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< User:InProgress | SWDN | Swedish questions
Response to questions about whether polygamy was forced | A FAIR Analysis of:
Questions Asked at 2010 Swedish Fireside |
Response to questions about "lying for the Lord" |
1: BoM translation—2: Polygamy and Polyandry—3: Polygamy forced?—4: Book of Abraham—5: "Lying for Lord"—6: Mark Hofmann—7: Blood atonement—8: First Vision—9: Sanitized history—10: "Not all truth is useful"—11: Angelic affidavits—12: Blacks and priesthood—13: Temple concerns—14: Evidence of Vikings—15: Adam-God—16: Kinderhook
Very quickly, let me just say a few things about it very simple. Number 1, again, it was received by revelation.
—Elder Turley's response to this question at the Sweden fireside.
Joseph the Seer saw these Record[s] and by the revelation of Jesus Christ could translate these records . . . which when all translated will be a pleasing history and of great value to the saints.
—John Whitmer, quote in Karen Lynn Davidson, Richard L. Jensen, and David J. Whittaker, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers, Histories, Vol. 2: Assigned Histories, 1831–1847 (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church Historian’s Press, 2012), 86.
I have set by his side and penned down the translation of the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks [sic] as he claimed to receive it by direct inspiration from Heaven.
—Warren Parrish, letter to the editor, Painesville Republican, 15 February 1838, cited in John Gee, "Some Puzzles from the Joseph Smith Papyri," FARMS Review 20, no. 1 (2008): 115, n. 4.
The Lord is blessing Joseph with power to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God; to translate through the Urim and Thummim ancient records and hieroglyphics old as Abraham or Adam which caused our hearts to burn within us while we behold their glorious truths opened unto us.
—Wilford Woodruff journal, February 19, 1842.
The Prophet translated the part of these writings which, as I have said is contained in the Pearl of Great Price, and known as the Book of Abraham. Thus you see one of the first gifts bestowed by the Lord for the benefit of His people, was that of revelation-the gift to translate, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, the gift of bringing to light old and ancient records.
—Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 20:65.
The papyrus that we have we know what books those are from Egyptian.
—Elder Turley's response to this question at the Sweden fireside.
There’s a difference between the date of the copy and the date of the text. So the text, yes, we believe is older. The actual copy could be later.
—Elder Turley's response to this question at the Sweden fireside.
For a detailed answer, we recommend
How did Joseph Smith produce the Book of Abraham?—Did Joseph Smith translate the Book of Abraham from characters on Egyptian papyri? Did Joseph Smith use his seer stone (the Urim and Thummim) to produce the Book of Abraham text? (Click here for full article)
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