spirituality. As I see it, Mormonism was birthed through a scared
triangle of Magic, Universalism and Christ.
Joseph Smith, Jr's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, was,
"pious but unable to choose one church above another. She tried a
Presbyterian church after she married but was disappointed. Finally she
was baptized, but only by a minister who did not insist upon her
joining a particular denomination (Hullinger)."
Lucy Mack Smith was a magickal
mother. Her name Lucy is Latin from the name Lucius which means light.
This was also the origin of St. Lucia the patroness of sight for whom
there are still festivals of light held today (ww.thinkbabynames.com).
This reminds me of the Celtic triple Goddess, Brigit, who brought the
light back after the dark winter.
A resident of Palmyra was quoted in an LDS
newspaper called the “Church Section” as saying that Lucy Mack Smith,
“turned many a penny tracing in the lines of the open palm of fortunes
of the inquirer.” This statement matches other reports from early
Palmyra converts including Orrin Porter Rockwell which said that the
prophet’s mother also practiced another forms of divination which used
dreams to locate treasure digging sites (Quinn 294).
Several generations of the Smith family were engaging in magickal practices before the 1800’s. His family was known for residing in areas of folk magick
and alchemy cultures. During the Salem witchcraft trials two of Smith’s
great-great grandparents were involved as accusers. Smith’s immediate
family had already participated in a wide range ofmagickal practices
before Smith had his first vision in the sacred grove which occurred in
a context of his families treasure digging quests (Quinn 31). Joseph
Smith and his family were not untypical of the early Americans who
practiced many different forms of Christian folkmagick (Quinn 30).
Lucy
Mack Smith specifically commented on “drawing Magic circles or sooth
saying.” She regarded this as part of the families over all activities
of reading the Bible, working hard on their farm, religious dreaming
and visioning. A medallion used in ritualmagick has been passed down
through the Smith family. Books published before the 1820s specifically
reference these types of “sacred relics” as being used in ceremonialmagick (Quinn 66).
Joseph's father on the other hand was a Universalist. According to many historical documents Joseph Sr., as well as his father, were Unitarian Universalists. According to the Unitarian Universalist website,
"If you're searching for a religious home that is guided by a quest for
truth and meaning, not by a set creed or dogma, we invite you to
discover Unitarian Universalism. We are a caring, open–minded religious
community that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path.
UnitarianUniversalist congregations are places where people gather to
nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to
make our communities—and the world—a better place (uua.org)."
So let's bring this all together in the context of Mormonism by first discussing threes. We see throughout spiritualities, science, history and culture a coming together of threes.
Madain, Mother, Crone
Youth, King, Sage
God, Goddess, Holy Child
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
Sun, Earth, Moon
Body, Mind, Spirit
Heart, Head, Hand
President, Senate, House
Mother, Father, Child
Water, Food, Shelter
Plant, Steward, Harvest
Dharma, Buddha, Sanga
All
of these "threes" bring a concept into balance and harmony. Just as a
table needs a minimum of three legs to be stable it seems that in our
lives, nature and spirituality - things are built, and held stable, on
threes.
So Mormonism was born of threes. Simply put; Magic,
Universalism, and North American Christianity. Joseph Smith was truly a
Shaman of North America. Through Joseph (and, in my opinion, his
feminine balance - Emma) our Heavenly Parents expressed their union
with magic, Universalism and Christian concepts.
The magic in Mormonism (seer stones, astrology, magic daggers, healing hankerchiefs,
temple rituals, etc) restores important, powerful, old world concepts
of our ancestors and other peoples of the world. Mormonism restores auniversalist doctrine of salvation that the Puritan based religions, especially in America, had moved far away from. While other Christians were preaching
salvation vs. damnation, the birth of Mormonism lined up with
Universalism claiming that everyone receives a glorified state after
death.
Finally Mormonism is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon tells how Jesus visited the Americas after his resurrection.
This important spiritual event brought the ancient power of Father,
Mother and Holy child, as well as the message of the Prince of Peace to
rest of the world. The Western world at large, at the time of Joseph's
vision in the sacred grove was a heavily Christian place, restoring
gospel and faith without Christ would have been impossible.
Magic,
Christ and Universalism formed a well supported and stable birth place
for Mormonism. A powerful triangle of ancient and modern wisdom as well
as spirit surrounded Joseph the day he knelt down in the sacred grove
and prayed. Joseph Jr., was birthed literally and metaphorically into
his calling as a North American shaman supported by the earth he knelt
on, the mystic mother who birthed him and theuniversalist father who taught him.
Hullinger,
Robert N. Joseph Smith's
Response to Skepticism, Signature Books; Salt Lake City,
1992.
Quinn, Michael D.
View, Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1998.
