By contrast, the evidence shows that the book of mormon is not translated from ancient scriptures but is a nineteenthcentury fiction. 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. The book of abraham was not translated, it was fabricated. The book of mormon and book of abraham are not what they purport to be, and everybody not in some kind of denial knows it. Mar 24, 2011 if you sincerely happen to believe spiritual experience is a good means of getting truth, and by such experiences you happen to believe that joseph smith was gods messanger and did in fact setup gods one authorized church, then there really are no interesting implications in the case that the book of abraham or the book of mormon, for that matter is proven false. 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 wording of joseph smiths explanation of figure 5 in facsimile 2 of the book of abraham is, in fact, very difficult to interpret. The documentary history of the church a mormon record gives the perspective of joseph smith in the following statements. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. The writings of abraham while he was in egypt, called the book of abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.
Chandler came to kirtland to exhibit some egyptian mummies. The church allowed photographs of the papyrus to be published in the february 1968 edition of the improvement era magazine, along with an article explaining them. Think joseph smith could have gotten that right by sheer chance. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud, is. How do mormons explain the book of abraham when many scholars. This overview of the controversy surrounding the mormon book of abraham is part of the major field guide profile mormonism. I would also love to hear some reasoned arguments about your views on the book of abraham and why no other translations match that of js. Originally asked as, how do mormons explain the book of abraham a completely fabricated, false document translated by joseph smith. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. It is not as detailed as my book of abraham page on my website, but does hit the major points.
And when they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us, among whom was my son moroni and we having survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow, when the lamanites had returned unto their camps, from the top of the hill cumorah, the ten thousand of my people who were hewn down, being led in the. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. Brown said he could not recall making the statements thomas stuart ferguson attributed to him.
History is replete with examples of such knockoff scriptures, from the gnostic gospels of the second century to the aquarian gospel of jesus the. Thirdly, the book of abraham provides justification for important mormon doctrines, including the exaltation of man, plurality of gods, priesthood, and premortal existence not found in any of the other canonized scriptures of the lds. Interesting, the mormons on this board know its an indefensible fake, so they can t even post a weak defense of the book of abraham. The book of abraham narrative clearly demonstrates the manner in which the lds church works diligently to massage or reinterpret inconvenient facts to continue to defend its most extraordinary truth. This some people includes the mormon church, which under the direction of apostle n. Share this video so that more people can be set free from the tangled lies of joseph smith. Apr 08, 2017 historical background to the book of abraham. For both books of the book of mormon and book of abraham, skeptics generally with a big first narrative that trickles down to further narratives. Attempts by mormons to answer the book of abraham problem fail. The mormon church hoped the book of abraham would vindicate joseph smith as a true prophet of god. 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. Abraham refers to a picture in the text of the book of abraham abr.
The lds church admits on their website that the book of abraham is not a translation of the papyri joseph claimed it was a translation of. If you sincerely happen to believe spiritual experience is a good means of getting truth, and by such experiences you happen to believe that joseph smith was gods messanger and did in fact setup gods one authorized church, then there really are no interesting implications in the case that the book of abraham or the book of mormon, for that matter is proven false. They are now referred to as the joseph smith papyri. While translating the book of mormon, he used the urim and thummim rather. 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. If the book of mormon and the book of abraham are not true. 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. Jan 30, 2018 the book of abraham was not translated, it was fabricated.
A translation of the apparent source of the book of abraham, dialogue. 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. For example, the egyptian character for water was misunderstood to cover two entire verses of the book of abraham. The mere fact that the church has made the decision to distant itself from the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the book of abraham, by attaching less importance to itis the direct cause of mormon critics who have shined the bright light of truth on the bogus book of abrahamand it is that truth that has caused the mormon. Smith, they will say, translated the book of mormon from golden plates he dug up in a hill in new york in the early 1800s. Ritner 5 early mormonism and the magic world view, 244. 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. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham. The book of mormon false testament introduction while reading the book of mormon, this socalled other testament of jesus christ, i noticed something very eyeopening, something that gives away the true nature and origin of this book. The man who wrote the lds essay on the book of abraham was. Mormon and non mormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand.
When mormon missionaries properly called latter day saints or simply lds come to your door, they will often offer a free copy of the book of mormon and tell you about its author, joseph smith. I became a closet doubter, as my individual study of the book of abraham and book of mormon left me questioning their historicity. Lds essay a careful study of the book of abraham provides a better measure of the book s merits than any hypothesis that treats the text as a conventional translation. False prophecies in the book of mormon life after ministry. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept silent. Book of abraham mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Lds leaders who admit mormonism isnt true life after. 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.
The church of jesus christ of latterday saints the book of abraham is a small document of five chapters, the longest only 31 verses. There are many proofs that joseph smith was a false prophet, but mormons typically will not accept them. It is included in the pearl of great price, a small volume of material designated as part of the official scripture of the lds church. With the book of abraham, the narrative was that joseph smith based his translation on papyri fragments that have since been recovered and were found to have nothing to do with abraham. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Well firstly, joseph smith, the prophet, translated the papyri. Genesis both descriptions are wrong out of order and impossible 2. The book of mormon is the only explanation for this scripture. Eldon tanner, sent out for the translation, expecting it to prove smiths true translation abilities. Death blow to mormonism the book of abraham is a fake.
A journal of mormon thought, 3 3, retrieved 20080201. Disproves mormonism using the bible, mormon scripture, statistical analysis and common sense. The veracity and value of the book of abraham cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the book s translation and historicity. Soon after this, some of the saints at kirtland purchased the mummies and papyrus, a description of which will appear hereafter, and with w. 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.
How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. The book of abraham papyri were thought to have been lost in the 1871 great chicago fire. If fake, the ancient cities described in it are nonexistent. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. Mormon handbook the book of abraham the church purchased the papyri and joseph claimed to identify its origins. If the book of mormon and the book of abraham are fraudulent, it is because they are counterfeit scriptures, imitations that reflect the value that so many people rightly put on the bible. I think i have proof that mormonism is not true youtube. Please, i would love to hear some reasoned arguments as to why it is true.
Are these really the inspired word of god through a modern day. The book of abraham is an 1835 work produced by latter day saints lds. In the last chapter, we saw some of the problems mormonism faces with the book of mormon and archaeology. 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. 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. The script below addresses the whole picture and simultaneously refutes all of the major mormon defenses of the book of abraham. 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. In this chapter we will examine another book of the mormon scriptures called the book of abraham. Thousands of mormons left the church as the result of this discovery, while thousands more are completely unaware of this important piece of evidence. Unfortunately, most mormons attack my arguments on each facsimile as if they were in a vacuum, ignoring the larger picture. The book of mormon false testament learn the bible. Lds essay a careful study of the book of abraham provides a better measure of the books merits than any hypothesis that treats the text as a conventional translation.
Joseph smiths interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end. The veracity and value of the book of abraham cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the books translation and historicity. Ferguson, apostle brown had also come to the conclusion that the book of abraham was false and was in favor of the church giving it up. 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. Dec 09, 2010 unfortunately, most mormons attack my arguments on each facsimile as if they were in a vacuum, ignoring the larger picture. How could there be so many witnesses of the book of mormon and the plates and not one of them deny their testimony even when some of them became bitter toward joseph smith. 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. The book contains important teachings about the creation. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept. Did the church admit joseph smiths book of abraham. Phelps and oliver cowdery as scribes, i commenced the translation of some of. Jun 22, 2010 you are coming up with too many reasons why the book of mormon is fake instead of why it is true.
Book of mormon prophecies of christ specific bible prophecies veiled actually nonexistent unless scripture misquoted or prophecies stretched to have two meanings. The book of abraham is a book of ancient scripture translated by the prophet joseph smith from ancient papyri. Its no different than talking about the origins of our world with a youngearth creationist. Book of mormon christ is completely accepted in bible he is rejected. This misunderstanding also might relate to the issue of the gold plates being large enough to house the book of mormon, the lost 116 pages, and the untranslated sealed portion. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of abraham. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do. 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 evidence for smiths prophetic calling from god is damning when we examine who really wrote the bom. Lds leaders who admit mormonism isnt true life after ministry. Turning to the book of abraham itself, lds historian, general authority and. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. The book of abraham comes first on my list, because ultimately the divinity of josephs calling rests upon it. That version, according to him, is what is used today, but he had no. If the book of abraham was a fraud, is the book of mormon fake also. Biblical manuscript discoveries of the past two centuries have not called into question the authenticity of a single book of the bible. The mere fact that the church has made the decision to distant itself from the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the book of abraham, by attaching less importance to itis the direct cause of mormon critics who have shined the bright light of truth on the bogus book of abraham and it is that truth that has caused the mormon. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. The book of abraham is an 1835 work produced by latter day saints lds movement founder joseph smith that he claimed were translated from egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. A new video by pearl of great price central brings together just a few samples of evidence reinforcing the book of abrahams historicity.
Drawing from a series of short articles called book of abraham insights by, this new video presents some of the evidence for the book of abrahams historical believability in a compelling and visuallystriking manner. Mormon beliefs are also shown to contradict both the bible and the book of mormon. Biblical manuscript discoveries of the past two centuries have not called into question the authenticity of. The original claim that the book of abraham had been translated from ancient egyptian papyri scrolls has been proven false when it was clearly shown that the scrolls where funeral text. 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. 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. This is why i never directly engage in these kinds of debates with true believers. Book of mormon thought false by lds memberarchaelogist. Turns out that three scholars baer, parker, and wilson published in dialogue, the journal of mormon thought in 1968 coming to the conclusion that it was a funerary text the breathing permit of hor.
May 01, 2012 if the book of mormon and the book of abraham are fraudulent, it is because they are counterfeit scriptures, imitations that reflect the value that so many people rightly put on the bible. The book of abraham is in the lds pearl of great price, which is a canonical part of our standard works. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. 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. While i was a youth leader initially eagle scout at, deacons quorum president, seminary president, etc. 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. According to smith, the book comprised ancient records. The book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. Why doesnt the translation of the egyptian papyri found in 1967. 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. Mar 19, 2011 well firstly, joseph smith, the prophet, translated the papyri. According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records.