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Detailed response to CES Letter, Book of Abraham
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[[../|Letter to a CES Director]] |
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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
- 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"
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'"
{{CESLetterItem
|claim=The author states, "Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was directly asked about the papyri not matching the Book of Abraham in a March 2012 BBC interview:
Sweeney: Mr. Smith got this papyri and he translated them and subsequently as the Egyptologists cracked the code something completely different…
Holland: (Interrupts) All I’m saying…all I’m saying is that what got translated got translated into the word of God. The vehicle for that, I do not understand and don’t claim to know and know Egyptian.
|answer=
- Elder Holland's statement is consistent with what the Church itself says on this subject. The following is from The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, (2000), found on lds.org. [http://www.lds.org/manual/the-pearl-of-great-price-student-manual/the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng))
How Did the Prophet Translate the Ancient Writings?
The Prophet Joseph Smith never communicated his method of translating these records. As with all other scriptures, a testimony of the truthfulness of these writings is primarily a matter of faith. The greatest evidence of the truthfulness of the book of Abraham is not found in an analysis of physical evidence nor historical background, but in prayerful consideration of its content and power.
- Elder Holland said "what got translated got translated into the word of God." off-site]