A Testimony Of Dowsing?

[Five Solas]

When I was a kid, ~  10 years-old living in a little town called Glenwood in Sevier County, Utah I got an introduction to "dowsing."  An LDS relative (on my dad's side--I won't provide more information than that) visited and brought with him a forked stick in the shape of a Y.  He was persuaded (and my dad as well) that if you gripped the forked ends of the stick and walked along the ground, the long end of the stick would be drawn towards the ground in the event of any water underneath.  Indeed, if you were gripping it hard enough and thereby resisted it, the force could injure your hands--such was the power of the instrument. 

 

At the time, our property didn't have irrigation water (which in Glenwood was a separate system from the drinking water).  Following the dowsing effort, my parents bought a 1/2 share of irrigation water rights and had a pipe laid to the property.  The dowsing effort produced nothing (although in retrospect it seems like it should have at least given a twitch as it passed over the septic tank--perhaps we weren't doing it with sufficient faith). 

 

So it was with some interest I read Daniel C. Peterson sharing his experience dowsing on his blog (dowsing worked for him).  And while I don't think the belief and practice is unique to adherents of Mormonism--I am curious what people on this forum think of it.  Please share your thoughts.

 

--Erik

 

[Duncan]

I am LDS and I have no idea

[Sevenbak]

Dowsing is nothing new or strange to LDS culture. The archeology remains of settlements discovered at Mt. Pisgah on the Mormon trail in Iowa were found through dowsing, and documented in both the Church owned DesNews and KSL TV in a between-conference documentary. This was at least 17 years ago. Is the renewed interest simply because of the old-now-new-but-really-old claims about the seer stone?

[cynth]

This is the old time equivalent of Essential Oils, DoTerra, or any other MMM introduced in Utah.  Why Peterson thinks there is anything to gain from telling his bizarre story is beyond me.  It reads as narcissistic and uneducated. 

[TheSkepticChristian]

So it was with some interest I read Daniel C. Peterson sharing his experience dowsing

 

A controlled scientific test? 

Edited August 16, 2015 by TheSkepticChristian

[Peppermint Patty]

There have been numerous studies and all have shown dowsing does not work: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

In fact there is a 1million dollar prize for anyone who can show dowsing works better than chance. So far, the challenge remains.

[TheSkepticChristian]

In fact there is a 1million dollar prize for anyone who can show dowsing works better than chance. So far, the challenge remains.

 

It works, I like what Michael Shermer said 

 

 

You could dowse for all sorts of things, but this particular one was built to dowse for marijuana in students' lockers. (Laughter)

So the way it works is you go down the hallway, and you see if it tilts toward a particular locker, and then you open the locker. So it looks something like this. I'll show you. (Laughter) Well, it has kind of a right-leaning bias. Well, this is science, so we'll do a controlled experiment. It'll go this way for sure. (Laughter)

Sir, do you want to empty your pockets, please, sir? (Laughter)

 

So the question was, can it actually find marijuana in students' lockers? And the answer is, if you open enough of them, yes. (Laughter) (Applause)

 

Edited August 16, 2015 by TheSkepticChristian

[Avatar4321]

I honestly dont care. I cared enough only to say that

[bluebell]

My archaeology professor in college in Montana (most definitely not Mormon) had us all try out dowsing at a dig site where they were looking for evidence of a canoe site from Lewis and Clarke fame.

It worked for every one except two guys, and we did find something buried under the spot (nothing of value, just some iron I think).

He was a skeptic by nature but he thought it was a fun experiment.

[sunstoned]

I don't know what I think of Dowsing.  There is no scientific evidence of a Dowsing being proven or positive effects being reproducible.  However, when I visited Stonehenge the guide pointed out a line (a surveyor line) that seemed to pass through to other sites and mounds that were visible in the fields.  He said this line of ancient sites ran for a hundred miles.  He also had two Dowsing rods that would twist in his hands as he stepped across this line.  I didn't believe it, so he handed me the rods.  As I stepped across this supposed boundary, the rods very strongly twisted and pointed along the line.  My wife tried it with the same results as did many in the tour group.  I have no idea why this happened or what caused it.

[Calm]

Were your eyes opened as you walked? Were you aware when you crossed the line? If so, even if unintended, if you muscles tightened up just a wee bit from excitement, nervousness, just intensity of paying attention...that could make wires move.

Now put a blindfold on all of you and everyone just talks normally, no drawn in breaths of anticipation, no raising or lowering of hill that might thrown one off...get results then...that could be interesting.

[Five Solas]

Dowsing is nothing new or strange to LDS culture. The archeology remains of settlements discovered at Mt. Pisgah on the Mormon trail in Iowa were found through dowsing, and documented in both the Church owned DesNews and KSL TV in a between-conference documentary. This was at least 17 years ago. Is the renewed interest simply because of the old-now-new-but-really-old claims about the seer stone?

Interesting, perhaps I shouldn't have limited my poll to water examples.  Beyond my own direct experience as a child, I honestly don't know much about this subject.  

 

I realize 17 years was a long time ago, but any chance for a reference or a link? 

 

--Erik

[Sevenbak]

Yes that was a long time ago I'm not sure there's anything online but I'll see what I can find. I only know about it because I was the editor of that particular doc, but I think there might have been local media at the site the time, so maybe there's something that exists. I'll see what I can dig up.

[Coreyb]

I have seen dowsing demonstrated twice and it worked both times. When I was a young child my parents bought ten undeveloped acres in rural eastern Washington. My Dad hired a water witch (not a mormon) to find him a place for a well. My brother and I followed him around the property until he found two places he recommended to dig. He even estimated the depth. Sure enough my Dad dug and we had ourselves a very good well. The other time was in Iowa where a rancher showed our scout troop how to dowse. Several of the boys had success with it but I was not one of them.

[Kenngo1969]

I have never heard of a testimony of dowsing as a religious principle.  That said, an Omniscient, Omnipotent God could certainly inspire someone however He wished to do so in order to save that person or his crop in a time of dire need or of drought, so I certainly wouldn't put it past Him. 

[Kenngo1969]

 ... Several of the boys had success with it [dowsing] but I was not one of them.

O Ye of little faith!  (Just kidding; couldn't resist! )

[bcuzbcuz]

This is the old time equivalent of Essential Oils, DoTerra, or any other MMM introduced in Utah.  Why Peterson thinks there is anything to gain from telling his bizarre story is beyond me.  It reads as narcissistic and uneducated.

I agree completely.

[bcuzbcuz]

A controlled scientific test?

An uncontrolled scientist´s babble?

[bcuzbcuz]

I have seen dowsing demonstrated twice and it worked both times. When I was a young child my parents bought ten undeveloped acres in rural eastern Washington. My Dad hired a water witch (not a mormon) to find him a place for a well. My brother and I followed him around the property until he found two places he recommended to dig. He even estimated the depth. Sure enough my Dad dug and we had ourselves a very good well. The other time was in Iowa where a rancher showed our scout troop how to dowse. Several of the boys had success with it but I was not one of them.

Looking for water in Washington State? If it isn´t raining, wait for 5 minutes.

[strappinglad]

Well( no pun intended ), if you want to spend $5000 per hole for each attempt at finding water by a professional well drilling machine go ahead. Digging holes by hand is such fun, I recommend digging in hard clay and be sure you go down at least 6 feet.

  There is a reason  dowsers were/are used . They can save a lots of fruitless digging. Our town has its workers dowse for water lines in areas where the maps are non-existent and memories are faded .

   We know there are people who are extra sensitive to chemicals  yet we don't declare them witches. We know that there are technologies which can find gas lines and electrical lines and no one says that is magic. There are people who see sounds and hear colors. Weird but is it supernatural ?

[Thinking]

I had never heard of dowsing before I read this thread title. Probably because I grew up in Southern California where we use psychics for everything!

[Scott Lloyd]

Yes that was a long time ago I'm not sure there's anything online but I'll see what I can find. I only know about it because I was the editor of that particular doc, but I think there might have been local media at the site the time, so maybe there's something that exists. I'll see what I can dig up.

I know what Sevenbak is referring to.

 

I was in Iowa covering a Mormon Trail academic conference in Des Moines not long after that.

 

After the conference, the Church public affairs missionaries assigned to Nauvoo took a group of scholars who had been presenters at the conference on a road trip to view Church historic sites in Iowa. One of the stops was at Mt. Pisgah. I tagged along.

 

The landowner, Bob Brown, took us out into his fields where he showed what he thought were foundations of buildings from the temporary Mormon settlement that had been set up there as a way station to the Salt Lake Valley. He said he had found them through diving.

 

Then he took us to the yard of his home and brought out a bunch of clothes hangers that had been bent into the shape of divining rods. These he handed out to us and invited us to walk back and forth across a spot where there were water lines buried beneath the surface.

 

It worked for me. My memory is it worked for most of the people -- perhaps all -- in the group.

 

I didn't write about it in my coverage of the conference, so I can't link to anything about it that I wrote, but I do remember it.

 

Do I believe in it? I am agnostic on it, but due to the experience I had, I can't dismiss it out-of-hand as some here are doing.

 

Epilogue:

 

Our home teachers (a married couple) took a vacation trip a few months ago to see Church historic sites. They visited Bob Brown at Pisgah and had a similar experience to what I have described here. They said it worked for them.

 

Incidentally, Bob Brown is not a member of the Church.

 

He is well respected in the community and, at the time I met him, was on the board of county supervisors.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Scott Lloyd

[Coreyb]

Looking for water in Washington State? If it isn´t raining, wait for 5 minutes.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with southeastern Washington state

[Thinking]

The landowner, Bob Brown, took us out into his fields where he showed what he thought were foundations of buildings from the temporary Mormon settlement that had been set up there as a way station to the Salt Lake Valley. He said he had found them through diving.

 

Was your proofreader on a bathroom break?

[Scott Lloyd]

Was your proofreader on a bathroom break?

Auto-correct was too eager. Edited August 16, 2015 by Scott Lloyd