Mormons publish photos of 'seer stone' used by founder

[trotsky]

http://www.oaoa.com/people/religion/article_9c6e2de1-a80b-510f-b461-68a204a9a4e5.html

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Mormon church for the first time is publishing photos of a small sacred stone it believes founder Joseph Smith used to help translate the story that became the basis of the religion.

The pictures of the smooth, brown, egg-sized rock are part of a new book that also contains photos of the first printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unveiled it Tuesday at a news conference in Salt Lake City.

It's the religion's latest step in a push to be more transparent about its history and tenets. The church's effort in recent years to be more open about its past was triggered by the religion's increasing prominence as its membership tripled over the past three decades to 15 million worldwide today. Questions emerged about the burgeoning faith, with some criticizing it for being secretive about its beliefs and practices.

Mormons believe that 185 years ago, Smith found gold plates engraved with writing in ancient Egyptian in upstate New York. They say that God helped him translate the text using the stone and other tools, which became known as the Book of Mormon.

Sadly there are no photos at the link. But if you punch "Mormon seer stone" into the Google, you can see a few candidates.