Friday, June 17, 2011

What is a "seer"?



The name of this place (so far) has been "The River Seers". Where does this word seer come from? 


Seer (noun)
   1. One that sees: an inveterate seer of sights. 
   2. A clairvoyant.
   3. A prophet.


I pronounce it as one syllable but I imagine the Australians use two like how they use "be-ah" for beer. 


Little did I know that this word (seer, not beer) holds special meaning in the Mormon religion. Its founder and the heads of the church have been called "Prophets, seers and revelators" and each has a specific meaning. 


From the book of Mormon "A seer is one who sees with spiritual eyes. He perceives the meaning of that which seems obscure to others; therefore he is an interpreter and clarifier of eternal truth. The seer foresees the future from the past and the present." 


It goes on to say that a "prophet" is a teacher of known truth; a "seer" is a perceiver of hidden truth, a "revelator" is a bearer of new truth.


I think these are all great words to describe the river forecasting challenge... Find the hidden meaning in nature, interpret and clarify the signs and use the past and present to predict the future.


I particularly like the phrase "an inveterate seer of sights". It suggests an incurable yearning for the delight of travel. When I leave my job, I'll need a new title and I'm torn between that and "freelance intellectual". 


Tom

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