Description

First paper: “The March 20, 1826 Examination of Joseph Smith.”

A stone was located in a well on the Chase property in Manchester, New York. It was used by Joseph Smith to locate supposed hidden treasures under the earth. He used the stone for three years. Some men believed that Joseph Smith had the ability to locate money through the medium of the stone. Smith once used two stones, a white stone and a dark colored stone. He worked for Josiah Stowel on his farm, went to school and searched for money. This was before he married Emma Hale. On March 20, 1826 he was brought before Justice of the Peace Albert Neely. Smith was examined relating to his activities.

Second Paper: “Restorationist Prophet: Isaac Bullard”

Isaac Bullard (active 1817–c.1824) led the Vermont Pilgrims, a radical restorationist sect formed near the Cowdery residence in Vermont, practicing communal property and communal spouses. Claiming direct revelation and rejecting established churches, Bullard sought to restore primitive Christianity. Curiously, the Pilgrims never bathed. Led by Bullard’s rod, they journeyed near the Smith residence on their way to Missouri, where Bullard attempted to found a New Jerusalem. Both Bullard and Oliver Cowdery used divining rods for revelation, while Joseph Smith employed a seer stone. Their history highlights charismatic leadership and social experimentation that anticipated later developments among the Latter-day Saints.

Speakers

• H. Michael Marquardt
• Clair Barrus