Second, the critics do not deal with the issues arising from the book of abraham that latterday saints care about. Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. 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. Another early work of smith is the lectures on faith 183435. Aug 05, 2016 a shift to more realistic attitudes may in order. Aggregating resources on the book of abraham and my personal issues with the book of jasher this week ive been going over the book of abraham boa issue and investigating a few points of friction between various narratives including the gospel topics essay gte, the apologetic stance at fairmormon, and the lds discussions commentary on. Lds apologists have a pretty bad reputation among nonlds, and its not just a good vs evil thing. Bad book of mormon apologetics lds church is true blog. It suggests starting with a preset conclusion in mind around which one bends facts and evidence to conform to the said conclusion. Book of abraham is so damning that the church and mormon apologists have.
Lds discussions blog post about our upcoming series of articles on the book of abraham featuring lds apologists, joseph smiths writings, and more. The book of abraham is part of the mormon scripture known as the pearl of great price 1. 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. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies byuorg. 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. A translation of the apparent source of the book of abraham, dialogue. 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. Brian hauglid is a professor of ancient scripture at byu. We cover joseph smith, the book of mormon, the book of abraham, all the way to present day. 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. Second, the mention of melchizedek is from the new testament in hebrews 7 and is not unique to the book of mormon. 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. 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. Text from kep matches book of abraham verses actual egyptian meaning 1.
Please add your farms or fair story or comments in the box below. They win points with the uninformed, but they hurt us more in the long run. Smith once called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion smith, 1902, 4. A journal of mormon thought, 3 3, retrieved 20080201.
Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient evidence. What workarounds apologists have created to deal with those. The prophet joseph smith said that the book of abraham exhibited mormonism in its true light history of the church 5. Joseph did not claim to work on it steadily, but rather off and on during that time. 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 workarounds are dead ends evidences apologists share why those. The lds discussions blog post about the new video put out by the mormon church that discusses the word of wisdom, and how it compares to the history according to church documents and journals. For example, the egyptian character for water was misunderstood to cover two entire verses of the book of abraham.
The book of abraham unlike the book of mormon, which merely dull or silly, depending upon how much coffee one has been drinking, the book of abraham has a rather unpleasant side. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham. Includes color photos of the surviving joseph smith papyri, articles by mormon and nonmormon egyptologists, and free download of a 240page book that surveys the history of the book of abraham controversy. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Accompanying this release and renewed interest in the topic, hauglid has made a. Bill reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following. Mormonism, also known as the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, claims to be the restoration of the true gospel and a revelation of the true god.
The man who wrote the lds essay on the book of abraham was. Hauglid has acknowledged that most of my concerns and questions presented in the book of abraham section of the ces letter are legitimate questions and concerns. In the last chapter, we saw some of the problems mormonism faces with the book of mormon and archaeology. I do testify that the uncut sheets of the complete first edition of the book of mormon have been reproduced in its original unchanged condition. 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. Hauglids essay, i would like to note here that i appreciate mr. Good and bad apologetics by common consent, a mormon blog. 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. In the introduction of the book of mormon, smith states that it is the record of gods dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the americas, which also contains the fullness of the everlasting. He talks about lds apologetics how lds members defend the book of abraham. The book of mormon also makes a strong point for gods spiritual and eternal unity see alma 11.
Updated 122395 includes the smithsonian letter on the book of mormon. A portion of the papyri used by joseph smith as the source of the book of abraham. Examining mormon apologetics, neoapologetics, and informational obligations to church members and investigators share this podcast 420. 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. Much like the book of mormon, josephs translation of the book of abraham.
Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. See mormonthinks thorough overview of the book of abraham. Mormon scholars are divided on whether or not apologetics should be considered part of mormon studies. A study of the book of abraham byu scholarsarchive. The book of abraham missing scrolls, catalyst theories, and bad apologetics part 2 today we explore the book of abraham in radio free mormon style. Ten questions and answers on the book of abraham mormons in. 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. If you take a step back and realize that the book of abraham and book of mormon were produced in the same. Translations of the papyri revealed the rediscovered portions bore no relation to the book of abraham text. Three difficult questions for mormons catholic answers. Find out about its teachings of men becoming gods, temples, the book of mormon, and joseph smith who claimed to have seen god the father. If the catalyst theory is correct, then god must be responsible for instructing smith to record verses in the book of abraham that incorrectly refer to.
Until recent years, it was used to justify the racist policies of the mormon church. The lds church has admitted in its official essay the book of abraham translation has nothing to do with what is on the papyri. In this chapter we will examine another book of the mormon scriptures called the book of abraham. So, as others have noted, it seems odd that he would openly and repeatedly criticize the maxwell institutes change of course towards a more mormon. Eldon tanner, sent out for the translation, expecting it to prove smiths true translation abilities. He has been a prominent book of abraham apologists, publishing in farms and. 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. Logan utah herald journal october 10, 2004 all in all, southerton should probably be thanked for a book which, though overtly anti mormon, brings to the attention of many church members for the first time some topics that have been a focus of interest among scientists. The foundation for ancient research and mormon studies functions as a research and publication center that focuses on scholarly analysis of the book of mormon, the book of abraham, the old testament, the new testament, early christian history, and ancient temples.
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. Turning to the book of abraham itself, lds historian, general authority and. Blacks formerly were not allowed to hold the priesthood. In just words we explain the problems with joseph smith and the book of abraham and then detail why the lds apologetic responses. Apologists write defensively, and view their polemical responses to criticism as a battle for their faith.
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. They are now referred to as the joseph smith papyri. Yet the lds paper attempts to engage in scholarly debate from a onesided position, repeatedly citing in the footnotes the same limited set of apologists who are. Mar 07, 2019 discussions of book of mormon issues and evidences, plus other topics related to the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. New evidence for the book of mormon wait until smoot gets hold of this. Opening old book of abraham wounds without the first aid.
It is certainly not the intention either of apologetics press or the author of this article to insult, demean, or misrepresent mormons. But i guess that is sort of what selfidentified mormon apologists do. Joseph smiths interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end. I wonder if consig was a bit shy of advertising this episode here. This is the official facebook page for the ldsdiscussions.
The problems encountered here are devastating to the credibility of mormonism. The book of abraham missing scrolls, catalyst theories, and bad apologetics part 1 today we explore the book of abraham in radio free mormon style. This december, he and robin jensen, from the church history department, released the joseph smith papers volume dedicated to the book of abraham. In the words of latterday saints president wilford c. Some of this knowledge, which is discussed later in this essay, had not yet been. That version, according to him, is what is used today, but he had no. Unlike controversial and less respected mormon apologists, mr. This article is the second installment in a twopart critique of the book of mormon. The man who wrote the lds essay on the book of abraham was a.
Jun, 2019 there are bad book of mormon apologetics. For purposes of this exercise, i want to admit everything the church says about the translation process of the book of mormoni. It can also be useful to remind people that you dont have to defend everything to be a latterday saint, and the list of essentials will vary from person to person. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham the university. There is also a lot of physical evidence against the book of abraham for the disbeliever its just a book of the dead scroll. It was produced by joseph smith in 1835, and smith claimed that it was based on egyptian papyri which he bought from a mummy exhibition. The book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. Jan, 2017 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. Robert ritners epic takedown of the lds churchs book of abraham essay.
The book of abraham is part of the pearl of great price, which mormons consider scripture. Continuing our look at black history month and the church, here is a collection of quotes from lds leaders and their scriptures about the curse of dark skin. See my linebyline debunking of apologetics in the book of abraham section of debunking fairmormon. They are as busy as bees with this mission impossible task. Consiglieri, the numerological book of mormon mormon. I found something which was refreshing to read from an lds member, dr. This some people includes the mormon church, which under the direction of apostle n. 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. Birch argues that it should be a part of mormon studies, as long as apologetic authors concede that their arguments are objective and subject to academic debate. The book of abraham comes first on my list, because ultimately the divinity of josephs calling rests upon it. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased.
According to smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records. A summary of the biggest problems with lds church history, and why we feel that mormon apologetics do not solve them. The book of abraham papyri were thought to have been lost in the 1871 great chicago fire. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham response. Yeah sure, just as soon as mormon apologetics admit that the book of abraham is a fraudyour getting close to doing sobut come on just come clean and admit it.
Richard criddle, active lds, retired professor of biochemistry and biophysics says, faithful should relish findings. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. He has been a prominent book of abraham apologists, publishing in farms and other byu outlets. Today we explore the book of abraham in radio free mormon style. As a side note, the book of mormon reportedly took joesph smith about 90 days to translate, but the book of abraham was started in 1835, but not published until 1842. We all know how deeply immersed in book of abraham apologetics gee has been, and, of course, we know further that he very much needs the institutional support of the churchbyu to carry that out. Farms fair shields mormon apologetics farms and fair and shields apologize for the book of mormon and the book of abraham. Its a bold and what seems a big change for our friend. Part ii follows below, and continues, without introductory comments, where the first article ended. 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.
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