What is a Medium?
Holman’s Bible Dictionary; “Medium—One possessed by (Lev. 20:22) or consulting (Deut. 18:11) a ghost or spirit of the dead, especially for information about the future. Acting as a medium was punishable by stoning (Lev. 20:27); consulting a medium, by exclusion from the congregation of Israel (Lev. 20:6). The transformation of Saul from one who expelled mediums (1 Sam. 28:3) to one who consulted a medium at En-dor (28:8-19) graphically illustrates his fall.
“The Hebrew word translated medium (ob) may refer to the spirit of a dead person, to the medium possessed by the spirit, or to images used to conjure up spirits. Manasseh made such images (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 33:6). Josiah destroyed them as part of his reforms (2 Kings 23:24). Saul’s success in quickly locating a medium (1 Sam. 28:8) points both to the popularity of the practice of consulting the dead and the difficulty of eradicating it.
“Isaiah 8:19 suggests a possible connection between the consulting of mediums and ancestor worship. Those to be consulted are termed “fathers” and “gods.” (Compare 1 Sam. 28:13 where Samuel is described as elohim or “god.”) The chirping and muttering of the spirits perhaps refers to the inarticulate sounds which must be interpreted by the medium. Consulting of mediums defiled the land and was described as prostitution. God’s people were to trust God in times of distress and not resort to other “gods” in an attempt to learn the future.”
Any questions?
The Church teaches that the BoM is a work that speaks from the dust and here we see this is mentioned in Isaiah 8:19 with the Hebrew word “ob” and this isn’t meant to be a good thing!
Performing works for the dead which Jesus says doesn’t have any effect (Luke 16:19-31), the Hebrew word Elohim as pagan gods in 1 Sam 28:13 and the passage in Isaiah referring to mediums are all signs to the Mormon people something is seriously wrong! Referring to God as Elohim is a good thing if you believe in the fullness or deity of God as in Gen 1:23 but believing his name is Elohim when you don’t believe this is referring to pagan gods.
I’ve also said this before but it bears repeating: If this was the only time the phrase “a medium by God” was used in connection with Joseph Smith, I wouldn’t be bringing attention to this particular event. However, when it is used repeatedly along with his behavior of going into the woods repeatedly to pray to a different god and then to return every year to find a different gospel on the same day witches worship the earth…you get my point I’m sure.