Difference between revisions of "The Joseph Smith Papyri"

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{{Epigraph|An example of what I am talking about is the recent discovery of the papyrus scrolls from which Joseph Smith was presumed to have translated the book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. Modern scholars, looking at the scrolls, found nothing they considered to be similar to that book. I remarked at the time that such a finding didn't bother me in the least. God doesn't need a crib sheet in the form of a papyrus scroll to reveal Abraham's thoughts and words to Joseph Smith, with any degree of precision He considers necessary for His purposes. If the only function of the scrolls was to awaken the Prophet to the idea of receiving such inspiration, they would have fulfilled their purpose.<br><br>
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=={{Criticism label}}==
 
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There are a number of criticisms related to the recovered fragments of the Joseph Smith papyri. These criticisms are addressed below.
 
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{{CriticalSources}}
 
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=={{Source document label}}==
 
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*View high [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/egyptian-papyri resolution images of the Joseph Smith Papyri online].
 
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=={{Subarticles label}}==
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Quotes
 
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|subject=Source quotes
 
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|summary=A collection of source quotes related to the Joseph Smith Papyri
 
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==Overview==
 
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{{Epigraph|An example of what I am talking about is the recent discovery of the papyrus scrolls from which Joseph Smith was presumed to have translated the book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. Modern scholars, looking at the scrolls, found nothing they considered to be similar to that book. I remarked at the time that such a finding didn't bother me in the least. God doesn't need a crib sheet in the form of a papyrus scroll to reveal Abraham's thoughts and words to Joseph Smith, with any degree of precision He considers necessary for His purposes. If the only function of the scrolls was to awaken the Prophet to the idea of receiving such inspiration, they would have fulfilled their purpose.<br>
 
 
&mdash;Henry Eyring, ''Reflections of a Scientist'', p. 46}}
 
&mdash;Henry Eyring, ''Reflections of a Scientist'', p. 46}}
 
{{parabreak}}
 
{{parabreak}}
  
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Joseph Smith had in his possession three or four long scrolls, plus a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocephalus hypocephalus] ([http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/fac_2 Facsimile 2]). Of these original materials, only a handful of fragments were recovered at the Metropolitan Museum. The majority of the papyri remains lost, and has likely been destroyed. Critics who claim that we have all, or a majority, of the papyri possessed by Joseph Smith are simply mistaken.
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{{T5
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|L=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri
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|H=The Joseph Smith Papyri
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|V=<embedvideo service="youtube">pNBzMhJFGWo</embedvideo>
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|S=Joseph Smith had in his possession three or four long scrolls, plus a hypocephalus (Facsimile 2). Of these original materials, only a handful of fragments were recovered at the Metropolitan Museum. The majority of the papyri remains lost, and has likely been destroyed. There are a number of criticisms related to the recovered fragments of the Joseph Smith papyri. These criticisms are addressed below. <ref>Criticisms regarding the Book of Abraham and Joseph Smith papyri are raised in the following publications: “Universalism in Ohio,” ''Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate'' (Utica, New York) (12 September 1835): 291. {{link|url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/BOMP&CISOPTR=1061&REC=8}}; {{CriticalWork:Ashment:Egyptian Magical Papyri|pages=1&ndash;}}; {{CriticalWork:Larson:By His Own Hand|pages=1&ndash;}}; Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Solving the Mystery of the Joseph Smith Papyri," ''Salt Lake City Messenger'' 82 (September 1992): 1&ndash;12.; {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=Chapter 11}}; {{CriticalWork:Watchman Fellowship:Articles|pages=3}}</ref>
  
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The Egyptian characters on the recovered documents are a portion of the "Book of Breathings," an Egyptian religious text buried with mummies that instructed the dead on how to successfully reach the afterlife. This particular Book of Breathings was written for a deceased man named Hor, so it it usually called ''the Hor Book of Breathings''.
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<small>Video published by the Church History Department.</small>
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|L1=Online source documents
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Other than the vignette represented in Facsimile 1, the material on the papyri received by the Church, at least from a standard Egyptological point of view, does not include the actual text of the Book of Abraham. This was discussed in the Church publication, the ''New Era'' in January 1968.
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|L2=The Joseph Smith Papyri: Source Quotes
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|L3=Identity and nature of the papyrus in the Church's possession
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|L4=When did the Church disclose that the Joseph Smith Papyri were an Egyptian funerary text?
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|L5=Why is the Book of Abraham text not on the papyri?
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The following articles explore more detail regarding various aspects of the Book of Abraham.
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|L6=The facsimiles in the Book of Abraham
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|L7=Antiquity of the Book of Abraham
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=={{Topics label}}==
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Identity and nature
 
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|subject=Identity and nature of the papyrus in the Church's possession
 
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|summary=In July 1835, Joseph Smith purchased a portion of a collection of papyri and mummies that had been discovered in Egypt and brought to the United States. Believing that one of the papyrus rolls contained, "the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt," and "purportedly written by his own hand, upon papyrus,"{{ref|hc1}} Joseph commenced a translation. The Book of Abraham was the result of his work. The translated text and facsimiles of three drawings were published in the early 1840s in serial fashion in the LDS newspaper ''Times and Seasons''. The entire work was published in 1852 in England as part of ''The Pearl of Great Price'', which was later canonized as part of LDS scripture.
 
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[[File:IE_Jan1968_cover.jpg|thumb|400 px|right|Cover of the January 1968 issue of the ''Improvement Era'', the Church's official magazine of the time. Note the color photograph of the recovered [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/fac_1 Facsimile 1].]]
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=/Church disclosure of "Book of the Dead"
 
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|subject=When did the Church disclose that the Joseph Smith Papyri were an Egyptian funerary text?
 
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|summary=Critics often assert that the Church did not identify the Joseph Smith Papyri as an Egyptian funerary text until after Egyptologists examined them. They also claim that the Church is hiding or "covering up" the papyri's actual contents. Both assertions are incorrect. In fact, the Church ran a multi-part series with color pictures of the papyri in the ''Improvement Era'' (the predecessor to the ''Ensign'') less than two months after they were received from the Metropolitan Museum.{{ref|improvera}} The series repeatedly affirmed that the recovered papyri contained Egyptian funerary materials and not the text of Book of Abraham. Although the article erroneously identified the papyrus as the Egyptian "Book of the Dead," it was later correctly identified as a "Book of Breathings."
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Dating
 
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|subject=Dating of the Joseph Smith Papyri
 
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|summary=Joseph said that "one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham,"{{ref|hc2}} and his scribes quoted him as saying the scroll was "written by his [Abraham's] own hand, upon papyrus."{{ref|marquardt1}} The problem is that most modern scholars (including LDS scholars) date the papyri to a few centuries before Christ, whereas Abraham lived about two millennia before Christ. Obviously, Abraham himself could not have penned the papyri. The phrase "by his own hand" can simply mean that Abraham is the author of the book. Similarly, we could hold a modern printed Bible in our hands, point to 1 Corinthians, and say, "This was written by the Apostle Paul." Joseph was translating the writings of Abraham, so it is quite possible that he believed that the actual scroll in his possession was written by Abraham himself. There is no evidence, however, that this belief was based on revelation.
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Text
 
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|subject=Why is the Book of Abraham text not on the papyri?
 
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|summary=We do not claim to know why the text of the Book of Abraham (or the missing Book of Joseph) is not in evidence on the fragments of papyrus that were recovered. Critics, of course, simply assume this to be conclusive evidence that Joseph was a fraud. From a believer's perspective, however, there are several possible theories to account for this: 1) The text was revealed much in the same manner as that of the Book of Mormon, without the need for the actual papyri, 2) The text was present on portions of the papyri that are missing, and 3) The Book of Abraham manuscript was attached to the Book of Breathings manuscript and was lost. 4) Perhaps there was a way of understanding the Egyptian ideograms anciently that is unknown to Egyptology in our day, yet to be discovered, deciphered or acknowledged, that could yield an interpretation of a text that is different than the standard Egyptological reading.
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Text/Revealed
 
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|subject=The "Revealed Text" theory
 
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|summary=This theory assumes that the Book of Abraham ''was not'' on the papyri; he received the text by revelation, with the papyri acting as a catalyst. This is a possibility because Joseph used the word "translation" to mean several things, including the process of receiving pure revelation. (Joseph Smith's revelations call his revision of the Bible a "translation" ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/search?lang=eng&query=D%26C+73%3A4%3B+D%26C+76%3A15%3B+D%26C+90%3A13%3B+D%26C+94%3A10%3B+D%26C+124%3A89&x=0&y=0 D&C 73:4; 76:15; 90:13; 94:10; 124:89]), even though he didn't use any Hebrew of Greek manuscripts. Also, {{s||DC|7|}} is a revealed translation of a lost record written by the Apostle John.)
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Text/Size_of_missing_papyrus
 
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|subject=The "Missing Papyrus" theory
 
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|summary=This theory assumes that the Book of Abraham ''was'' on the papyri in Joseph Smith's possession, but the portion recovered from the Metropolitan Museum doesn't include it. This is a possibility because the recovered portion is less than 13% of the total material held by Joseph.{{ref|13percent}}  Eyewitnesses also reported that the length of the papyri in Joseph's possession was much more extensive than the fragments now held by the Church.{{ref|jfs1}}
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Jewish redaction
 
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|subject=The "Jewish Redaction" theory
 
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|summary=This theory assumes that the Book of Abraham was on a scroll which is no longer extant. While it's true that the extant portions of the JSP are from the Book of the Dead and the Book of Breathings and do not, according to Egyptologists, translate to anything like the LDS Book of Abraham, this doesn't necessarily mean that the translation didn't derive from Joseph's papyri. There are other scenarios that are compatible with Joseph's claims. We know from other sources, for instance, that sometimes scrolls were attached together.
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book_of_Abraham/Joseph_Smith_Papyri/Text/Double_entendre
 
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|subject=The "Double Entendre" theory, or Multiple Meanings
 
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|summary=There are several flavors of this theory, but it assumes that (1) even if significant portions of the papyri are missing, key pieces of the papyri are NOT missing and (2) there are multiple meanings to be found in the text of the extant papyri.  Some versions of this theory employ the idea that the Kirtland Egyptian Papers represent some sort of "key" of understanding.  Some versions of this theory draw upon others listed above, bringing in elements of the catalyst idea, or the Jewish redaction idea, while rejecting the idea that the key portions of the papyrus that represent the text, or that represent the ideas on which the text is based, are missing.
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Kirtland Egyptian Papers
 
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|subject=The Kirtland Egyptian Papers
 
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|summary=Among the early Book-of-Abraham-related-manuscripts that have survived from the days of Joseph Smith are a number of papers collectively referred to as the "Kirtland Egyptian Papers" (KEP). 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. They are in the same handwriting of several of Joseph's scribes. Critics charge that the KEP represent Joseph's attempt to translate the hieroglyphics from those portions that are still extant, noting that Egyptologists tell us that the alleged "translations" do not accurately reflect the meanings of the hieroglyphics. In some cases, several paragraphs of the English translation of the Book of Abraham are associated with Egyptian characters from the Joseph Smith papyri. In some instances, one Egyptian character seems to yield several sentences of English text. From what may be surmised from the "Kirtland Egyptian Papers" the surviving Egyptian papyri are claimed by critics to be the source for the Book of Abraham. Critics point out that Egyptologists agree that these papyri are part of a collection of Egyptian funerary documents known as the ''Book of Breathings'' and do not deal with Abraham.
 
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[[Image:BOAfacsimile1.jpg|frame|200px|right|Photograph of Facsimile 1 from the recovered Joseph Smith Papyri]]
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Facsimiles
 
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|subject=Facsimiles in the Book of Abraham
 
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|summary=In the Book of Abraham, Joseph included three facsimiles of illustrations from the papyri, along with commentary about what the images and their individual parts represented. Some of Joseph's interpretations are similar to those of trained Egyptologists, but most are not. A number of criticisms relate to the three facsimiles associated with the Book of Abraham.It is noted that Joseph Smith's translation of the facsimiles does not agree with that provided by Egyptologists, and that some missing portions of the facsimiles were incorrectly restored before they were published.
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Facsimiles/Facsimile 1
 
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|subject=Facsimile 1
 
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|summary=It is claimed that facsimile 1 is simply a typical funerary scene and there are many other papyri showing the same basic scene, and that the missing portions of the drawing were incorrectly restored. It is also claimed that Abraham has never been associated with the lion couch vignette such as that portrayed in Facsimile #1 of the Book of Abraham.
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/By His Own Hand upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri/Larson "restoration" of Facsimile 1
 
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|subject="By His Own Hand upon Papyrus": The Charles Larson "restoration" of Facsimile 1
 
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|summary=The book "...by his own hand upon papyrus" presents a "restoration" of Facsimile 1 (p. 65), which purports to be "based upon the modern study of Egyptology, and similar scenes in numerous existing papyri." However, the recent availability of high-definition [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/egyptian-papyri images of the papyri on the Church History website] now provides the opportunity to compare the Larson restoration with the original. There are a number of discrepancies which indicate that the restoration contains a number of significant inaccuracies. We examine those inaccuracies in this sub-article.
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Facsimiles/Facsimile 2
 
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|subject=Facsimile 2
 
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|summary=The illustration represented by Facsimile 2 is a hypocephalus, a disc made of linen, papyrus, or bronze, covered with inscriptions and images which relate to one of the last spells in the Book of the Dead. Joseph Smith's notes to Facsimile 2 identify it as representing God sitting in the heavens among the stars and others of his creations.
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Facsimiles/Facsimile 3
 
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|subject=Facsimile 3
 
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|summary=The following are common criticisms associated with Facsimile 3: 1) The scene depicted is a known Egyptian vignette which some Egyptologists claim has nothing to do with Abraham, 2) Joseph indicated that specific characters in the facsimile confirmed the identities that he assigned to specific figures, 3) Joseph identified two obviously female figures as "King Pharaoh" and "Prince of Pharaoh."
 
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{{SummaryItem2
 
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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Facsimiles/Missing portions
 
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|subject=Restoration of the missing portions of the facsimiles
 
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|summary=Part of the drawings (vignettes) on the papyri have been destroyed. Before the facsimiles were published, the missing sections were filled in. While it appears that Joseph or someone else "restored" these missing parts, non-LDS Egyptologists do not recognize these restorations as accurate. Critics charge that the sections that were filled in are incorrect, and that this proves that Joseph Smith was not a prophet.
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
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=={{Endnotes label}}==
 
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#{{note|hc1}}{{HoC|vol=2|start=235, 236, 348|end=351}}
 
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#{{note|gee2007}}John Gee, "Some Puzzles from the Joseph Smith Papyri," 2007 FAIR Apologetics Conference (Sandy, Utah). (''Link forthcoming.'')
 
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#{{note|improvera}}The 11-part series, written by Dr. Hugh Nibley and entitled "A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price", began in the January 1968 ''Improvement Era'' and ran in every issue until May 1970 (with the exception of December 1969 and February 1970). Nibley's series has been available as a FARMS reprint (N-NEP) since 1990, and several chapters became part of Nibley's book ''Abraham In Egypt''.
 
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#{{note|hc2}}{{HoC1|vol=2|start=236}}
 
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#{{note|marquardt1}}Michael H. Marquardt, "A Book Note &mdash; Hugh Nibley's ''Abraham in Egypt''" (2000).
 
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#{{note|13percent}}John Gee, ''A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri,'' 23.
 
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#{{note|jfs1}} "In 1906, while visiting Nauvoo, President Joseph F. Smith related to Preston Nibley his experience as a child of seeing his Uncle Joseph in the front rooms of the Mansion House working on the Egyptian manuscripts. According to President Smith, one of the rolls of papyri "when unrolled on the floor extended through two rooms of the Mansion House." This would have been sometime between 1843 when the Mansion House was completed and the prophet's death in June 1844, one or two years after other parts of the papyri had been cut up and placed under glass. - See {{Dialogue1|author=Hugh Nibley|article=Phase I||vol=3|num=2|date=Summer 1968|start=101}}  See also {{IE|author=Hugh Nibley|article=New Look at the Pearl of Great Price|vol=71|date=March 1968|start=17|end=18}} and Hugh Nibley, "Judging and Prejudging the Book of Abraham," Nibley archive, 1979, 6-7; reprinted as an appendix in Robert L. and Rosemary Brown, ''They Lie in Wait to Deceive'', vol. 1, ed. Barbara Ellsworth, rev. ed. (Mesa, AZ: Brownsworth, 1982), 236&mdash;245.
 
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#{{note|gee1}}{{Ensign|author=John Gee|article=Research and Perspectives: Abraham in Ancient Egyptian Texts|date=July 1992|start=60|end=?}}; {{FR-7-1-5}}
 
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#{{note|nibley2}}{{Dialogue1|author=Hugh W. Nibley|article=Phase One|vol=3|num=2|date=Summer 1968|start=101}}{{link|url=http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=1659&REC=10}}
 
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#{{note|gee2}}Gee, ''A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri,'' 12&ndash;13.
 
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#{{note|gee3}}John Gee, "Facsimile 3," lecture given at the FARMS Book of Abraham Conference (16 October 1999), personal notes of conference talks by Michael Ash; see also, John Gee, "The Ancient Owners of the Joseph Smith Papyri" (Provo: FARMS, 1999), 1.
 
  
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{{SeeAlso|Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Kirtland Egyptian Papers}}
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*View high [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/egyptian-papyri resolution images of the Joseph Smith Papyri online].
  
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Latest revision as of 19:59, 1 May 2024


An example of what I am talking about is the recent discovery of the papyrus scrolls from which Joseph Smith was presumed to have translated the book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. Modern scholars, looking at the scrolls, found nothing they considered to be similar to that book. I remarked at the time that such a finding didn't bother me in the least. God doesn't need a crib sheet in the form of a papyrus scroll to reveal Abraham's thoughts and words to Joseph Smith, with any degree of precision He considers necessary for His purposes. If the only function of the scrolls was to awaken the Prophet to the idea of receiving such inspiration, they would have fulfilled their purpose.

—Henry Eyring, Reflections of a Scientist, p. 46
∗       ∗       ∗


The Joseph Smith Papyri

Summary: Joseph Smith had in his possession three or four long scrolls, plus a hypocephalus (Facsimile 2). Of these original materials, only a handful of fragments were recovered at the Metropolitan Museum. The majority of the papyri remains lost, and has likely been destroyed. There are a number of criticisms related to the recovered fragments of the Joseph Smith papyri. These criticisms are addressed below. [1]

Video published by the Church History Department.

Jump to Subtopic:


See also: Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Kirtland Egyptian Papers


Online source documents


The Joseph Smith Papyri: Source Quotes

Summary: A collection of source quotes related to the Joseph Smith Papyri


Jump to details:


Identity and nature of the papyrus in the Church's possession


Jump to details:


When did the Church disclose that the Joseph Smith Papyri were an Egyptian funerary text?

Summary: Critics often assert that the Church did not identify the Joseph Smith Papyri as an Egyptian funerary text until after Egyptologists examined them. They also claim that the Church is hiding or "covering up" the papyri's actual contents. Both assertions are incorrect. In fact, the Church ran a multi-part series with color pictures of the papyri in the Improvement Era (the predecessor to the Ensign) less than two months after they were received from the Metropolitan Museum. The series repeatedly affirmed that the recovered papyri contained Egyptian funerary materials and not the text of Book of Abraham.


Jump to details:


Why is the Book of Abraham text not on the papyri?

Summary: We do not claim to know why the text of the Book of Abraham (or the missing Book of Joseph) is not in evidence on the fragments of papyrus that were recovered. Critics, of course, simply assume this to be conclusive evidence that Joseph was a fraud. From a believer's perspective, however, there are several possible theories to account for this: 1) The text was revealed much in the same manner as that of the Book of Mormon, without the need for the actual papyri, 2) The text was present on portions of the papyri that are missing, and 3) The Book of Abraham manuscript was attached to the Book of Breathings manuscript and was lost. 4) Perhaps there was a way of understanding the Egyptian ideograms anciently that is unknown to Egyptology in our day, yet to be discovered, deciphered or acknowledged, that could yield an interpretation of a text that is different than the standard Egyptological reading.

Jump to Subtopic:


The facsimiles in the Book of Abraham

Summary: In the Book of Abraham, Joseph included three facsimiles of illustrations from the papyri, along with commentary about what the images and their individual parts represented. Some of Joseph's interpretations are similar to those of trained Egyptologists, but most are not. A number of criticisms relate to the three facsimiles associated with the Book of Abraham. It is noted that Joseph Smith's translation of the facsimiles does not agree with that provided by Egyptologists, and that some missing portions of the facsimiles were incorrectly restored before they were published.


Jump to details:

Antiquity of the Book of Abraham


Jump to details:


Source(s) of the criticism
Critical sources
  • Edward H. Ashment, The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review, Salt Lake City: Resource Communications, 1993.
  • Charles M. Larson, By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri, 2nd ed., (Grand Rapids, MI: Institute for Religious Research, 1992), .
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Solving the Mystery of the Joseph Smith Papyri," Salt Lake City Messenger 82 (September 1992): 1–12.
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), Chapter 11.( Index of claims )

Notes

  1. ↑ Criticisms regarding the Book of Abraham and Joseph Smith papyri are raised in the following publications: “Universalism in Ohio,” Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate (Utica, New York) (12 September 1835): 291. off-site; Edward H. Ashment, The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review (Salt Lake City: Resource Communications, 1993), 1–.; Charles M. Larson, By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri, 2nd ed., (Grand Rapids, MI: Institute for Religious Research, 1992), 1–.; Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Solving the Mystery of the Joseph Smith Papyri," Salt Lake City Messenger 82 (September 1992): 1–12.; Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), Chapter 11.( Index of claims ); Watchman Fellowship, The Watchman Expositor (Page 3)
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