Mormon defense of book abraham

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 book of mormon has been criticized for its lack of significant female characters in the narrative. The wording of joseph smiths explanation of figure 5 in facsimile 2 of the book of abraham is, in fact, very difficult to interpret. Mormon leaders have no good answers the weak defense of. Back in his day, nobody could read egyptian heiroglyphics, and thus when a man brought some egyptian scrolls to him, joseph smith saw.

Theyre mormon apologists whose life mission is to defend mormonism at all costs. In the book of genesis we learn that he was the son of terah, born in ur of the chaldees genesis 11. 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. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham a. Wright his academic and research site response to stephen e. A number of theories have been presented in defense of the official lds church position. None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned abraham s name or any of the events recorded in the book of abraham.

The mormon church hoped the book of abraham would vindicate joseph smith as a true prophet of god. No mormon, including joseph smith, has given any indication of there being a book of abraham prior to july 1835. Today i sit down with lds scholar brian hauglid as we talk at length about the book of abraham. This theory really shows the lengths that some mormons will go to in order to defend joseph smith. Joseph smith not only offered the world the book of mormon as a divinely translated ancient text, he later produced a volume of scripture known as the book of abraham, translated from an ancient egyptian scroll he obtained.

The book of abraham issues translation problems mormonthink. George reynolds during the following year wrote and published a defense of the book of abraham as a divine and ancient record. There are many proofs that joseph smith was a false prophet, but mormons typically will not accept them. Translation and historicity of 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. Nibley identified the papyri as the book of breathings. Thus, this becomes a strong evidence for the book of abraham. Mormon and non mormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham, though there is not unanimity, even among non mormon scholars, about the proper. Bill reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following. His book was republished four times by the year 1905. Author timothy ballard explores the crucial role that president lincoln played to bring this nation closer to heaven. That version, according to him, is what is used today, but he had no.

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. 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. In the old testament, male pronouns he and his are mentioned 6. As one would expect, mormon intellectuals have sought to answer the criticisms of the book of abraham leveled in these. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. We speak at length about the historical issues with the the book of abraham and what we are to make of those complexities. The book of abraham should be evaluated on the basis of what it claims to be. Stenhouse to transact church business in washington, dc, and to ascertain what policy president abraham lincoln would pursue in regard to the mormons. Latter day saints believe they have to have faith that joseph smith is a prophet and that he had the gift to translate.

In october of 1880, the book of abraham was included in the pearl of great price which was officially canonized at the churchs semiannual general conference in salt lake city. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. If pointing to articles like hoskissons in defense of the book of abraham is among the best that mormon apologists like hauglid can do. When the papyri was first discovered, many lds people were very excited. Mormon handbook the book of abraham 3 the idolatrous priest of elkenah attempting to offer up abraham as a sacrifice note.

Warning themes in the book of mormon and the condemnation that resteth upon the children of zion. The book of abraham quote cited in the criticism above has inspired both kinds of nonsense, including the interpretation found on the web site where this criticism appeared. If he in fact translated an ancient record of the patriarch abraham through the power of god, he must have been the prophet and seer he claimed to be. However, clear links between the papyri and the published.

Understanding the abrahamic covenant through the book of mormon. Joseph smith and the lds church for over 170 years have claimed that the. Jun 20, 20 the institute for religious research has published two major resources challenging the authenticity of the book of abraham. They point to the fragments of the joseph smith papyri that we now possess and claim that since the contents of these papyri bear little obvious relationship to the book of abraham, the book is a fraud. The church released its official response to the book of abraham in its july. Abraham lincoln and the mormons religious studies center. They argue that some ancient texts do not support the book. Rediscovering the book of mormon, edited by john sorenson and melvin thorne, appeared in 1991. Turning to the book of abraham itself, lds historian, general authority and.

How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. In the last chapter, we saw some of the problems mormonism faces with the book of mormon and archaeology. The book of abraham is not central to the restored gospel of christ. The veracity and value of the book of abraham cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the book s translation and historicity. Having the text of the book of abraham included in that context would be as out of place as reading from a car parts catalog during the sealing ceremony. Kevins post gives a great overview of the issues that have plagued mormon historians defense of this book of scripture. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated. The book of abraham must be true because of parallels to other ancient texts see the book of abraham. An important period of mormon history occurred during abraham lincolns presidency. Rhodes never comments on how his english translation of the egyptian texts supports or does not support the book of abraham. An inspired translation of the writings of abraham. Mormon and non mormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham, though there is not unanimity, even among non mormon scholars, about the proper interpretation of the vignettes on these fragments. 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. Ask the right questions and keep on looking larry e.

And if joseph smith faked one book, he could have faked the book of mormon as well. Joseph smith began the translation in 1835 after obtaining some egyptian papyri. The lds church has admitted in its official essay the book of abraham translation has nothing to do with what is on the papyri. I was recently contacted by a member of the church who was ready to abandon his testimony after listening to a seminar at byu from the neal a. In a recent video, kwaku attempts to prove the book of abraham is true. This is why mormon apologists have had to come up with the bizarre notion that joseph merely used the papyri to channel gods revelationbecause the book of abraham is nowhere close to a translation of the egyptian characters found on the papyri.

A mormon argued that though it is conceded the book of abraham was falsely taken from the egyptian book of the dead, the book of jude has a quote by enoch from the jewish book of first enoch. Thousands of mormons left the church as the result of this discovery, while thousands more are completely unaware of this important piece of evidence. 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. In time more and more men would become familiar with the egyptian language. Jun 27, 20 the book of abraham comprises five chapters of text and three facsimiles of vignettes from the papyri collection, together with josephs proffered explanations. 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 book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. We will examine some of the more important claims put. A wealth of material on abraham has come to light since the prophets text was published, and the book of abraham compares astoundingly well with these documents. The book of abraham is part of the pearl of great price, which mormons consider scripture. A mormon defends the book of abraham recovery from. But in doing so, kwaku employs a well known apologetic trick. Mormons hoped the rediscovery and retranslation would validate the book of abraham and josephs ability to translate the book of mormon. The book of abraham papyri were thought to have been lost in the 1871 great chicago fire.

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 goal with the introduction to the book of abraham is to make reliable information about the book of abraham accessible to the general reader. However, we have an opportunity here to verify or not verify the book of abraham through facsimile no. Jul 24, 2015 and so i start out with an assumption that the book of abraham and the book of mormon and anything else that we get from the restored gospel is true, therefore, any evidence i find i will try and fit into that pa radigm. For purposes of this exercise, i want to admit everything the church says about the translation process of the book of mormon i. Lds church publishes new web essay on book of abraham. The lost book of abraham is an awardwinning documentary that investigates the remarkable claim that mormon founder joseph smith translated a lost book of scripture from an egyptian papyrus scroll.

Readers will see lincoln as a man inspired of god who invoked a covenant relationship between america and its maker not unlike the national covenants invoked by righteous leaders in the book of mormon. But when hauglid thinks controversial and unofficial apologetic organization fairmormon and its wiki article is a source for scholarly treatment. An essay concerning the book of abraham was added on. Explain the book of abraham book of abraham mormon. Peterson as credible sources for supporting the authenticity of the book of abraham. Upon joseph smiths assassination in 1844, the artifacts were passed to his mother, and then to his widow, who sold them to a collector by the name of abel combs. The book of abraham has close affinities to a large number. Some of the best proof that joseph smith was a genius religious scam artist are his translations of the book of abraham. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham the university. Two views of the mormon book of abraham bible query.

The book of abraham today i sit down with lds scholar brian hauglid as we talk at length about the book of abraham. Gospel topics essays 2014 one of the biggest moves for the church was releasing a series of essays in 2014 addressing specific controversial issues in history and doctrine, including the historicity and translation of the book of mormon and book of abraham, polygamy, racism, violence in early mormonism, and multiple contradictory first vision. The recent web posting on the book of abraham by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints hereafter the lds church represents new reflection on a document whose authenticity as verifiable history is now officially acknowledged to be in serious dispute. Cuts 1 and 3 are inaccurate copies of well known scenes on funeral papyri, and cut 2 is a copy of one of the magical discs. A mormon defends the book of abraham recovery from mormonism. The story of abraham is wellknown to both jews and christians. Joseph smiths interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end. This was followed in 1992 by reexploring the book of mormon, edited by john welch, and in 1997 by book of mormon authorship revisited. If these are mistranslated, then any claim of an untestable book derived from the same parchment would be moot. Nibley 19102005 taught at byu from 1946 until 1994 and produced an astonishing body of scholarship, mostly in defense of the book of mormon, the book of abraham, and lds theology.

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. As elsewhere, nibley did not evaluate smiths statements objectively. Last time i checkedit wasnt the critics that canonized the book of abrahamit was the members of the mormon church. Abraham lincoln is arguably one of the most beloved and greatest presidents that america has ever had. The bogus book of abraham is one of four canonized books of mormon scripture. While christians claim joseph dreamed up the book of abraham, joseph never said that. The problems encountered here are devastating to the credibility of mormonism.

In the twentieth century there were two events that put the authenticity of the book of abraham as an ancient text and not a modern pseudepigraphon in doubt. Back in his day, nobody could read egyptian heiroglyphics, and thus when a man brought some egyptian scrolls to him, joseph smith saw an opportunity to show off his prophetic a. So even if an actual book of abraham were among the papyri in smiths possession, he demonstrated that he would not be able to identify or translate it. Abraham lincoln ran on the republican platform of ending the twin relics of barbarism, slavery and polygamy. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud.

The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by the latter day saints lds movement founder joseph smith that he said was based on egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. Thoughtsrebuttals to kerry muhlesteins defense of the. This makes the primary defense of mormon apologists, that the book of abraham may have been in the now missing papyri, irrelevant. There are certain similarities, however, between joseph smiths still existent egyptian alphabet and some of the newly discovered papyri. Contemporary book of mormon apologetics really began with two lengthy series of articles from 1950 to 1952 by nibley on the book of mormon, published in.

Thompson egyptology and the book of abraham boston sunstone symposium november, 1993. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. 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 semitic adaptation theory is similarly debunked, because the facsimiles show no attempt at adoption or adaptation by a hypothetical jewish redactor.

What evidence does the book of abraham demonstrate to. Today we explore the book of abraham in radio free mormon style. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri were found in the archives of the metropolitan museum of art in new york and in the lds church archives. They are now referred to as the joseph smith papyri. This document has proven to be controversial and heavily attacked by critics of. While the book of mormon understanding of gods covenant with abraham has been well and accurately summarized in various reference works, i have undertaken this essay in the belief that there is even more to be learned from a detailed examination of the book of mormon references to the abrahamic covenant in their various contexts. Does the promise in the book of mormon to pray and ask god if it is true doesnt apply to the book of abraham. Oct 24, 2017 the book of abraham was translated by joseph smith from some ancient egyptian papyri and is part of the cannon of lds scripture. A response to the lds churchs attempt to address perplexing historical problems.

In 1880 the mormon church canonized the book of abraham and it became part of the pearl of great price. Theres not enough evidence to support his conclusion. The book of abraham, with its illustrations, is now included in the pearl of great price, one of the mormon churchs five books of scripture. How can you trust that the book of abraham is the word of god. The book of abraham by common consent, a mormon blog. Mormon leaders have no good answers the weak defense of the book of abraham the prophets and apostles who anonymously approved the church essays have no real answers that you would expect from gods true representatives on the earth and watchmen on the tower. 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. Thoughtsrebuttals to kerry muhlesteins defense of the book. I am happy for this opportunity to respond in some way to stephen thompsons study of egyptological character of the book of abraham. He gives a historical overview of how the problems emerged, and then lists 4 usual defenses or stances apologists and mormons in general take to explain the book. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 7, no. In 2011, fair produced a video that provides evidences for and answers to critical questions about the book of abraham.

The introduction to the book of abraham reads, the writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus. Critics have long attempted to make a case against the book of abraham. There is also a lot of physical evidence against the book of abraham for the disbeliever its just a book of the dead scroll. 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 criticisms why those. Ashments book, the use of magical papyri to authenticate the book of abraham. These two books were connected by the man who said he was divinely gifted as a translator. Hauglid surprisingly cites michael rhodes, john gee, william j. Some feel certain that certain portions of these papyri were in fact used by joseph when he wrote the book of abraham.

In this chapter we will examine another book of the mormon scriptures called the book of abraham. 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. Two professors in january 2019 shared their insights on the book of abraham based on their years of study in preparing a major volume on the subject for the joseph smith papers project. The mormon church hoped the book of abraham would vindicate joseph.

Dec 09, 2010 so even if an actual book of abraham were among the papyri in smiths possession, he demonstrated that he would not be able to identify or translate it. 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. But here the prophets critics prefer to ignore the evidence of the text itself. The book of abraham comes first on my list, because ultimately the divinity of josephs calling rests upon it. The translation was published serially in the times and seasons beginning march 1, 1842, at nauvoo, illinois. 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. According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. I hope you enjoy this conversation and that it is helpful in your. Interesting, the mormons on this board know its an indefensible fake, so they cant even post a weak defense of the book of abraham. Current mormon defenses related to the age of the papyri have.

Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham response to. A portion of the papyri used by joseph smith as the source of the book of abraham. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud, is. Why doesnt the translation of the egyptian papyri found. Yes, gee has found another parchment which says abraham.

A mormon apologist has informed me that many of the original references to abraham in the first publishing of the book of abraham were abram, but that they were changed to abraham when it was published by the latter day saints publication, the millennial star, in england. Abraham lincoln and the mormons mary jane woodger in early june of 1863, brigham young sent mormon convert and journalist thomas b. The evidence for ancient origins, edited by noel reynolds. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. Standing side by side with the bible, book of mormon and doctrine and covenants, this was included as part of mormonisms standard works.