A Biblical Seer Stone

I have encountered statements to the effect that Joseph Smith's claims to prophetic abilities by the use of a "seer stone" are outlandish, if not outright absurd. Some of my fellow Christians who are not Latter-day Saints even express an unwillingness to consider Joseph Smith's usage of a seer stone because such a process is "un-Biblical".

Consider Genesis 28:11-22. Here I will offer a more careful translation from the Hebrew source texts:

• 11: When [Jacob] reached the place, he stopped there for the sun was set; and he took from the stones of the place, he placed it under his head, and he slept in that place.
• 12: And he dreamed, and behold! A stairway resting on earth, and the top of it reaching to the heavens. And behold, angels of Elohim ascending and descending on it.
• 13: And behold! Jehovah standing on top of it; and He said: I am Jehovah, Elohim of Abraham, thy father, and Elohim of Isaac; the land on which thou liest, I shall give it to thee and to thy descendants.
• 14: And thy descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread westward and eastward, northward and southward, and through thee and through thy seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
• 15: And behold! I am with thee, and I shall watch over thee in any land where thou goest, and I shall bring thee back to this land; indeed shall I not leave thee until I shall have done what I promised to do for thee.
• 16: And when Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, Surely there is Jehovah in this place, and I knew it not.
• 17: And he revered and said, How awesome is this place; this is no other than House of Elohim, and this is Gate of the Heavens.
• 18: And Jacob arose in the morning, and took the stone that he had placed under his head, and stood it up as a pillar, and poured oil on its head.
• 19: And he named the name of that place Beth El, even though the name of the city was at first Luz.
• 20: And Jacob made a vow to say, If Elohim shall be with me, and watcheth over me on the way that I am taking, and giveth me food to eat, and clothes to wear,
• 21: And I return in peace to my father's house [or "my Father's House"], then shall Jehovah be unto me as unto Elohim.
• 22: And this stone that I set up as pillar shall be House of Elohim, and all Thou givest unto me, its tithe shall I give unto Thee.

This is an amazing experience. Now, knowing this to be obscure unless the reader has experienced tte Temple Endowment, let me summarize some key elements:

1. Jacob traveled to a place, a sacred place, though he knew not of its sacredness at first.
2. Of this sacred place he took a stone and placed the stone under his head. Jacob then slept.
3. With his head on a stone from this sacred place, a sacred stone we may conclude, he experienced a vision.
4. In this vision Jacob saw angels ascending and descending on a stairway that stood on the earth and reached to the heavens.
5. When the angels ascended they encountered Jehovah standing on the top, then the angels descended. Though the narrative does not mention any verbal exchange between the angels and Jehovah, the word "mlachim" means 'angels/messengers', so presumably the angels were receiving some message or commission from Jehovah, and presumably the angels were giving report to Jehovah.
6. We are not told how many angels there were, but by Hebrew grammar there were 3 angels at a minimum. Three angels were the norm for special message deliveries to Abraham, and there may have been 3 angels here too.
7. Jacob is told that through him and his seed all the "families" of the earth shall be blessed. This session of instruction at the divine conduit to heaven called "House of Elohim" was centered on how Jehovah  would bless and bind families. The binding is real, for unless the families are connected they could not be considered Jacob's seed.
8. Jacob awakes and realizes that this place is sacred for in it "there is Jehovah". Jacob calls it awesome and, though it was called "Luz", a name that denoted 'crookedness, corruption', Jacob calls this place "House of Elohim" and names this place "House of El" or "Beth El".
9. Jacob then takes the stone he used for his pillow, the sacred stone from the sacred place, the very stone upon which his head experienced this vision, in the dark of the night, and Jacob anoints the head (i.e. "top") with oil. Though the narrative does not mention "Christ"/"Messiah", the act of anointing made the pillar "anointed", and in Hebrew "anointed" is "Messiah", "Christ".
10. Jacob calls this Pillar the House of Elohim, and, directing his speech to God, Jacob vows to pay a tithe of all he is given in order to return. Jacob also acknowledges that if Elohim is with him, and gives him food to eat and clothes to wear, both symbols (food/clothes) being recurrent Biblical symbols of officiating in the Temple, then shall Jehovah be to him as to Elohim. 

What we see here has powerful relevance to the Endowment ceremony, though I will pursue this parallel no further. I will pursue two, though. First, is it not interesting that a stone from a sacred place, in effect, a sacred stone, (and the stone's sacredness is evident since the "land" upon which Jacob lay was sacred, see verses 13 and 16), seems to have played a role in opening Jacob's mind to this vision? One may propose that the stone was a mere pillow, though this pillow is later anointed, made "Messiah" or "Christ", and as such this pillar is called the "House of Elohim". If anyone is in search of a precedent for prophet placing his head over a sacred stone in a dark setting and seeing a vision, be that dark setting night or the inside of a hat, one certainly has it here.

Second of all, notice the angels ascending and descending. We are not told what they had to say to their Lord, what The Lord had to say to them, or what they said to Jacob. We might infer that what Jacob was told about all the families of the earth was a message delivered by the angels, but regardless, consider the words of Jesus, the Pillar of the House of Elohim, during His mortal mission. Here Jesus called Nathanael to be an Apostle, and Jesus spoke as though He had already met Nathanael. Nathanael was puzzled since this was his first encounter with Jesus. When Nathanael asked Jesus where they had met, Jesus told him that He had seen Nathanael "under the fig tree". This occasion must have been deeply personal, perhaps one of a particularly special personal prayer, probably to know whether Jesus was The Son of God. It was here that Nathanael exclaimed, "Rabbi, thou art The Son of God; Thou art The King of Israel. Note Jesus' response to Nathanael (John 1:50-51):

• 50: Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these.
• 51: And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Hereafter shalt thou see the heaven opened, and the angels of The God ascending and descending upon The Son of The Man.

Is it not interesting that The Savior promised a man who believed upon His word, believed presumably because the man prepared his heart through prayer, that this man would see greater things than what he had just witnessed: The man would see angels ascending and descending on The Son of The Man.

I shall have to leave it to the reader to discern the significance of these passages. Whether anyone sees in them what I was quickened to perceive is entirely the reader's prerogative. I ask only that, regardless of what I have shared by way of interpretation, the reader bear in mind that the passages at least are actually textual.