld and enable the ritual specialist to tap into divine powers.”14

Such stones are often acquired through some sort of divine intervention. According to Wright, “Maya shamans believe that true zaztuno’ob are gifts from the gods that have been intentionally placed along their paths for them to find.”15 A shaman may receive “spiritual guidance to lead them to where they will find” the stone and sometimes may even be “given vivid dreams or visions of where it is located.”16 

On several points, the use of the zaztuno’ob among the Maya matches the Book of Mormon’s description of the interpreters remarkably well. In at least one instance, it can be said that the interpreters were a direct gift from God. In Ether 3:1, the brother of Jared “did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones” which he hoped would give light for his people’s barges. 

However, after communicating with the Lord face to face, the brother of Jared was given two additional stones to be used as divining instruments: “And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. 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” (Ether 3:23–24).

Wright believes that this event is comparable to the divine bestowal of a zaztun to Mesoamerican shamans, albeit done in a much more profound way: “The brother of Jared went up the mount with sixteen stones, but he came down with eighteen; the two extra stones were the interpreters that were given to him by the Lord. Just as Maya ritual specialists believe their clear stones are gifts directly from their gods, the brother of Jared was given his zaztuno’ob by the Lord himself.”17

Although not in the published Book of Mormon, it is possible that a similar event happened to Mosiah in the lost manuscript. According to an interview between Fayette Lapham and Joseph Smith Sr., one of these events involved some Nephites (presumably Mosiah’s party) finding the interpreters:

They also found something of which they did not know the use, but when they went into the tabernacle, a voice said, “What have you got in your hand, there?” They replied that they did not know, but had come to inquire; when the voice said, “Put it on your face, and put your face in a skin, and you will see what it is.” They did so, and could see everything of the past, present, and future; and it was the same spectacles that Joseph found with the gold plates.18

This account isn’t clear about whether the Nephites in question were divinely led to the interpreters as aj-meen can be led to their zaztun through dreams or visions. Nonetheless, the interpreters are described as a gift from the Lord, who instructed the initiate on how the sacred object was to be used.19 Furthermore, the interpreters helped the Nephites access divine power, as they were able to receive revelation through this medium.

The Book of Mormon also connects the interpreters and other divinatory stones to bringing forth hidden knowledge in a way that may highlight the meaning of zaztun (“stone of light”). When King Limhi asked Ammon if he could translate ancient writings, Ammon told him he could not, but knew a man who could, “for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date” (Mosiah 8:13). Through this means, identified as the interpreters, it was understood that “hidden things shall come to light” (Mosiah 8:17).20

Alma similarly connected divinatory stones to light when talking to his son Helaman. Regarding the interpreters, Alma taught: “These interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying: I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works … and I will bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the land” (Alma 37:24–25).

Alma also referred to another item—this time a singular stone— that would be used for the same purpose: “And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light” (Alma 37:23). Connecting these stones with light would have had a profound meaning in an ancient Mesoamerican context, in which “stones of light” were widely believed to facilitate such revelation.

Zaztuno’ob and Royal Regalia

In addition to being revelatory devices, Ash notes that zaztuno’ob could be worn. In ancient Mesoamerica, they were commonly “mounted to various types of clothing or royal regalia, including headdresses, breastplates, and on the abdomen.”21 

Joseph’s contemporaries often compared the Nephite interpreters to a pair of spectacles and assumed they were meant to be worn as such. However, some sources (including Joseph Smith’s history) indicate they were instead meant to be attached to the accompanying breastplate and worn from the chest. Such an arrangement could reasonably mean the interpreters were intended to be viewed from a distance.22 Their large size, unusual for spectacles worn on the bridge of the nose, strengthens that proposal. Such a setup would also better fit Old and New World contexts for connecting sacred stones to a breastplate.23

Ash has noted that zaztuno’ob were typically “as small as 1 inch in diameter to nearly 12 inches in diameter and generally 0.3 to 0.5 inches thick. Shiners [zaztuno’ob] worn on the body were often smaller than shiners not attached to clothing. The Nephite interpreter stones closely match the size of smaller” zaztuno’ob.24

Zaztuno’ob and Sacred Bundles

In addition to being worn or used for revelation, zaztuno’ob were often sealed inside a sacred bundle of objects. According to Ash, these bundles included “sacred items such as stelae, body parts, weapons, figurines, sacred stones, mirrors, and earflares,” but could also contain “clothing and regalia” as well as “sacred writings or tools for writing.”25 Not every type of item needed to be included in a sacred bundle. 

When Moroni sealed the plates in a stone box, he included the interpreters, breastplate, Liahona, and the sword of Laban alongside them. Each of these relics has parallels with one or more of the items typically stored in the sacred bundles, in addition to parallels with the contents of the Israelite Ark of the Covenant.26 Ash thus proposes that “Nephite prophets might have recontextualized the Ark according to the bundling rituals of their Mesoamerican culture.”27 Occasionally, Mesoamerican bundles were even preserved in stone boxes, further linking these concepts.28

Interestingly, Mesoamerican bundles are often depicted as being opened “during the onset of a new era,” during times of crisis, or to reestablish a familial right or claim to legitimacy.29 Ash noted that this describes the Book of Mormon perfectly: “The Book of Mormon, like Mesoamerican bundles, was also opened in a time of crisis, and in a new era—a time of restoration of things that had been lost, when divine authority needed to be restored, and a time when a sacred lineage (in this case the gathering of Israel) needed to be reestablished.”30

Thus, the preservation of the interpreters fits a Mesoamerican context as Moroni looked forward to the time when the Book of Mormon would be unsealed and translated for the world in a distant age.

Conclusion 

The degree to which ancient shamanic rituals in Mesoamerica invoked genuine supernatural power can’t be known. It is possible that many of these beliefs and practices were grounded in mere superstition. On the other hand, the gospel of Jesus Christ can accommodate a wide variety of genuine spiritual gifts, as well as the proper or improper use of such gifts (Moroni 10:8–17). 

As explained in Mosiah 8:13, “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.” Omni 1:25 similarly notes that while many spiritual gifts—including “interpreting languages”—come from God, “that which is evil cometh from the devil.” Again, in the context of spiritual gifts, Moroni declared, “lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing” (Moroni 10:30).31

Thus, it is possible that at least some of the shamanic scrying activities in ancient America could have involved genuine spiritual gifts or power, facilitated either by God or Satan. This recalls the experience of Joseph Smith himself, who had a true gift for spiritual sight or visions but had to learn to use that gift only for divinely sanctioned purposes, including the proper use of his own seer stones.32 

To whatever extent such gifts actually operated in ancient Mesoamerica, it is clear that the Book of Mormon’s discussion of sacred revelatory stones is at home in that cultural worldview.33 This correlation is meaningful within the theological framework of the gospel, since God often communicates to his servants within their own cultural context.34 As for Joseph Smith, he likely knew nothing about these parallels in 1829, since hardly anything was known about ancient Mesoamerica at the time. All of this strengthens the case for the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, as well as Joseph Smith’s accounts of the interpreters as an ancient American artifact.