The Travesty of the Mormon Book of Abraham

Joseph Smith Papyrus 1 - wikipedia


The link above is a 25 minute Youtube video presentation from MormonHistoryEtc, narrated and produced by an unnamed, young-sounding man. It’s the best explanation of the history of the Joseph Smith Papyri and the so-called Book of Abraham that you’ll ever hear. The Book of Abraham does not exist in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament canon, although the characters of Joseph and Abraham appear in the Book of Genesis. The Book of Abraham was an alleged special revelation of Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church. His translation of a 2000-year-old Egyptian scroll is today an important canonical document in the Mormon Church and is part of The Pearl of Great Price.

The above video is so clear and well illustrated that it’s idiot proof. And, it uses an article written by my son Christopher Smith and his mathematical associate Andrew Cook as a source.

The link demonstrates that the two papyri claiming to be the writings of Joseph and Abraham of the Old Testament are not at all what Joseph Smith claimed. His supernatural translation is false. They are simply ancient Egyptian writings from the Book of the Dead and the Book of Breathings. These writings came to America in the early 1800’s with four mummies. Smith’s interpretation of the illustrations on the scrolls are not even close to the actual Egyptian events depicted. I am no expert on this topic, so you decide for yourself whether the scholarly Mormon explanations for these errors have any credibility, but the video author pretty well buries them.

The final question seems to be: what was Joseph Smith thinking when he made these claims?

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