Last week we talked about the Nephite "Interpreters" and how they may have transferred from the brother of Jared to Joseph Smith. We also explained that their more common label, the "Urim and Thummim," has been applied to more than one tool through history.

This week we'll continue by noting that in Joseph Smith's day the term "Urim and Thummim" applied to two different translating tools — the Nephite Interpreters as well as a special "seer stone" owned by the prophet. For members who aren't familiar with the seer stone some questions or concerns may arise.

What was Joseph's seer stone? Where did it come from? How did the prophet use it to translate? Why would he use two different tools? And why are some members unfamiliar with the seer stone? In order to answers these questions, we need to understand the context in which Joseph translated the Book of Mormon. The place to start is with the "treasure digging" world-view of many frontier Americans.

Read the full column on MormonTimes.com.