The mythical philosopher king and adept, Hermes Trismegistos, is called "thrice great Hermes" because he is said to have mastered the three great occult arts of alchemy, astrology and theurgy. The ancient sage is probably a conflation of the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes, both gods of knowledge and writing. An individual aspiring to such occult mastery would be encouraged to read extant texts on the subjects and come under the tutelage of an adept. Hermetic lore is clear that improper use of magic powers could be very dangerous for the beginner. Walt Disney's animation, The Sorcerer's Apprentice comes immediately to mind. Lance Owens in his honored article, Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection identifies a contemporary of Smith that may have played such a role for the young "glass looker": Dr. Luman Walters. He was described as a physician and magician who was a known acquaintance of the Smith family prior to 1827. Brigham Young refers to him as person who traveled extensively in Europe to obtain profound knowledge. He was reputedly clairvoyant and interested in Mesmerism. Such a physician would undoubtedly have encountered the Kabbalah during his researches, perhaps through the influential alchemical and medical works of Paracelsus, who is also identified with Hermetic philosophy (Philosophia Occulta). Paracelsus warned treasure seekers to, "take unto yourselves the teachings of the cabala...the art of cabala is beholden to God, it is in alliance with Him, and it is founded on the words of Christ." Joseph Smith spent summers in eastern Pennsylvania where he engaged in folk magic practices and may have come into contact with German Pietists and Rosicrucians, perhaps even remnants of the Ephrata Commune. Kabbalah was considered a crucial component of magical arts by practitioners of the time and someone engaged in ceremonial magic and divination, as Smith was, would have been at least aware of it.By 1841 historical evidence of Joseph Smith's contact with Kabbalah is more clear. Dr. Bennett the charlatan gynecologist, certainly made an impression on Smith and Nauvoo society. Equally impressive for Smith was the unlikely person of Alexander Neibaur, a Jew from the eastern borderlands of Prussia. Neibaur was highly educated, fluent in several languages including Hebrew, and read Latin and Greek. He trained as a dentist in Berlin University and moved to Preston, England where he met disciples of Smith. The proselytising Mormons converted him and he moved to Nauvoo in April, 1841 where he went to work for Smith and became a close friend. Where Neibaur learned Kabbalah is not exactly known, but his family maintained that as the oldest son he was to become a rabbi. If he went to rabbinical school before university, he would have come into contact with it there because the Kabbalah is the mystical tradition of Judaism which claimed to be the custodian of secret knowledge conveyed to Adam by God. He did possess a good library that included Kabbalistic books like the Zohar. Owens notes that in June, 1843 he published a two part article in the local journal in which he authoritatively discussed the Kabbalistic concept of the transmigration and rebirth of souls. He cited ten Kabbalistic authors or works in support. Most of these works were only available in Hebrew. Neibaur also trained Smith in Hebrew and German. And the most important work he would have exposed to Smith during the course of his training was the "great heart of the Kabbalah", the Zohar.
Given these underpinnings its not remarkable that Smith's most profound theosophic sermon given at the end of his life would be an exegesis on the first words of the Hebrew Bible, "Bereshith bara Elohim" (In the beginning...) in which he quotes almost word for word from the Zohar. He performs the same grammatical inversion of the phrase to support his thesis that there are a multiplicity of Gods. His 1844 sermon was presented to 10,000 Saints gathered in Nauvoo midst the controversy and upheaval of his recent revelations concerning Masonry and plural marriage. Smith went further and stated that God was once as man is now meaning that Adam was divine, a concept that is consistent with Kabbalistic doctrine and a concept that also resonates in Hermeticism.
Adam Kadmon in Hebrew has the same numeric equivalent as Jehovah. Adam Kadmon = Jehovah(Yod he vav he) = 45. If 666 is the number of the beast, then 45 is the number of God. Kabbalah also thought of sanctified human intercourse as essentially theurgic. The Zohar says, "man in perfect holiness realizes the One...when man and woman are joined together sexually". This doctrine could be the inspiration for Smith's institution of spiritual marriage. Whatever the lineage, the goal of Smith's system of beliefs was the same as the Kabbalah's: to purify a soul and thereby reunite with the Divine. Concluding, I next discuss the relevance of this essentially Gnostic vision for politics in modern America.