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FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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{{SummaryItem | {{SummaryItem | ||
− | |link=/Revealed | + | |link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Text |
+ | |subject=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. | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | {{SummaryItem2 | ||
+ | |link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Text/Revealed | ||
|subject=The "Revealed Text" theory | |subject=The "Revealed Text" theory | ||
|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.) | |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.) | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | {{ | + | {{SummaryItem2 |
− | |link=/Size_of_missing_papyrus | + | |link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Text/Size_of_missing_papyrus |
|subject=The "Missing Papyrus" theory | |subject=The "Missing Papyrus" theory | ||
|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}} | |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}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | {{ | + | {{SummaryItem2 |
− | |link=/Jewish redaction | + | |link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Jewish redaction |
|subject=The "Jewish Redaction" theory | |subject=The "Jewish Redaction" theory | ||
|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. | |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. | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | {{ | + | {{SummaryItem2 |
− | |link=/ | + | |link=Book_of_Abraham/Joseph_Smith_Papyri/Text/Double entendre |
− | |subject=The " | + | |subject=The "Double Entendre" theory, or Multiple Meanings |
|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. | |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. | ||
}} | }} | ||
+ | </onlyinclude> | ||
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The Book of Abraham |
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The text of the Book of Abraham is not present on any of the recovered fragments of papyri.
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:
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