Magic Parchment and the Jupiter Talisman

[_Imapiratewasher]

I should have posted a pic of the magic parchment, too. Here it is:



KA

Looks like something one would scribble when bored in lectures.

[_Mike Reed]

I should have posted a pic of the magic parchment, too. Here it is:



KA

Looks like something one would scribble when bored in lectures.

:) Except is is leafed in gold and (apparently) follows the design instructions of the occult book The Magus.

[_LifeOnaPlate]

Me: Right... but as I mentioned previously, the talisman could have been worn by joseph around his neck, which would have probably gone unnoticed by those collecting Smith's belongings. We also know that Smith had a hat and a gun at the scene, but those weren't on the list either--probably because they fell off or were dropped as Smith jumped from the window.

LoaP: Didn't Bidamon say the talisman (which surfaced, oddly, years later) say it was in Joseph Smith's pocket? I don't recall the exact account. Maybe someone has a source.

Repost:

Charity makes a good point by noting the age of Bidamon. But I think it would be an overstatement to say that his age of 15 (and the 58 year time period in between) discredits his report entirely. No doubt the greater the time period (and the younger the age), the greater the likelihood that details will evolve in the mind. However, it seems more probable to me that inaccurate details would lie not in the big details like ownership, but rather with more irrelevant ones... like exactly where Smith had it on his person when he was martyred. If Bidamon had inadvertently added the inaccurate detail (perhaps by assumption) that Smith had it in his pocket, rather than the talisman actually hanging around his neck when he was killed, then it would be understandable that it was not listed among Smith's possessions. It does have a hole in it, ya know. It could have easily gone unnoticed by being worn underneath his clothing... as would have likely been the case. Just as Smith and the early saints believed that the garments must touch the skin in order to have its greatest power of protection, it is likely that Smith (if he indeed owned the talisman) believed the talisman should too. At any rate... a key point that Charity does not address is that talisman was likely designed based on illustrations found in The Magus, which is particularly significant since the Smith family parchment (that came from an entirely separate line of inheritance through Hyrum) was also likely designed by using the same source. Like I said, these two artifacts considered together with this circumstantial evidence, seem to have an interesting way of validating each other.

The two together are interesting, and would seem to strengthen the case, indeed. I believe, still, that Bidamon's words ought to be taken into account. Additionally, memory is a funny thing, and I still correct my siblings about certain old possessions when we go through the boxes in my mom's basement. And it's only been 15 or so years in that case.