The book of abraham is easily the most esoteric book in the latterday saint canon. It appears that abraham lincoln checked out a copy of the bom from the library of congress. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do. They even use real names and places in their reports the scientists, led by professor abraham jones, are associated with the brigham young universitys faculty of archaeology. Why mormons need the book of abraham religion news service. These experts discovered the fragments to be scraps. Please, i would love to hear some reasoned arguments as to why it is true. Reports of gold plates being found stem from a fake news. Mormon and non mormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation.
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. Mormon and non mormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the 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. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. Jan 18, 2018 how a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand ended up losing his faith. Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication. The book of abraham issues translation problems mormonthink.
Oct 16, 20 salt lake city a member of the first presidency of the mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints also known as the mormon church today publicly admitted that the entire religion was completely bogus, and that the church hierarchy has been making things up for the past 200 years. A portion of the papyri used by joseph smith as the source of the book of abraham. 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. For purposes of this exercise, i want to admit everything the church says about the translation process of the book of mormon i. 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. The facts are that he mistranslated portions of the bible, as well as the book of abraham, the kinderhook plates, and a greek psalter. As a preacher i spend a great deal of time reading, studying and. You are coming up with too many reasons why the book of mormon is fake instead of why it is true.
Biblical manuscript discoveries of the past two centuries have not called into question the authenticity of a single book of the bible. Top mormon official admits mormonism is a fake religion newslo. This basrelief detail from luxor has absolutely nothing to do with joseph smith. Biblical manuscript discoveries of the past two centuries have not called into question the authenticity of. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of abraham. For those who have devoutly believed in the book of mormon and the other lds scriptures, such as the book of abraham, as the word of god, coming to the realization that these books are not what they claim to be can cause ripple effects throughout their belief system. I would also love to hear some reasoned arguments about your views. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Book of abraham exposed fraud a portion of the papyri used by joseph smith as the source of the book of abraham. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian. Linguistic evidence that proves the book of mormon isnt true.
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 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. 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. The book of abraham comes first on my list, because ultimately the divinity of josephs calling rests upon it. Rhodes, researcher in ancient scriptures, brigham young university. Mar 19, 2011 well firstly, joseph smith, the prophet, translated the papyri. Doctrine and covenants and church history study guide. The book of abraham, found in the pearl of great price, is considered to be canonical by the lds church. This book, a record of the biblical prophet and patriarch abraham. The book of abraham is part of the pearl of great price, which mormons consider scripture. The understanding that the book of mormon has a divine origin is obtainable only by developing faith.
The veracity and value of the book of abraham cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the books translation and historicity, a new. The book of mormon false testament learn the bible. The above donut chart shows percentages of the kinderhook plates 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 83% of the ces letters kinderhook plates section. Byu professor kerry muhlestein has made a series of video defending joseph smiths literal translation of the mormon scripture. These papyri contain authentic egyptian writings, but they do not date to the time of abraham, nor do they contain the actual personally handwritten account of abraham. What do you think of the lds churchs book of abraham. Eldon tanner, sent out for the translation, expecting it to prove smiths true translation abilities. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. The lds church has admitted in its official essay the book of abraham translation has nothing to do with what is on the papyri. Book of mormon christ is completely accepted in bible he is rejected.
How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. 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 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 antiquity of the bible, unlike the book of mormon or the book of abraham, is beyond dispute. By contrast, the evidence shows that the book of mormon is not translated from ancient scriptures but is a nineteenthcentury fiction. Joseph smiths perverted habit of marrying teenage girls, and stealing other mens wives to be his polygamous wives. There are no gold plates to examine, no manuscripts to view, of the supposed ancient text joseph said he translated. 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. As outlined in the book of abraham section, joseph smith got everything wrong about the papyri, the facsimiles, the names, the gods, the scene context, the fact that the papyri and facsimiles were first century c. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. These papyri contain authentic egyptian writings, but they do not date to the time of abraham, nor do they contain the. 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. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham.
Thomas stuart ferguson lay in his hammock, certain that he had found. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud. In addition, there is ample evidence that he did not. 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. Book of abraham mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. I have studied the book of abraham, and the truth of it has been made known to me in a way i cant deny.
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. 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. There is no evidence that joseph smith ever translated anything, including the golden plates into the book of mormon. There are many proofs that joseph smith was a false prophet, but mormons typically will not accept them. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints embraces the book of abraham as scripture. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. Death blow to mormonism the book of abraham is a fake. The papyri in question are a part of the collection of egyptian mummies and.
The book of mormon makes its appearance in world history in 18291830, when joseph smith dictated its contents and published it. 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. Its the only lds scripture that includes graphical images. For purposes of this exercise, i want to admit everything the church says about the translation process of the book of mormoni. Two views of the mormon book of abraham bible query. 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. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand ended up losing his faith. By taking an evidential approach to christian and mormon scripture, i confirmed the veracity of christianity and guarded myself from the falsity. If the book of mormon and the book of abraham are not true. The book contains important teachings about the creation. Fragments of the original text were found and studied by renowned historians with credentials and experience. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. 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 prophecies of christ specific bible prophecies veiled actually nonexistent unless scripture misquoted or prophecies stretched to have two meanings.
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. 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. Thus, while valid and objective wordprinting is no substitute for. 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. None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned abraham s name or any of the events recorded in the book of abraham. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The book of mormon is mystical and has no recognized source material still available to mankind. 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.
This alone makes smith a false prophet and disanulls his claim to be sent by god. 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 in at least some cases, participating in the. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director kinderhook. 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. Think joseph smith could have gotten that right by sheer chance. The method by which joseph smith produced the book of abraham jump to subtopic. The book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. Brief background of my life as a mormon leaving mormonism and some experiences as a mormon history of joseph smith book of mormon book of abraham the temple church members. Namely the allegations that it is a fake and that the papyrus have nothing to do with abraham. Joseph smiths interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end. Apr 08, 2008 linguistic evidence that proves the book of mormon isnt true.
If the book of abraham was a fraud, is the book of mormon fake also. This some people includes the mormon church, which under the direction of apostle n. The book of mormon if the book of abraham was a fraud, is. Mormon and nonmormon egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation. An essay on the churchs website, titled translation and historicity of the book of abraham, explains. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 7, no. The above donut chart shows percentages of the kinderhook plates 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 83% of the ces letters kinderhook plates section breakdown can be found here. None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned abrahams name or any of the events recorded in the book of abraham. This is important because the latterday saints make such a point about it containing the fullness of the everlasting gospel. The use of egyptian magical papyri to authenticate the book of abraham part 2. The use of egyptian magical papyri to authenticate the. In 1835 the church came into possession of some egyptian papyri, said to have been translated with divine guidance by their prophet, joseph smith.
Third, the book of mormon abounds in textual errors, factual errors, and outright plagiarisms from other works. 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 conclusion states, much as critics and defenders of the book of mormon would like to use dna studies to support their views, the evidence is simply inconclusive. The book of abraham revered as scripture is total fiction as it does not match its source text.
The book of abraham, one of the central texts of mormonism, is a poor translation of egyptian papyri. 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. Why does a translation of the papyri that supposedly contain the book of abraham have no resemblance to joseph smith. The book of abraham is a book of ancient scripture translated by the prophet joseph smith from ancient papyri. Lds church publishes new web essay on book of abraham. Second, the book of mormon contains none of the key mormon doctrines. The book of mormon is the only explanation for this scripture. 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. This was originally written as a letter to a friend, a mormon, who wanted to know why i left mormonism. There is a book called the lincoln hypothesis by tim ballard that i avoided for a long time assuming it it was a bunch of stupid speculation.
The book of abraham is a book in the mormon scripture the pearl of great price. Critics challenge the viability of the population size and growth of the book of mormon people. Centuries later, according to the scripture, jesus appeared to the nephites in the same region after his resurrection. Why doesnt the translation of the egyptian papyri found in 1967. Salt lake city a member of the first presidency of the mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints also known as the mormon church today publicly admitted that the entire religion was completely bogus, and that the church hierarchy has been making things up. 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. Well firstly, joseph smith, the prophet, translated the papyri. All of this being said, the news website world news daily report is a fake news website. Are these really the inspired word of god through a modern day. 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 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. 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.
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