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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Detailed response to CES Letter, Book of Abraham: Difference between revisions
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|claim=The author states, "One of the most disturbing facts I discovered in my research of Facsimile 2 is figure #7. Joseph Smith said that this is “God sitting on his throne…” It’s actually Min, the pagan Egyptian god of fertility or sex. Min is sitting on a throne with an erect penis (which can be seen in the figure). In other words, Joseph Smith is saying that this figure with an erect penis is Heavenly Father sitting on his throne." | |claim=The author states, "One of the most disturbing facts I discovered in my research of Facsimile 2 is figure #7. Joseph Smith said that this is “God sitting on his throne…” It’s actually Min, the pagan Egyptian god of fertility or sex. Min is sitting on a throne with an erect penis (which can be seen in the figure). In other words, Joseph Smith is saying that this figure with an erect penis is Heavenly Father sitting on his throne." | ||
|answer= | |answer= | ||
*The Egyptians had multiple gods, each representing a particular characteristic. Latter-day Saints, (and Christians in general), on the other hand, worship one God, who encompasses all characteristics. Thus, Joseph could have identified ''any'' Egyptian god in Facsimile 2 as "God, sitting on his throne," not just Min. He does, in fact, also identify the hawk-headed god Re in the exact same manner. | *The Egyptians had multiple gods, each representing a particular characteristic. Latter-day Saints, (and Christians in general), on the other hand, worship one God, who encompasses all characteristics. Thus, Joseph could have identified ''any'' Egyptian god in Facsimile 2 as "God, sitting on his throne," not just Min. He does, in fact, also identify the hawk-headed god Re in the exact same manner. The is no Egyptian representation of the God that we know as "God the Father." | ||
*With regard to the nudity (and the phallus in particular), the Egyptians had no cultural reservations about depicting nudity, unlike our current society. Therefore, the depiction of Min and his phallus is used by critics to create an absurdity: that Joseph would dare to associate such a figure with God the Father. Critics snicker and joke about how silly it was of Joseph to equate "Min, the phallic God" with God the Father. To ancient Egyptians, however, there would be no absurdity in doing so. | *With regard to the nudity (and the phallus in particular), the Egyptians had no cultural reservations about depicting nudity, unlike our current society. Therefore, the depiction of Min and his phallus is used by critics to create an absurdity: that Joseph would dare to associate such a figure with God the Father. Critics snicker and joke about how silly it was of Joseph to equate "Min, the phallic God" with God the Father. To ancient Egyptians, however, there would be no absurdity in doing so. | ||
*References in the figure below are to Michael D. Rhodes, "The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus . . . Twenty Years Later." {{link|url=http://home.comcast.net/~michael.rhodes/JosephSmithHypocephalus.pdf}} | *References in the figure below are to Michael D. Rhodes, "The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus . . . Twenty Years Later." {{link|url=http://home.comcast.net/~michael.rhodes/JosephSmithHypocephalus.pdf}} | ||
Revision as of 16:18, 9 July 2013
| [[../First Vision Concerns & Questions|First Vision Concerns & Questions]] | A FAIR Analysis of:
[[../|Letter to a CES Director]] |
[[../Polygamy & Polyandry Concerns & Questions|Polygamy/Polyandry Concerns & Questions]] |
A FAIR Analysis of the online document Letter to a CES Director section "Book of Abraham Concerns & Questions"
The Book of Abraham. An inspired translation of the writings of Abraham. Joseph Smith began the translation in 1835 after obtaining some Egyptian papyri. The translation was published serially in the Times and Seasons beginning March 1, 1842, at Nauvoo, Illinois.
—Introduction, Pearl of Great Price (2013 edition). off-site
—Introduction, Pearl of Great Price (2013 edition). off-site
- Response to section: "scholars have found the original papyrus Joseph translated and have dated it in first century AD, nearly 2,000 years after Abraham could have written it" [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: "It has absolutely nothing to do with Abraham or anything Joseph claimed in his translation for the Book of Abraham"
- Response to section: Facsimile 1
- Response to section: "The following image is what Facsimile 1 is really supposed to look like"
- Response to section: Facsimile 2
- Response to section: Facsimile 3 [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: "There’s a book published in 1830 by Thomas Dick entitled 'The Philosophy of the Future State'"
- Response to section: "Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was directly asked about the papyri not matching the Book of Abraham in a March 2012 BBC interview" [Work in Progress]
Response Section
"It has absolutely nothing to do with Abraham or anything Joseph claimed in his translation for the Book of Abraham"
Facsimile 1
"The following image is what Facsimile 1 is really supposed to look like"
The Charles Larson restoration of Facsimile 1
Facsimile 2
"There’s a book published in 1830 by Thomas Dick entitled 'The Philosophy of the Future State'"