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. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. The book of abraham issues translation problems mormonthink. The recent web posting on the book of abraham by the church of jesus christ. The first part of the book focuses almost entirely on deciphering egyptian characters. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism.
The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by joseph smith based. The following essay is the official lds released essay entitled translation and historicity of the book of abraham. Lds egyptologist doubts joseph smith translated the book. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. The book originated with egyptian papyri that joseph smith translated. 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. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham university of. It was released by the church to help explain how it can be possible that joseph smiths translation of the book of abraham does not match what we now know egyptian to mean, and how it can still be the word of god when even the church itself admits in this essay that the. The papyri contained egyptian hieroglyphics which intrigued the prophet joseph smith. The papyri contained egyptian hieroglyphics, a form of ancient writing unreadable in america at the time. In 1835, a traveling roadshow of egyptian mummies and ancient scrolls arrived in kirkland.
As prophet and seer of the church, joseph smith was given permission to look at the papyri scrolls in the exhibit and to everyones shock, revealed that one of the rolls contained the writings of abraham, another the writings of joseph of egypt. Several criticisms of the book of abraham have been brought. Pdf the principles of book of abraham and kirtland egyptian. According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. This is to make known to all who may be desirous, concerning the knowledge of mr. An alchemical book, published in paris in 1612 as livre des figures hieroglyphiques and in london in 1624 as exposition of the hieroglyphical figures was attributed to flamel. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. Whereas smith claimed his papyri told the story of abraham s adventures in egypt, the experts concur that what smith had in his possession was nothing more than a portion of a funerary text known as the book of breathings, a condensed version of the book of dead.
The hieroglyphic transcript and translation into english of the ancient egyptian papyrus of ani hardcover by e. Disproves mormonism using the bible, mormon scripture, statistical analysis and common sense. Thompson presented his reasons for concluding that joseph smith did not produce the book of abraham by translating it, as he claimed, from an egyptian papyrus scroll he had obtained in 1835. The original manuscripts of the book of abraham, as they appear in joseph smith s egyptian alphabet and grammar, reveal joseph was using characters from this second papyrus jsp xi when he translated the first chapter of the book of abraham. Phelps and oliver cowdery as scribes, i commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our.
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