What Is A Seer In The Spiritual Realm

Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the terms prophet, seer, and revelator have various meanings. John A. Widtsoe, an apostle of the LDS Church, explained the definitions of the phrases and the contrasts between them:

A teacher is a prophet. That is the meaning of the word in its most basic sense. He teaches the body of truth, the gospel, as revealed by the Lord to man, and explains it to the people under inspiration. He is a truth expounder. He also demonstrates that obeying God's law is the path to human happiness. He exhorts people who have strayed from the truth to repent. He becomes a warrior in order to bring the Lord's plans for the human family to fruition. His life's mission is to uphold the Lord's salvation plan. All of this he accomplishes via personal connection with the Lord, until he is “filled with power by the Lord's spirit.” (See also D&C 20:26, 34:10, and 43:16.)

Before someone can teach, the teacher must first learn. As a result, there have been prophetic schools in both ancient and modern times, where the mysteries of the kingdom have been taught to men who would go out to preach the gospel and fight the Lord's battles. These “prophets” don't need to be summoned to a position; they are always and everywhere instructors of truth.

The Lord gives revelations to prophets as well. These could be new truths not previously known to man, or explanations of previously known truths. These kinds of discoveries are always limited to the official viewpoint in question. The revelations for the higher office will not be given to the lesser.

Over time, the term “prophet” has evolved to denote, probably most notably, a person who receives insights and instructions from God. The primary duty of a prophet has been misunderstood as foretelling future events, or uttering predictions, which is merely one of several prophetic functions.

The titles “seer and revelator” just magnify the greater and inclusive meaning of the word “prophet” in the sense that a prophet is a man who receives revelations from the Lord. However, there is clearly considerable wisdom in the particular declaration of the prophet's functions as seer and revelator, as done in Church conferences.

A seer is a person who perceives things via spiritual sight.

He is an interpreter and clarifier of everlasting truth because he recognizes the meaning of what others find enigmatic. He sees into the future by looking at the past and present. This he accomplishes either directly through the Lord's power or indirectly through the use of divine tools like as the Urim and Thummim. In other words, he is one who sees and walks in the light of the Lord with open eyes. (Mosiah 8:15–17 in the Book of Mormon)

With the Lord's guidance, a revelator makes something previously unknown known. It could be a new or forgotten truth, or a new or forgotten application of known truth to the needs of man. The revelator always deals with absolute truth (D&C 100:11), and it always comes with the heavenly seal of approval. Revelation can be received in a variety of ways, but it always requires that the revelator live and act in such a way that he is in touch with the divine spirit of revelation, the spirit of truth, and thus capable of receiving divine messages.

In conclusion, a prophet is a teacher of established truth; a seer is a perceiver of hidden truth; and a revelator is a bearer of new truth. In its broadest sense, which is the most generally used, the term “prophet” encompasses all of the prophet's other titles and characteristics, such as teacher, perceiver, and carrier of truth.

What is the role of a seer?

A professional diviner, a seer (mantis) was an adept in the art of divination. Since he or she merged the roles of confidant and personal counsellor with clairvoyant, fortune teller, and homeopathic healer, there is no exact current equivalent. Seers did not claim to be able to “predict the future,” nor did they claim to have a “paranormal” ability that was not dependent on the inspiration or dispensation of a god. Due to the inaccuracy of Greek religious terminology, a mantis dealt with a wide range of religious activities—anything that a freelance religious expert would be expected to handle. From upper-class professionals who accompanied generals on campaign to possessed mediums at oracular sites, to street-corner purifying and dream interpreters, the phrase encompasses a wide range of prophetic characters. Despite the fact that both claimed divine inspiration, the poet (aoidos) and the seer (mantis) had to be distinguished at some point in Greek society. They had highly varied social roles and always fulfilled different functions.

How do I become a seer?

Get in touch with your intuition while you're meditating and in everyday life. Your intuition is most likely a thought or innate sense of truth that appears to originate from no particular logic or mental process that you can control. It may also be accompanied by an unexplainable sense of rightness or truth. Learn to distinguish between intuition and other mental processes by becoming aware of regular thought processes (such as hypothesis or association) as well as your own wishes and worries so you can set them aside.

Is a seer greater than a prophet?

Ammon, a Nephite missionary, offered a sermon on prophethood, seership, and divine translation in Mosiah 8. He mentioned it in response to King Limhi's request for a translation of some sacred records (Mosiah 8:11–12) “a man who can interpret the records; for he has the means to look through and translate the ancient records; and it is a gift from God.” Ammon referred to them as “translation tools.” “Only when divinely commissioned may “interpreters” be used. “Whoever is obliged to gaze in them,” Ammon explained, “is known as a seer” (Mosiah 8:13).

Limhi reasoned that, given this information, “A seer is superior to a prophet” (Mosiah 8:15). Ammon agreed and went on to say,

A seer is also a revelator and a prophet; and no one can have a higher gift than a seer, unless he possesses the power of God, which no one can; yet, a man can have enormous power given to him by God. A seer, on the other hand, can see into the past as well as into the future, and through them all things will be revealed, or rather, secret things will be made manifest, and hidden things will be revealed, and things that are unknown will be made known, as well as things that would otherwise be unknown. 8:16–17) (Mosiah 8:16–17)

Ammon explained the difference between prophethood and seership. A prophet, or God's representative, has divine authority to predict what will, could, or should happen if people act in particular ways (such as promised blessings for keeping the commandments or promised woes for falling into apostate behavior). Individuals, both men and women, can act as prophets or prophetesses (lowercase P) in their respective lives, families, and ecclesiastical roles. While each dispensation has great Prophets (capital P) who stand at the head of God's covenant people or God's church with priesthood keys, individuals, both men and women, can act as prophets or prophetesses (lowercase P) in their respective lives, families, and ecclesiastic (cf. Exodus 15:20; Numbers 11:29; Judges 4:4; Isaiah 8:3; 2 Kings 22:14; Luke 2:36; Acts 11:27; 21:10; Revelation 19:10).

A seer, on the other hand, is more than a prophet who foretells the future or pronounces divine judgment. A seer is someone who can “perform enormous marvels through faith” by using “means” (divine instruments) prepared by God (Mosiah 8:18). As Ammon indicated, seership is superior to prophethood because it allows a seer to unlock mysteries, secrets, obfuscated teachings, lost text, and hidden wisdom from the past. The instruments of seership, as Limhi admitted, are “undoubtedly prepared for the purpose of revealing all such mysteries to mankind's progeny” (Mosiah 8:19). In this approach, a seer goes beyond the prophetic gifts and is thus called a seer “greater” in terms of both power and duty

The Book of Mormon's description of seership fits right in with ancient Israel's worldview. In the end, “People receiving spiritual manifestations through tangible items such as rods, a brass snake on a pole… an ephod (a portion of the priestly garment that included two precious stones), and the Urim and Thummim are mentioned in the Bible.” Indeed, seers are mentioned in the Bible as having once been present in Israel (1 Samuel 9:9, 11, 19; 2 Samuel 15:27; 24:11; 2 Kings 17:13; Micah 3:7; Amos 7:12; Isaiah 30:10) “The Old Testament oracles “Urim and Thummim” (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6) appear to have been used in biblical religion. In this case, the Book of Mormon is in keeping with biblical tradition.

Joseph Smith has been identified as a prophet “In the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, the term “seer” is used (2 Nephi 3:6; Doctrine and Covenants 21:1). He has every right to be termed such since, using divine instruments, he not only translated the Book of Mormon but also saw into ancient America's far past. According to Richard E. Turley Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee, “Seer stones… are mentioned in historical narratives of Joseph Smith and the translation of the Book of Mormon.” The precise nature of the Book of Mormon translation is unknown. Nonetheless, historical evidence suggests that Joseph the Seer first saw and then read the Book of Mormon's translated words, which were found with the plates in either the Nephite “interpreters” (also known as “spectacles” or later the Urim and Thummim) or in his seer stone, which he had acquired in his youth.

The gift of seership was restored with the restoration of God's ancient order in our time. “The ancient calling of seer continues active through current times,” according to Steven C. Walker, “as members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles serve as seers in the present Church.” These fifteen apostolic officials are known as prophets, seers, and revelators, and they use divine revelation to guide the Church.”

Steven C. Walker is a writer “Seer,” in Daniel H. Ludlow's The Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York, N. Y.: Macmillan, 1992), 3:1292–1293.

Richard E. Turley Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee, Richard E. Turley Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee, Richard E. Turley Jr “Ensign, October 2015, 49–54, “Joseph the Seer.”

From Darkness to Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, by Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat (Provo, UT and Salt Lake City, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, and Deseret Book, 2015).

Ralph A. Britsch and Todd A. Britsch, “Prophet: Prophets,” The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 3:1164–1167; David Noel Freedman, “Prophet: Biblical Prophets,” The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 3:1167–1170.

According to the 1838 account of Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni told the boy prophet that “In ancient or past times, the ownership and use ofwere what constituted'seers'” (Joseph Smith–––History 1:35).

The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel, Cornelis Van Dam (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997).

What is a seer anointing?

Do you get the sense that God is doing something significant in your life, but you have doubts and skepticism that it will ever come to pass?

It's time to release the spiritual prophetic eye, activate the seer anointing, and see your circumstance through God's eyes. To activate the spiritual seeing eye, you must tune your body, soul, and spirit to what God is saying and trust that He will carry out what He has promised. The key to activation is to prepare your mind by surrendering your ideas to the Lord and enabling Him to mold your thinking into one that is ready for manifestation.

By putting on the mind of Christ, Curt Landry teaches how to see with spiritual eyes—that is, how to activate the seer anointing. The trick is to move your mind into your heavenly identity as kings and priests, canceling the carnal mind that causes dread and anxiety to arise.

Can a woman be a seer?

The Pythia of Delphi, who acted as the deity Apollo's mouthpiece, was the most famous of all female seers. The deity was said to possess her and speak to her directly; her voice was hers, but his words were his. Most current researchers believe that all female seers were of this sort, and that they were merely passive agents of mediumistic possession. There is, however, reliable, if sparse, evidence that some of the migratory charismatic seers were female and practiced so-called technical divination. Because they did not participate in military operations, their activities are mainly unrecorded. The female seer assisted in the purifying and healing rituals that were part of the seer's skill.

What is a dream seer?

Dreamseer (yumemi?) is the name of these characters. In this case, the term yumemi refers to not only “one who has dreams,” but also “one who has true dreams,” a seer. Only the dreamseers may “cross” between the dream worlds in X, which are expressed as one connected universe rather than separate worlds.

Do seers have magic?

The gift of a seer gave them various'sight' related talents. A seer could naturally view a person's ‘aura' when they saw them. A person's aura has been described as the “physical manifestation of that person's emotions and beliefs.” A seer could read a person's aura and tell what feelings they were having, as well as what was creating those emotions and how powerful they were. Auras may also disclose a person's intentions, according to some evidence. When Jebra Bevinvier first encountered Richard Rahl, she could tell he had a history of violence and that he intended to start a fight.

Visions were the most important component of a seer's power. Seers were able to have visions that were a type of hazy prophecy. Seers, on the other hand, were unable to control these visions. The seer's reading of someone's aura triggered them. When a seer read an aura, they didn't always see a vision, but when they did, the vision almost always involved the person who caused it.

Seer's visions were symbolic and literal in nature. Literal visions were essentially premonitions of an upcoming event. These visions always came true, though not always in the way the seer expected, even when they showed them a future event. In this sense, seers were distinguished from prophets while also being compared to witches.

The second type, metaphorical, was similar to prophetic visions. The seer would be given scenes of numerous signs, symbols, and occurrences that had meanings other than the literal sense in these visions. Literal visions were far more prevalent than metaphorical visions, owing to the fact that metaphorical visions were usually about events that were not as important as prophecy.

The pressure of emotions and agony might easily overwhelm a seer, forcing her to pass out or have fits of pain, or potentially both. Most seers wore the Seer's Stone to help focus their power and alleviate the anguish of visions. Despite this, it was still extremely difficult for a seer to use their abilities, leading many to desire for death.