Joseph Smith’s Seer Stone Displayed In Utah is a Rare Genesis Stone

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was said to have a seer stone which witnesses from that time said he used to translate ancient records. There is some question about how this was accomplished as Smith never described it himself. 

When the Church put Joseph Smith’s seer stone on display, many didn’t know what to do with it. I visited the museum in Salt Lake City across the street from Temple Square where there was a display of it.  

Full disclosure, I believe Joseph was a prophet, and I knew the history of the seer stone. I was surprised that it was a brown oval rock that kind of looked like any other rock. I guess I was expecting a white or clear rock for some reason. 

I talked with Phillip Hunt who has Hunt Family Stone Creations.  He searches for rocks and also buys them rough and then polishes them and sells them on Instagram. I asked him about the brown seer stone on display in Salt Lake. He said it is called a Genesis Stone. 

“They call them genesis stones because they are supposedly the first stones,” said Hunt. “It is where they find the first signs of life.” 

He said the earliest pre fossil algae are in these rocks and they have been dated to billions of years ago. Hunt said they are somewhat rare and the ones he gets are from a supplier in Wyoming.  

Genesis stones are also prized by people who feel there is energy in the rocks for the same reasons. This is from a site called Crystal Vaults. 

Genesis Stones received their name from their connection to the early origins of life. They are a "secondary" or "trace" fossils. This means they are rocks that contain evidence of life but no primary evidence, such as bones. They represent proof of one of the first forms of life on the planet: photosynthetic cyanobacteria, sometimes known as blue-green algae. 

I get that you may think Joseph was a fraud and his use of a rock to translate is the stupidest thing you have ever heard. For me, it is interesting that what I thought was a common rock I could pick up anywhere, actually appears to be rare and old.  

Things aren’t always what you first think.