The book of abraham
This topic is probably the biggest and most important topic that made me change the way I think about the church. One day I came across a website where it talked about the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. The LDS church believes that the Book of Abraham was written by the hand of Abraham about his life. Joseph Smith came across some old ancient Egyptian papyri that the church purchased in 1835. There are 3 facsimiles, one specifically that supposedly show Abraham sacrificing his son on the altar.
There have been many scientists and Egyptologists through the years that have studied the pictures that are presented (the facsimiles) and they all agree that these pictures are a representation of funerary texts and nothing what Joseph Smith claimed to have "translated". It is the start of a “Breathing Permit”. It has been proven over and over that the scene depicts the embalming of a deceased person, with a strong allusion to the god Osiris.
Recently, the LDS church wrote an essay specifically addressing the controversies surrounding the Book of Abraham and its contents. Read the full essay HERE.
According to mormonthink...“Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, he/she must make a journey to Osiris. To aid them on their way, priests included in their coffins documents with magic spells that would aid the deceased, with the help of their guide Anubis (a jackal-headed god), through the afterlife with their five senses intact, into the presence of Osiris. These spells and diagrams are all part of what is collectively known as the Book of the Dead. Not all the spells and diagrams were used for any one person. On the contrary, different people would have different spells and diagrams buried with them”.
As you can see in the graphic below, Egyptologists have clearly explained what each of the symbols mean in this funerary text.
There have been many scientists and Egyptologists through the years that have studied the pictures that are presented (the facsimiles) and they all agree that these pictures are a representation of funerary texts and nothing what Joseph Smith claimed to have "translated". It is the start of a “Breathing Permit”. It has been proven over and over that the scene depicts the embalming of a deceased person, with a strong allusion to the god Osiris.
Recently, the LDS church wrote an essay specifically addressing the controversies surrounding the Book of Abraham and its contents. Read the full essay HERE.
According to mormonthink...“Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, he/she must make a journey to Osiris. To aid them on their way, priests included in their coffins documents with magic spells that would aid the deceased, with the help of their guide Anubis (a jackal-headed god), through the afterlife with their five senses intact, into the presence of Osiris. These spells and diagrams are all part of what is collectively known as the Book of the Dead. Not all the spells and diagrams were used for any one person. On the contrary, different people would have different spells and diagrams buried with them”.
As you can see in the graphic below, Egyptologists have clearly explained what each of the symbols mean in this funerary text.
MY THOUGHTS: This information startled me, so I looked deeper into it, and it's really hard for me to believe that Joseph translated the ancient papyri correctly, when lots of experts have looked at it, and THEY all agree that Joseph was WAY off, and his translations were gibberish! There lots of books and articles written on this subject. I have only scanned through some articles, but I am now of the opinion that if Joseph Smith got this wrong, what else did he get wrong? I can’t accept the Book of Abraham as a book of Scripture.
For very good reading on the subject, please see the following...
For very good reading on the subject, please see the following...
- Examining the Book of Abraham- Short book examining its contents
- Mormonthink and their analysis-
- By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus- an excellent book, although it has its biases
- Wikipedia article about the subject-
- CES letter addressing the Book of Abraham issues
- FairMormon- their interpretation of the Book of Abraham
- LDS.org- Why doesn't the translation of the Papyri match the Book of Abraham?
***After reading all of these resources, make up your own mind as to whether or not Joseph Smith got it right or wrong.***
REFERENCES:
- https://www.lds.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng
- http://www.mormonthink.com/book-of-abraham-issues.htm
- http://www.bookofabraham.com/boamathie/BOA_TOC.html
- http://cesletter.com/debunking-fairmormon/book-of-abraham.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Abraham
- http://mit.irr.org/his-own-hand-upon-papyrus-part-1
- http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Abraham/Joseph_Smith_Papyri
- https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/07/i-have-a-question?lang=eng