Ammon’s comments relative to a seer as translator, couched in a conversation about ancient records, were not intended to be a complete description of the seer’s role. Enoch “beheld the spirits that God had created; and he beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people” (Moses 6:36; italics added). A seer is a visionary in the highest sense, one who can “see afar off” (Moses 6:27).
“A seer,” wrote Elder John A. Widtsoe, “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. He foresees the future from the past and the present. This he does by the power of the Lord operating through him directly, or indirectly with the aid of divine instruments such as the Urim and Thummim. In short, he is one who sees, who walks in the Lord’s light with open eyes. ” (Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 258.)