Why doesnt the translation of the egyptian papyri found in. Three facsimiles are published with the text of the book of abraham in the pearl of great price. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. 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. Dick and taylor both contain a number of exact phrases found in abraham 3 and facsimile 2. The book of abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by joseph smith based. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 1. Joseph smith papyri facsimile 1 has a number of unique features that are not. 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. 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. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 2. I have studied the book of abraham, and the truth of it has been made known to me in a way i cant deny. Sometime between 1818 and 1822, antonio lebolo, who was working as superintendent of the archaeological excavations for bernardino drovetti in upper egypt, discovered many mummies in a tomb in thebes. The book of abraham text is a source of some distinct latter day saint doctrines, which mormon author randal s.
Dec 19, 2017 egyptian context is different skeptics say joseph smith mistranslated facsimile 2. Book of abraham facsimile number 2 wikimedia commons. 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. It is claimed that facsimile 1 is simply a typical funerary scene and there are many other papyri showing the same basic scene, and that the missing portions of the drawing were incorrectly restored. Joseph only interpreted one figure of anubis as a priest, in facsimile 1. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. Teaching the book of abraham facsimiles religious studies. Egyptian context is different skeptics say joseph smith mistranslated facsimile 3. However, facsimile 3 also shows anubis, yet smith made him out to be a tinyheaded, racist caricature of an african slave. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham. In fact, according to joseph smith, they had a unique name, a name that even most mormons have been ignorant of.
The book of abraham papyri were thought to have been lost in the 1871 great chicago fire. It usually represents the embalming of the deceased individual in preparation for burial. Three images facsimiles of vignettes on the papyri and joseph smiths explanations of them were printed in the. First, the association of facsimile 1 with the book of abraham cannot derive from abraham, since facsimile 1 dates to approximately 100 b. My version of facsimile number 2 from the book of abraham. While the papyri containing facsimile 2 and 3 have never been recovered, fairmormon does not mention that joseph made copies of the original.
Apologetics press facsimile 1 from the book of abraham. Dec 23, 2015 this is problematic for mormons, however, for if the papyri are only about 2,000 years old, they are far too new to have been written on by the hand of abraham. Joseph smith and the lds church for over 170 years have claimed that the book of abraham is a translation of a portion of the papyri scrolls purchased by the church in 1835 kirtland, ohio, and that this portion contains the writings of abraham written by abrahams own hand. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud, is.
But this was once antimormon lies that people were excommunicated for stating. Mormon handbook the book of abraham facsimile 2 facsimile 2 is a common egyptian hypocephalus. This vignette is called a lion couch scene by egyptologists. Although the picture found as facsimile one in the book of abraham stands at the beginning of the book of breathings, this does not necessarily mean that it belongs to the text. Abraham refers to a picture in the text of the book of abraham abr. All are similar to egyptian illustrations known from other sources. An online handbook to the lds church mormon comparing the source hypocephalus to the published facsimile while we dont have the original hypocephalus, an early rendering of it reveals damage, and egyptologists agree that facsimile 2 is a poor and inaccurate restoration. The assumption in this attack is that the book of abraham was produced from only one scroll, and so if a facsimile was attached to the book of breathings, then the book of breathings must be the source of the rest of the book of abraham, not some missing text. In fact, part of the outer border of facsimile two in the book of abraham has some of these unrelated fragments inserted in it. Book of abraham mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs.
Jul 24, 2015 critics have long attempted to make a case against the book of abraham. Facsimile 2 posted on april 12, 2015 november 26, 2015 by wes trexler facsimile 2 is actually a representation of a hypocephalus. 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. This is almost an exact translation of the egyptian words in the left middle portion of facsimile number 2 of the book of abraham figures 9 and 10. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Facsimile 3 published in the book of abraham is a scene from the ancient egyptian book of the dead. According to smith, kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne or residence of god. Representations similar to facsimile 1 abound in egyptian religious texts. Of note, the book of abraham text is a source for a number of distinct latter day saint doctrines, which mormon author randal s. I dont know why anyone would be shocked that the facsimiles are egyptian. This is an exact facsimile reprint of the original, 1830 edition of the book of mormon, the authoritative scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Solving the mystery of the joseph smith papyri, salt lake. This version assumes that the interpretations are inspired but the reconstructions not necessarily so.
Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 3 in the book. 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. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Xi was written on the same strip of material as facsimile number 1, the. There is a simple explanation for the apparent differences between these counting systems. The book of abraham is a book of ancient scripture translated by the prophet joseph smith from ancient papyri. Kolob is a star or planet described in mormon scripture. It is noted that joseph smiths translation of the facsimiles does not agree with that provided by egyptologists, and that some missing portions of the facsimiles were incorrectly restored before they were published. This book presents the original transcription of joseph smiths dictated translation of the golden plates. Comparison of the facsimiles as interpreted by joseph and what egyptologists say they mean.
Kerry muhelstein and john gee, journal of the book of mormon and other. The book of abraham issues translation problems mormonthink. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham university of. The three facsimiles found in the book of abraham all derive from ancient egyptian papyri that joseph smith obtained in kirtland in 1835. The mormon church hoped the book of abraham would vindicate. According to joseph smiths introductory comments in the translation, abraham wrote the book himself, by his own hand, upon papyrus smith, 1842, 93.
The papyrus with the illustration represented in facsimile 1 view is the only recovered item that has any connection to the text of the book of abraham. The egyptians associated with the book of abraham, were distinct from other egyptians. Well, i dont know why anyone would be shocked that the facsimiles are egyptian. What does the lion couch scene in book of abraham facsimile 1 normally.
Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication. When we look at these characters in the margins on this page and subsequent pages, we can easily. The church promptly appeals to ignorance, as its second introductory paragraph, falsely suggests no eyewitness account of the translation survives, making it impossible to reconstruct the process. Joseph smith 20 polygamy 11 translation 11 book of mormon 9 brigham young 7 god 6 humor 6 child bride 5 christianity 5 honesty 5 polyandry 4 racism 4 facsimile 3 godhood 3 grace 3 prophecy 3 eternal progression 2 faith 2 gordon hinckley 2 hill cumorah 2 jesus christ 2 legalism 2 lorenzo snow 2 meme 2 secret 2 temple 2 word of wisdom 2 after all we can do 2 adamgod 1 financial 1 gold plates 1 joseph fielding smith 1 testimony 1. Yet the contemporary parallel texts of the book of breathings made by isis belonging to members of the same family have different vignettes associated with them.
How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. Source hypocephalus as published in the book of abraham. Joseph smiths notes to facsimile 2 identify it as representing god sitting in the heavens. The lds essay historicity of the book of abraham presents a number of problematic arguments and citations taken out of context. The illustration represented by facsimile 2 is a hypocephalus, a disc made of linen, papyrus, or bronze, covered with inscriptions and images which relate to one of the last spells in the book of the dead. I am aware that many members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints mormon doubt the veracity of joseph smith juniors translation from egyptian hieroglyphs, including the facsimiles found in the book of abraham.
Chase calls truths of the gospel of jesus christ that were previously unknown to church members of joseph smiths day. There is another facsimile in the book of abraham revealing additional areas of mistranslation. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimiles fairmormon. 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. Did joseph smith correctly translate facsimile 2 in the book. I am less satisfied with this one than with the above, by the way. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Fairs apologetics regarding the book of abraham offends intellect. In this vision he is shown the plan of the universe, what is in the heavens, on the earth, in the sea, and in the abyss. A number of criticisms relate to the three facsimiles associated with the book of abraham. Expert analysis of the book of abraham in more recent times the halfdozen leading egyptologists who have been asked to examine the facsimiles agree that they were ordinary funeral documents such as can be found on thousands of egyptian graves. There are passages in the text of the book of abraham which are attributed to abraham and which refer to facsimile 1 abr.
Reference to kolob is found in the book of abraham, a work published by joseph smith, jr. Allowing the deceased to pass through the underworld. Did joseph smith give a correct meaning for facsimile 3, years before egyptologists unlocked the mysterious of ancient egyptian. Nonmormon egyptologists, beginning in the late 19th century, have disagreed with joseph smiths explanations of the facsimiles.
Much like the book of mormon, josephs translation of the book of abraham was. Because these papyri contained the drawing which became facsimile 1 in the book of abraham, and because this facsimile is the first page of the book of abraham, most people assumed that the text adjacent to this drawing drawings on papyrus are known as vignettes to egyptologists was the source for the book of abraham. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned abrahams name or any of the events recorded in the book of abraham. They argue that some ancient texts do not support the book. An early rendering of it reveals damage, and egyptologists agree that facsimile 2 is a poor and inaccurate restoration. The mormon god and a phallic god could be considered one and the same. Of all the sacred texts of the mormon church, one of the most fascinating is the book of abraham, a fivechapter book that purportedly records the travels of abraham in egypt.
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