Matthew 6:19-21King James Version (KJV)
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
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One common criticism of Joseph Smith is that he was a treasure hunter prior to becoming a Prophet.
A possible positive interpretation of this is that he was shown true treasure by God, by using Smith's preconceived notions of treasure hunting and the power of seer stones - which he eventually graduated beyond the need of using.
That is an interesting connection! Smith would have been quite aware of this verse, of course ...
ReplyDeleteI've wondered if by "golden plates" it means almost a mythological reference (e.g. is not the Bible spiritual treasure?) that was perhaps seen in a vision, and so not physical - as in why Joseph did not need the book physical present to translate... or perhaps maybe others were not able to witness or see this spiritual treasure, unworthy, or not child-like enough - like in Narnia.
DeleteThis is all purely my speculation, of course, and it would be totally unhelpful to someone who already thinks of the book in another more immediately physically present sense - though JS argued that even the spirit was material - just finer matter.
Also the speculation is probably unnecessary if one has a spiritual witness or testimony on the truth of the BoM.
C.S. Lewis actually touches on a similar idea in his tale in "Till We Have Faces", where something is really present, but only one worthy can see it.
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