"Joseph's Magick Talisman" -

Joseph's Magick Talisman
by Larry Hall

Before the medallion was properly identified, it was known as the "Masonic Jewel of the Prophet Joseph Smith." In the shape of a silver dollar, the piece measures exactly 1-9/16 inches in diameter and is probably made of silver or tin (see photo). A copy of the Jupiter talisman can be seen in Francis Barrett's occultic book The Magus, page 174.

Dr. Durham's Discovery

Apparently, nobody really knew what Joseph Smith's "Masonic Jewel" was before April 20, 1974. It was on that day that Dr. Reed Durham presented his discovery in his address before the Mormon History Association.

As President of the Association and Director of the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah, Dr. Durham probably had their full attention when he spoke: "...I should like to initiate all of you into what is perhaps the strangest, the most mysterious, occult-like esoteric, and yet Masonically oriented practice ever adopted by Joseph Smith....All available evidence suggests that Joseph Smith the Prophet possessed a magical Masonic medallion, or talisman, which he worked during his lifetime and which was evidently on his person when he was martyred."(7)

After describing the medallion, Dr. Durham then added, "...[the talisman] originally purchased from the Emma Smith Bidamon family, fully notarized by that family to be authentic and to have belonged to Joseph Smith, can now be identified as a Jupiter talisman. It carries the sign and image of Jupiter and should more appropriately be referred to as the Table of Jupiter." (8)

Dr. Durham was correct. The table, also called the Kamea, can be depicted in either English numbers (as shown in the talisman found in The Magus) or in Hebrew (as used by Smith). According to Barrett, the table "...consists of a square drawn into itself; it contains sixteen particular numbers, and in every line and diameter four, making thirty-four; the sum of all is one hundred and thirty-six. There are over it divine names, with an intelligence to that which is good, and a spirit to bad; and out of it is drawn the character of Jupiter and the spirits thereof; if this is engraven on a plate of silver, with Jupiter being powerful and ruling in the heavens, it conduces to gain riches and favor, love, peace and concord, and to appease enemies, and to confirm honors, dignities, and counsels;" (9)

Mormon History Association President Durham admitted, "...in some very real and quite mysterious sense, this particular Table of Jupiter was the most appropriate talisman for Joseph Smith to possess. Indeed, it seemed meant for him, because on all levels of interpretation: planetary, mythological, numerological, astrological, mystical cabalism, and talismatic magic, the Prophet was, in every case, appropriately described.... In astrology, Jupiter is always associated with high positions, getting one's own way, and all forms of status...Talismatic magic further declared that anyone who worked skillfully with the Jupiter Table would obtain the power of stimulating anyone to offer his love to the possessor of the talisman, whether from a friend, brother, relative, or even any female." (10)

Dr. Durham did not determine just when Smith obtained his talisman, but states that its description was discovered "...in a magic book printed in England in 1801, published in America in 1804, and I traced it to Manchester, and to New York [where Joseph Smith grew up]. It was a magic book by Francis Barrett and, lo and behold, how thrilled I was when I saw in his list of magic seal the very talisman which Joseph Smith had in his possession at the time of his martyrdom." (11)

The fact that the talisman was on Joseph's person at the time of his death has been absolutely established. Mormon scholar LaMar C. Berrett tells us, "This piece was in Joseph Smith's pocket when he was martyred at Carthage jail." (12)

According to the Charles E. Bidamon affidavit (who sold the talisman to the Wood collection), "Emma Smith Bidamon the prophet's widow was my foster mother. She prized this piece very highly on account of its being one of the prophet's intimate possessions....I certify that I have many times heard her say. when being interviewed. and showing the piece. That it was in the prophets pocket when he was martyred at Carthage Ill." (13)

Even though Dr. Durham was a very influential Mormon Historian, his honesty regarding the truth behind Joseph Smith's magic talisman must be applauded. It caused him a great deal of difficulty with the Mormon hierarchy, however. According to Jerald and Sandra Tanner, the discovery by Durham "...was so startling that it caused great consternation among Mormon scholars and officials....Because of his frank method of dealing with these matters he was severely criticized..." (14)

neutralrobotboy wrote:Joseph Smith was one goddamned weird character.

Mormon-Mystic is a welcoming, respectful, intelligent, inter-religious discussion of the mystical path. Here we investigate mormonism, mysticism, freemasonry, kabbalah, tarot, mormon fundamentalism, comparative religion, scriptural tradition, the zohar and related topics from a "mystical mormon" perspective.

neutralrobotboy wrote:Joseph Smith was one goddamned weird character. It's hard to tell what character of scam artist he was: Inspired but delusional? Cynically manipulative? The links to Masonic rites are pretty strong, what the hell was that all about? Wish I knew. Maybe it was just to keep people mystified. Maybe he was trying to make (his modified forms of) them the possession of everyone. Anyone's guess. In any case, he created a monster.

There is a yahoo group called mormon-mystic, full of mormon kabbalists, mages, mystics and masons. A very warm and very knowlegable bunch. Happy hunting

While it's silly to take the official LDS stance that occultism was non-existant in Smith's earlier years (understatement) some folks seem convinced that Smith was some sort of all out practicing magician (HUGE overstatement). Smith's occult pursuits were fairly common for the period (i.e. treasure hunting, scrying, spirtism, etc.)

neutralrobotboy wrote: I don't regard him as a practicing magician necessarily, but have you every read up on some of the Mormon temple rituals? My understanding is that they're quite similar to Masonic rites, and used to be more so. Actually, for a long time there were implicit penalties of death for revealing what goes on in there.