6 The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth;
7 But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.
8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.
9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s.
10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;
11 And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word. (D&C 130)
The words “Urim” and “Thummim” translate to “lights” and “perfections,” respectively. They are two words that should be, at least, a little familiar to anyone who has studied the priestly robes Aaron was required to wear in the tabernacle.
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. (Exodus 28:30)
These words are also found in LDS scripture. In the Book of Abraham, we learn that, by their use, Abraham learned of heavenly bodies.
1 And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;
2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; (Abraham 3)
In the Joseph Smith—History and Doctrine and Covenants, we discover that Joseph translated the 116 pages of lost manuscript by the means of the Urim and Thummim.
By this timely aid was I enabled to reach the place of my destination in Pennsylvania; and immediately after my arrival there I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife’s father, in the month of December, and the February following. (JS—H 1:62)
Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them. (D&C 10:1)
These instruments were found deposited with the plates and other sacred artifacts, and in ancient times, their possession and use constituted seership.
Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. (JS-H 1:35)
Several verses in the Old Testament indicate that the Urim and Thummim were instruments through which a righteous priest could discern truth and dispense judgment in holiness. Like all things sacred, they are to be used strictly for God’s purposes.
With regard to this series of blogposts, it is of special note that, in the Abraham account, Abraham learns of the relationships of heavenly bodies and intelligences. It is through the Urim and Thummim that Abraham sees things that are “greater” and things that are “lesser” and the reckonings of those things. Verses 9 & 10 of D&C mirror these ideas.
9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s.
10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known; (D&C 130)
Concerning things pertaining to a higher kingdom, we see that the white stone becomes a personal Urim and Thummim. It is a means by which one comes to know of and understand things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms. This is exactly what happens when we are given new laws higher than the ones we have previously been given and to which which we have been obedient. It is a pattern that is seen as one ascends. The new laws help us understand the order of higher kingdoms.