The lost 116 pages reconstructing the book of mormons missing stories, by don bradley. Bill reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following. According to joseph smiths introductory comments in the translation, abraham wrote the book himself, by his own hand, upon papyrus smith, 1842, 93. The book of mormon has been criticized for its lack of significant female characters in the narrative. Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The translation was published serially in the times and seasons beginning march 1, 1842, at nauvoo, illinois. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints embraces the book of abraham as scripture.
There are many proofs that joseph smith was a false prophet, but mormons typically will not accept them. Apologetics press facsimile 1 from the book of abraham. The book of mormon was produced by joseph smith, who claimed to have been led by an angel to the spot where the golden plates on which the book of mormon had been written were buried. 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. Critiquing book of abraham apologetics part 9 of 9. Contemporary book of mormon apologetics really began with two lengthy series of articles from 1950 to 1952 by nibley on the book of mormon, published in. 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. Unlike controversial and less respected mormon apologists, mr. The bogus book of abraham is one of four canonized books of mormon scripture. Jun 11, 2009 thanks especially to the internet, several latterday saint lds, mormon apologetics groups have made it their business to actively defend the historicity of the book of mormon and the book of abraham as well as uphold the integrity of early mormon leaders. Joseph smiths interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end. Chase calls truths of the gospel of jesus christ that were previously unknown to church members of joseph smiths day. Brian hauglid is a professor of ancient scripture at byu. Book of mormon, and preserved from making any errors.
A portion of the papyri used by joseph smith as the source of the book of abraham. Discover the basic beliefs and values of the religion of mormonism from a christian perspective, and learn how it differs from christianity. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. They are now referred to as the joseph smith papyri. We cover joseph smith, the book of mormon, the book of abraham, all the way to present day. They are in the same handwriting of several of josephs scribes. Members of the mormon church raised money and bought the entire collection. 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. He talks about lds apologetics how lds members defend the book of abraham. Mormon apologetics recovery updated 122395 includes the smithsonian letter on the book of mormon i found something which was refreshing to read from an lds member, dr.
This claim, of course, contradicts the above claim of. First, apologist offered the testimonials of the three and eight witnesses to support joseph smiths claim about the book s origins. A mormon is a term used to describe the members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Fairmormon faithful answers to criticisms of the lds church. He has been a prominent book of abraham apologists, publishing in farms and other byu outlets. Examples include the nature of the priesthood, an understanding of the cosmos. Having faith in and through the book of mormon brant gardner duration. In the twentieth century there were two events that put the authenticity of the book of abraham as an ancient text and not a modern pseudepigraphon in doubt. 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. Lds apologist undermines the book of abraham mormon chronicle. 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. 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. Explores the joseph smith papyrus and demonstrates that joseph smiths claim that he had translated the book of abraham from it was a fabrication. Book of mormon apologetics in the nineteenth century developed along essentially three lines.
Book of abraham translation church of jesus christ. Fairmormon is controlled and operated by the foundation for apologetic information and research fair. His statement that the book of abraham is not like the book of mormon because there is no verse in it that says, if you pray about it you can find out if it is true or not is laughable. Evidences which support the truthfulness of the book of mormon. The man who wrote the lds essay on the book of abraham was a. An immediate response from many of them is that it is a word with negative connotationsthat people are apologizing for the church. They are as busy as bees with this mission impossible task. What mormon apologetics are used to mitigate the fact that joseph smith referenced facsimile no. The largest group, more than half of members, do not care where the book of abraham came from. Thousands of mormons left the church as the result of this discovery, while thousands more are completely unaware of this important piece of evidence. For example, the egyptian character for water was misunderstood to cover two entire verses of the book of abraham. For 190 years, latterday saints and others have been enriched by the teachings and stories in the book of mormon. Home book of abraham critiquing book of abraham apologetics part 9 of 9 posted on july 6, 2019 july 6, 2019 by rickb leave a comment critiquing book of abraham apologetics part 9.
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. A translation of the apparent source of the book of abraham, dialogue. Death blow to mormonism the book of abraham is a fake. 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. In 1835, joseph smith acquired a collection of papyrus fragments from a travelling egyptian show.
I found something which was refreshing to read from an lds member, dr. 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. Theyre mormon apologists whose life mission is to defend mormonism at all costs. The book of abraham, it is hardly necessary to say, is a pure fabrication. The problems encountered here are devastating to the credibility of mormonism.
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 clear that it was a literal curse on their skin. This website, the mormon curtain is a website that blogs the ex mormon world. Robert ritners epic takedown of the lds churchs book of abraham essay. Lds apologetics and the battle for mormon history christian.
The next largest group thinks that joseph smith translated the book of abraham from papyrus fragments that are no longer in existence. The book of mormon mistakenly has jesus including peters appended comments as if they were part of moses words in deuteronomy. The author of the book of mormon obviously had before him a copy of the king james bible, and simply copied many sections directly from it though it is claimed that the book of mormon was actually written from 600 to 421 b. 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. Ashments book, the use of magical papyri to authenticate the book of abraham. Bad book of mormon apologetics lds church is true blog. Well firstly, joseph smith, the prophet, translated the papyri. I think i have proof that mormonism is not true youtube. The term mormon comes from the name given to one of their scriptures. The book of abraham missing scrolls, catalyst theories, and bad apologetics part 2. The book of abraham is a book of lds scripture that joseph smith translated from a collection of ancient egyptian papyri the church purchased. 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. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Index of articles on mormons, mormonism,the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, joseph smith, book of mormon, book of abraham, modern revelation, archeology, science, history, faith, christianity, judaism, apologetics, nature of god, council of gods, faith, dna and the book of mormon, cataclysm of 3rd nephi, signs in the sky.
Hauglid surprisingly cites michael rhodes, john gee, william j. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, vol. By mighty curelom, january 4, 2005 in book of abrahammighty curelom, january 4, 2005 in book of abraham. Joseph smith began the translation in 1835 after obtaining some egyptian papyri. See mormonthinks thorough overview of the book of abraham.
This page deals primarily with the question of the source of the book of abraham now available online at. Seven years later, joseph finished translating the scroll and called it the book of abraham an accompanying book of joseph was never translated. Matt roper and paul fields did a study on book of mormon wordprint patterns, ie computer statistical analysis of word pattern to determine authorship and other attributes of the book. This book, a record of the prophet and patriarch abraham, largely follows the biblical narrative but adds important information regarding abraham s life and teachings.
The most famous part of the book of mormon story is of the appearance of jesus christ after his resurrection to preach to the nephites. 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. Thanks especially to the internet, several latterday saint lds, mormon apologetics groups have made it their business to actively defend the historicity of the book of mormon and the book of abraham as well as uphold the integrity of early mormon leaders. 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. Last time i checkedit wasnt the critics that canonized the book of abrahamit was the members of the mormon church. 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. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. The book of abraham missing scrolls, catalyst theories, and bad apologetics part 3. Is this true what theyre saying about the book of abraham. Updated 122395 includes the smithsonian letter on the book of mormon. Evidences which support the truthfulness of the book of abraham.
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. 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. The book of abraham is part of the pearl of great price, which mormons consider scripture. In this chapter we will examine another book of the mormon scriptures called the book of abraham. 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. Hauglids essay, i would like to note here that i appreciate mr. See my linebyline debunking of apologetics in the book of abraham section of debunking fairmormon. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 7, no. We have actual evidence that joseph smith was lying to mormons when he invented his new scripture the book of abraham. The word apologist is often seen by members who are just learning about the issues found on mormonthink.
In the last chapter, we saw some of the problems mormonism faces with the book of mormon and archaeology. The most recent jsp revelations and translation vol. Farms fair shields mormon apologetics farms and fair and shields apologize for the book of mormon and the book of abraham. In the old testament, male pronouns he and his are mentioned 6. 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. He claimed to be able to translate these fragments, and the book of abraham is the result. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies byuorg. Such is the modern subtitle of the book of mormon, a book first published in 1830 but purporting to be a translation of an ancient scripture penned in the western hemisphere between 600 b. Part 3, ancient records offer new support for the book of abraham, looks at some. The book of abraham comprises five chapters of text and three facsimiles of vignettes from the papyri collection, together with josephs proffered explanations. This is a clear attempt to say that it doesnt matter if the book of abraham is true or not, and insinuating that it might not be. If you have reached this page from an outside source such as an internet search or forum referral, please note that this page the one you just landed on is an archive containing articles on book of abraham. 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. Although not a part of the book of mormon, the book of abraham has a bearing on the translation of the book of mormon.
Concerning this record, the prophet joseph smith, who translated it by the gift and power of god, said, i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book see the introduction at the. Part 2 deals with the content of the book and joseph smiths comments on three egyptian drawings that have been attached to the published 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. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. Yet, the author of the book of mormon unquestionably was relying on acts 3. Peterson as credible sources for supporting the authenticity of the book of abraham. 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. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of. One official explanation as to why the original 1830 edition of the book of mormon was filled with grammatical mistakes and content blunders isprinters errors. The book of abraham text is a source of some distinct latter day saint doctrines, which mormon author randal s. The book of abraham papyri were thought to have been lost in the 1871 great chicago fire.
About onethird think that there is or was no connection between the book of abraham and any papyrus fragments. Evidences which support the reality of the first vision. A summary of the biggest problems with lds church history, and why we feel that mormon apologetics do not solve them. An inspired translation of the writings of abraham. 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. Nibley 19102005 taught at byu from 1946 until 1994 and produced an astonishing body of scholarship, mostly in defense of the book of mormon, the book of abraham, and lds theology. Second, the critics do not deal with the issues arising from the book of abraham that latterday saints care about. I have studied the book of abraham, and the truth of it has been made known to me in a way i cant deny.
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