An exploration of Life Art
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In Fragments is an exploration of Life Art
Created by Jonathan Jennings Harris
    Ritual 3
    A ritual to utilize a set of gray and white “seeing stones”
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    The “Urim and Thummim” are a mysterious set of objects first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Exodus — believed to be “seeing stones” used by the High Priest to engage in cleromancy (discerning the will of God).

    • My mother’s Masonic bible, received as a gift from her father in 1956

    They were traditionally worn as a part of the Hoshen (sacred breastplate) attached to the Ephod (sacred vest), though their exact composition is never directly described, as the stones were kept hidden from view.

    In the tradition of Mormonism, the “Urim and Thummin“ came to signify any set of instruments that could be used for receiving divine revelations, such as the pair of spectacles used by Joseph Smith to translate the Golden Plates into the Book of Mormon in 1827 (Smith was born in nearby Sharon, Vermont).

    In his 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, the scope of the Urim and Thummim is described as being even broader than that:

    • Joseph Smith receiving the Urim and Thummim from the Angel Moroni
      Edward Stevenson — 1893

    The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.

    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.

    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;

    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.

    • Yale coat of arms, showing the phrase “Urim and Thummim” written in Hebrew

    The phrase “Urim and Thummim” is usually translated as “lights and perfections” or “revelations and truth” — and its Latin equivalent, Lux et Veritas, is the motto of several universities, including Yale, which many of my ancestors attended.

    In Paolo Coehlo’s 1988 novel, The Alchemist, the Urim and Thummim are black and white fortune-telling stones that Melchizedek gives to Santiago, with black indicating “yes” and white indicating “no” — but Santiago never uses the stones, having promised himself to “make his own decisions.”

    This brief ritual uses three “linestones” from Linestone as a localized Urim and Thummim — placed above the eyes and taken in the mouth to receive a vision of what is to come.

    As the film concludes, the image recedes into the void.

    Performed in 2015
    View film (2:00)
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    • Urim and Thummim
      On creativity and the process of visioning
      Published Feb 7, 2022

    A rendering of two connected linestones forming a single set of eyes, with a crossed out mouth that is no longer able to speak.

    • Camera Kit 1
      In 21 rituals
    • Glass Sheets
      In 22 rituals
    • Glass Stand
      In 22 rituals
    • Linestones
      In 8 rituals
    • Masonic Bible
      In 1 ritual
    • White Clothes
      In 14 rituals
    • White Paint Pen
      In 22 rituals
    • Jonathan Jennings Harris
      In 23 rituals
    • High Acres Farm
      In 24 rituals
    • The Beach
      In 11 rituals
    • Urim and Thummim
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      Download all stills from “Urim and Thummim” (3 MB)

    • Created by
      Jonathan Jennings Harris
    • Edited with
      Scott Thrift
    • Original music by
      Julio Monterrey
    • Filmed at
      High Acres Farm
      Next
      • Essay 4
        Not a Single Point
        A ritual to pulverize a collection of gray and white stones into powder
      In Fragments is an exploration of Life Art.
      • Intro
      • FAQ
      • Genealogy
      • Images
      • Music
      • Credits
      • Contact
      In Fragments is an exploration of Life Art
      Created by Jonathan Jennings Harris