King Mosiah gathered together the sacred things in his possession—the plates of brass, the plates of Nephi (both sets), the twenty-four plates of gold (the Jaredite record), the interpreters (Urim and Thummim), the sword of Laban, and the miraculous ball (Liahona)—and conferred them upon Alma the Younger with a commission to guard them well and continue to inscribe their history.
The Urim and Thummim was an instrument of revelation prepared by God from the beginning of time and handed down from generation to generation. The appearance of the Urim and Thummim is confirmed by the Prophet Joseph Smith as “two stones in silver bows … fastened to a breastplate” (Joseph Smith–History 1:35). It was deposited with the gold plates found by Joseph Smith, “and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times; … God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book [of Mormon]” (Joseph Smith–History 1:35).
History of the Urim and Thummim
The history of the Urim and Thummim indicates that there was likely more than one set of interpreters. The first scriptural reference to the Urim and Thummim, though not explicitly named, appears to be in connection with the visions and revelations given to the brother of Jared. At that time, “two stones” were mentioned that he was to seal up along with the revelations that he wrote down. The Lord then indicated how the stones would be used: “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 3:24). Later, “the people of Limhi brought to Mosiah a record, ‘engraven on plates of ore,’ [Mosiah 21:27] which record Mosiah translated, by the aid of ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of bow,’ and which gave an account of the Jaredites [Mosiah 28:11–19].” 44 This was the Urim and Thummim hidden by Moroni and received by Joseph Smith, the same Urim and Thummim possessed by the brother of Jared (D&C 17:1).
The patriarch Abraham possessed a Urim and Thummim and learned about the nature of the physical universe by using it. Biblical references to the Urim and Thummim show it to be the means by which the Aaronic high priest inquired of the Lord. Aaron and the priests in Israel possessed it from generation to generation (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6). Apparently, the breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim was worn over the heart. Some scholars take Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65 to mean that the Urim and Thummim was not found in ancient Israel after the Babylonian exile.
Though Lehi and Nephi do not speak of the Urim and Thummim, it existed from the days of Ammon on, being called “interpreters,” requiring divine authorization to use it, and being passed down from prophet to prophet (Mosiah 8:13, 19; 21:26–28; 28:20; Alma 37:21, 24; Ether 4:5). Ammon’s comment is helpful for understanding the connection between the Urim and Thummim and those authorized to use it: “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” (Mosiah 8:13).
The Prophet Joseph Smith received the same Urim and Thummim “given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” and of which the Three Witnesses were promised a glimpse if they trusted the Lord (D&C 17:1). President Joseph Fielding Smith stated that this Urim and Thummim was separate and distinct from the one possessed by the patriarch Abraham and by the leaders of the Aaronic Priesthood in ancient Israel. 45