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|link=Book of Abraham/Joseph Smith Papyri/Kirtland Egyptian Papers
|subject=The Kirtland Egyptian Papers
|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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==Maxwell Institute Articles==
*Hugh W. Nibley, [http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=transcripts&id=121 ''The Meaning of The Kirtland Egyptian Papers''], Maxwell Institute, Featured Papers
*John Gee, [http://farms.byu.edu/display-print.php?table=review&id=181 ''Written by the Finger of God: A Testimony of Joseph Smith's Translations'' (Review of Written by the Finger of God: A Testimony of Joseph Smith's Translations by Joe Sampson)]
*John Gee, [http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=&chapid=268 "Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri" from ''The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson'']