The book of abraham translated from the papyrus, by joseph smith a translation of some ancient records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of egypt. It refutes many of the anti mormon assaults on the book of abraham. None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned abrahams name or any of the events recorded in the book of abraham. Mormon handbook the book of abraham since abraham lived before moses, who authored the torah the first five books of the old testament, it would make the papyrus older than the book of genesis. I suspect like many who post on this board, problems with the book of abraham was the straw that broke the camels back. Also, michael rhodes fascinating article, the joseph smith hypocephalus.
Chandler, a traveling entrepreneur from pennsylvania. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. Watch new book of abraham video crossposted from pearl of great price central. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. In this video i discuss joseph smiths procurement of egyptian papyri and mummies in july 1835 and explore the documents he produced while translating what he. Two views of the mormon book of abraham bible query. I know that anyone who earnestly wants to know if the book of abraham is true can also receive this same witness and knowledge from god. In 1835, joseph smith purchased 4 mummies and at least 5 papyri from a traveling showman. Abraham lincoln and the mormons religious studies center. History of the book of abraham in 1835, joseph smith, founder of the original mormon church the church of christ purchased several egyptian papyrus scrolls and fragments from the owner of a traveling road show which exhibited egyptian mummies and documents. Ancient records written by abraham that came into the possession of the church in 1835. In the last chapter, we saw some of the problems mormonism faces with the book of mormon and archaeology. The pearl of great price is composed of several smaller books the book of moses, the book of abraham, joseph smithmatthew, joseph smithhistory, and the articles of faith.
The book contains important teachings about the creation. Have you read either the book of mormon or the book of abraham. Thousands of years ago, the prophet nephi learned that one purpose of the book of mormon was to establish the truth of the. The book of abraham the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Thousands of mormons left the church as the result of this discovery, while thousands more are completely unaware of this important piece of evidence. In july 1835, joseph smith, with the kirtland saints, purchased mummies and papyri from michael chandler, from which the book of abraham subsequently came forth. The promise of lands and posterity appears to be a particularization of the broader promise to abraham. Did lincoln begin to insert book of mormon principleseven direct book of mormon languageinto his speeches and policies. Aug 18, 2019 in addition, the lincoln hypothesis reveals documented evidence that abraham lincoln did, in fact, check out the book of mormon as he struggled with making some of the most critical decisions of his presidency. By timothy ballard december 3, 2014 not long ago i was holding a three yearold slave child in my arms, carrying him to freedom. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421.
Why does a translation of the papyri that supposedly contain the book of abraham have no resemblance to joseph smiths translation. A portion of the papyri used by joseph smith as the source of the book of abraham. After having the book, did he actually change his opinion of the mormons and begin to treat them kinder than any american president had up until that time. The lds church has admitted in its official essay the book of abraham translation has nothing to do with what is on the papyri. The book of abraham is not central to the restored gospel of christ. Abraham, first called abram, was called of god to leave his native country and go to a promised land which would be shown to him. And the book of mormon repeatedly frames the latterday restoration of the gospel as a fulfillment of the promise to abraham that in his seed all the kindreds of the earth shall be blessed. The book of abraham is a book of ancient scripture translated by the prophet joseph smith from ancient papyri.
A translation of some ancient records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of egypt. This time, the church responded by reiterating that the book of mormon was divinely inspired, and that the book of abraham s source papyri likely had two meanings one that was obvious and easily understood by to a lay audience, and another that was more esoteric and only accessible to the priesthood. In the weeks leading up to the rescue, my team and i had managed to. The translation was published serially in the times and seasons beginning march 1, 1842, at nauvoo, illinois. They will lose a lot more members of they are honest about the first vision, the fact that there were no golden plates, that the book of abraham wasnt a translation of the papyri, that the jst is a copy of adam clarkes bible commentary, etc. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation.
Lds church publishes new web essay on book of abraham. Book of abraham learning about the book of abraham. No less than fourteen egyptologists have examined the facsimiles andor the original papyri. Understanding the abrahamic covenant through the book of. I have studied the book of abraham, and the truth of it has been made known to me in a way i cant deny. Maybe mormons dont want to answer your questions because you are coming off as closeminded. Chandler exhibited them in the united states in 1835. As with the book of mormon and other translation projects that joseph smith worked on, the book of abraham cannot be defended in any way as the result of provable or scientific information about abraham or the ancient world. The writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus. Includes color photos of the surviving joseph smith papyri, articles by mormon and non mormon egyptologists, and free download of a 240page book that surveys the history of the book of abraham controversy. Feb 09, 2019 there is a lot of evidence to support the book of abraham elements found in later discovered abrahamic apocyrpha, egypt being under water, accurate translations, coincidences etc.
An essay on the churchs website, titled translation and historicity of the book of abraham, explains. Today were going to point our skeptical eye at one of the supposedly ancient scriptures of the mormon church, the book of abraham. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of abraham. Book of abraham f or many mormons, an examination of the book of abraham and its true history becomes the most significant stumbling block to joseph smith s claim as a prophetic translator of ancient languages. Why mormons need the book of abraham religion news service. The bogus book of abraham is one of four canonized books of mormon scripture. Today the church of jesus christ of latterday saints sometimes mistakenly called the mormon church has eleven fragments of papyri. It is evident that the writings of abraham while he was in egypt, of which our printed book of abraham is a copy, must of necessity be older than. The story of abraham is wellknown to both jews and christians. Today we explore the book of abraham in radio free mormon style. Ten questions and answers on the book of abraham mormons in.
Book of abraham mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Members of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, considered the book of abraham to be a volume of holy scripture when it was published on march first 1840 two, the book was presented to the world as a translation of some ancient records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of egypt. Perhaps the most powerful evidence i discovered related to the untrustworthy nature of joseph smith the founder of mormonism was the mormon scripture known as the book of abraham. There is a lot of evidence to support the book of abraham elements found in later discovered abrahamic apocyrpha, egypt being under water, accurate translations, coincidences etc. It is also one of the most controversial issues in mormonism, responsible for many lifelong, faithful mormons questioning their religion. Includes color photos of the surviving joseph smith papyri, articles by mormon and nonmormon egyptologists, and free download of a 240page book that surveys the history of the book of abraham controversy. An inspired translation of the writings of abraham. Christian heimburger and robin scott jensen discuss the process that gave us the book of abraham, giving. It is now included in the pearl of great price, one of the books that members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints consider scripture in addition to the bible, the book of mormon, and the doctrine and covenants.
Among the early bookofabrahamrelatedmanuscripts that have survived from the days of joseph smith are a number of papers collectively referred to as the kirtland egyptian papers kep. For instance, on a webpage previously housed at byu, a farms author avoids the most obvious question that any lds person would have regarding facsimile 2. Stenhouse to transact church business in washington, dc, and to ascertain what policy president abraham lincoln would pursue in regard to the mormons. Maintaining the divine authority of the book of abraham is every bit as vital to the doctrines and theology of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints today as it was in the days of joseph smith, brigham young and their successors. The book of abraham, mormons believe, is abrahams own account of part of his life. He talks about the idolatry of the egyptianlike society he lived in, and about barely escaping sacrifice to the egyptian gods by a priest. It thus forms a doctrinal foundation for the lds church and mormon fundamentalist denominations of the latter day saint movement, though it is not considered a. His book was republished four times by the year 1905.
These pages were written while the saints lived in kirtland, ohio, and were recorded in the general time frame that joseph was translating the book of abraham. The above donut chart shows percentages of the book of abraham section of letter to a ces director that fairmormon is in agreement, disagreement, and neutral on if one assumes that fairmormons undisputed silence is acceptance of the facts, fairmormon agrees with 90. The book of abraham is part of the pearl of great price, which mormons consider scripture. In addition, the lincoln hypothesis reveals documented evidence that abraham lincoln did, in fact, check out the book of mormon as he struggled with making some of the most critical decisions of his presidency. Joseph smith began the translation in 1835 after obtaining some egyptian papyri. Joseph smith ostensibly translated the majority of the book of abraham text in july and a few days in november 1835 and did some minor revisions in march 1842. The false translation of the book of abraham, therefore, casts serious doubt on the book of mormon as well, forever debilitating josephs claim he was a true, inspired prophet of god. Research has shown that after joseph smiths death his mother maintained possession of the mummies and papyri.
F or many mormons, an examination of the book of abraham and its true history becomes the most significant stumbling block to joseph smiths claim as a prophetic translator of ancient languages. A range of articles and resources to assist the investigation of joseph smiths controversial claim that he discovered and translated a lost record of the biblical patriarch abraham. The mormon church hoped the book of abraham would vindicate joseph smith as a true prophet of god. In the book of genesis we learn that he was the son of terah, born in ur of the chaldees genesis 11. The book of abraham is the possibly the best known of these books and certainly the most controversial. The fourth and final category im going to mention is the english text of the book of abraham and this tends to get short shrift in the discussion. As i explained to my bishop several years ago, for years i engaged in the exercise of placing issues i didnt understand on a mental shelf so they wouldnt interfere with the things of a spiritual nature that i did understand. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia.
The book of abraham skinny frequently, when reading a discussion on the lds problem of the book of abraham, the apologists and critics beat around the bushconfusing the reader. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Disproves lds claims that joseph smith received the book of abraham through revelation and proves that joseph smiths source for his translation was a pagan egyptian text, the book of breathings. There is also a lot of physical evidence against the book of abraham for the disbeliever its just a book of the dead scroll. The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by joseph smith based, he said, on egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. Published serially from 1 march 1842 to 16 may 1842 and canonized by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints on 10 october 1880, the book of abraham has been valued by latterday saints for its important teachings on the nature of the abrahamic covenant, the premortal existence of humanity, the. For purposes of this exercise, i want to admit everything the church says about the translation process of the book of mormoni. In early june of 1863, brigham young sent mormon convert and journalist thomas b. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud, is. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. Apr 28, 2018 in this video i discuss joseph smiths procurement of egyptian papyri and mummies in july 1835 and explore the documents he produced while translating what he called the book of abraham. Maintaining the divine authority of the book of abraham is every bit as vital to the doctrines and theology of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints today as it was in the days of joseph smith, brigham young and.
Published in the book of abraham are three facsimiles copied from the papyrus along with josephs interpretations of them. The papyri which joseph smith said he translated the book of abraham from have been exposed to be nothing more than funeral texts from ancient egypt. Among the early book of abraham relatedmanuscripts that have survived from the days of joseph smith are a number of papers collectively referred to as the kirtland egyptian papers kep. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud. Bill reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following. The evidence suggests that the book of abraham reflects concepts of joseph smiths time and place rather than those of an ancient world. The mormon faiths founder, joseph smith, wrote in his history that after he began to translate some of the characters on the papyri, much to our. Before the internet, historical and doctrinal questions not addressed in lds read more. The book of abraham facsimile 1 according to a mormon egyptologist, michael rhodes, the text to the right of the papyrus reads. Canopic jars in the royal ontario museum rom in toronto. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints has no official position on which papyri joseph smith translated the book of abraham from. The book of abraham is part of the standard works or written scriptures of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Joseph smith had divinely translated the book of mormona book for which i had received a very strong personal, spiritual witness of its truth.
Brief overview of the history of the book of abraham why the critics say it is problematic what workarounds apologists have created to deal with those. In this chapter we will examine another book of the mormon scriptures called the book of abraham. Dec 23, 2015 the false translation of the book of abraham, therefore, casts serious doubt on the book of mormon as well, forever debilitating josephs claim he was a true, inspired prophet of god. With the resurfacing of the same papyri he used to do his book of abraham translation and the fact that he did not in any way do it correctly should be proof enough that joseph smith lied about his abilities from god. Joseph smith later translated those plates into what is now known as the book of mormon. The standard works, or the mormon books of scripture, include the king james version of the bible, the book of mormon, the doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price.
I was working as an undercover operative with the haitian government, posing as a child trafficker. In my first serious encounters with antimormon literature on the book of abraham, i was truly taken aback. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. This translation was done by the power of god through special means. One of the great contributions of the book of abraham is the vision given of premortal life and the council in heaven. The records and some mummies were discovered in egyptian catacombs by antonio lebolo, who willed them to michael chandler. The book of abraham issues translation problems mormonthink. The book of abraham is a book in the mormon scripture the pearl of great price. There are many proofs that joseph smith was a false prophet, but mormons typically will not accept them. The book of abraham joseph smith claimed that an angel appeared to him and revealed the location of some golden plates on which was written the account of the ancient people of the americas. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian. The book of abraham narrative clearly demonstrates the manner in which the lds church has worked diligently to massage the facts to continue to defend its truth claims. Last time i checkedit wasnt the critics that canonized the book of abrahamit was the members of the mormon church.
Facsimiles from the book of abraham introduces the ancient egyptian illustrations that are currently published with the work and assesses their. Polemicists dont want to talk about the actual book of abraham they want to talk about all the egyptian stuff. Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication. In 1835 the church came into possession of some egyptian papyri, said to have been translated with divine guidance by their prophet, joseph smith. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. Was the book of mormon a key factor in lincolns success and the healing of a nation. Understanding the abrahamic covenant through the book of mormon. In july 1835, while living in kirtland, ohio, the prophet joseph smith purchased, on behalf of the church, four egyptian mummies and accompanying papyri from michael h. Translation and publication of the book of abraham. The explanationdefying book of abraham a reason for faith was written to do just as the title implies, provide reasons for faith by offering faithful answers to sincere questions. The book of abraham is the most explicit mormon scripture explaining our identity as the literal spiritual children of god the father, present at, and. The papyri which joseph smith said he translated the book of abraham from have been exposed to be nothing more than funeral texts from ancient egypt at least eight egyptologists and semitists have studied the papyri and.
225 477 656 1251 394 1298 595 1573 894 1335 1141 568 1400 916 750 301 658 1189 862 1434 727 240 1092 1496 274 1469 488 1161 796 343 1060 806 312 149 1066 651 444