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Book of Abraham/Origin
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Origin of the Book of Abraham
Jump to Subtopic:
- The method by which Joseph Smith produced the Book of Abraham
- The Book of Abraham written by Abraham's "own hand upon papyrus"
- Timeline of events related to the Book of Abraham and Kirtland Egyptian Papers
- Why is the Book of Abraham text not on the papyri?
The method by which Joseph Smith produced the Book of Abraham
Jump to details:
- Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Study Guide: "These papyri contain authentic Egyptian writings, but they do not date to the time of Abraham, nor do they contain the actual personally handwritten account of Abraham"
- Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?
- Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?
- Question: Do we have all of the papyri that Joseph Smith had?
- Question: How does the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (GAEL) relate to the Book of Abraham?
- Question: Were the characters on the papyri written by Abraham himself?
- Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?
- Question: Do the papyri date back to the time of Abraham?
- Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?
- Question: Are the statements of Abraham 1:12,14 about the altar and Gods at the “beginning of the record” significant for the Book of Abraham?
The Book of Abraham written by Abraham's "own hand upon papyrus"
Jump to details:
- Question: Why does the Book of Abraham state that it was written by Abraham's "own hand upon papyrus" if the papyri date to after the Abrahamic period?
- Gospel Topics: "The phrase can be understood to mean that Abraham is the author and not the literal copyist"
- Question: Is the phrase "by his own hand upon papyrus" an Egyptian title?
- Question: Is the phrase "by his own hand upon papyrus" a 19th century redaction?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that Abraham wrote the text on the papyrus himself?
Summary: A timeline of events related to the Book of Abraham and Kirtland Egyptian Papers
Jump to details:
- July 1, 1835 (approximate): From John Whitmer's history of the Church
- July 3-6, 1835: Messenger and Advocate—Joseph Smith interprets some characters from the papyri by revelation
- July 3-6, 1835: History of the Church—Joseph Smith interprets some characters from the papyri by revelation
- July 19 (approximate): Letter sent by W.W. Phelps to his wife—The papyri have not yet been translated
- July 19-31 1835 (approximate): History of the Church—Work is underway on the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (GAEL)
- August 5, 1835: From the Cleveland Whig
- 1 October 1835: Joseph Smith's Diary - Work is underway on the "Egyptian alphabet"
- 7 October 1835: "recommenced translating"
- 24 October 1835: Mr Goodrich and his lady called to see the ancient records
- 17 November 1835: exhibited the Alphabet of the ancient records to Mr. Holmes
- 19 November 1835: "spent the day in translating the Egyptian records"
- 20 November 1835: "we spent the day in translating"
- 24 November 1835: "we translated some of the Egyptian"
- 25 November 1835: "spent the day in Translating"
- 26 November 1835: "Spent the day in translating Egyptian characters from the papyrus"
- December 1835: "This record is beautifully written on papyrus with black, and a small part, red ink or paint, in perfect preservation"
- 30 January 1836: "waited upon several visiters & showed them the record of Abraham"
- 3 February 1836: received many visitors and showed the records of Abraham
- 17 February 1836: Elder Coe called to make some arrangements about the Egyptian records and the mummies
- 1837 "A Few Interesting Facts Respecting The Rise and Progress and Pretentions of the Mormons," Pamphlet written by William S. West (Hostile source)
- Robin Scott Jensen: The Story of the Joseph Smith Papyri
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:
- Question: Was the text of the Book of Abraham received through revelation?
- Question: What is the Book of Abraham "Missing Papyrus theory"?
- Historical Sources on Translation of Book of Abraham
- Gospel Topics on LDS.org, "Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham"