The founder of the Mormons, or of the sect called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, bought from an unscrupulous seller in the year 1835 a papyrus (see photo), the fruit of archaeological plundering, so common at the time, in faraway Egypt. Joseph Smith thought that if he offered his followers a coherent translation, he could keep the flock that followed him deceived, presenting himself as a true prophet and visionary, as Vicente Jara, a member of the Ibero-American Network for the Study of Sects (RIES), recently explained on the program “Conoce las sectas”, broadcast by Radio María España.
The Book of Abraham is the book he wrote from that brief Egyptian text. It arises from a truthful translation, “a translation of the very papyri that Abraham wrote while he was in Egypt, made by his own hand”, according to his own words. In 1880 that book became part of the canonical or sacred Mormon book Pearl of Great Price. (The translation can be seen at this link on their website).
The truth of the Salt Lake City sect is founded on this kind of vision, translation, and writing of sacred books. Although it is not a doctrinal book for the group, the Book of Abraham marks the way its founder operated, since he also translated the supposed golden plates for The Book of Mormon.
Although that papyrus was thought to have been lost in the famous Chicago fire of 1871, this was not so; in 1967 it appeared, to the great expectation of the Mormon world: now it would be possible to compare that piece of papyrus with Joseph Smith’s manuscripts and his translation, and to demonstrate the truth of the founder, and how God had given him such interpretive gifts. The study showed how Smith used fewer than four lines of the papyrus to write 49 verses of the Book of Abraham, about 2,000 words in English. It also showed that his translation had nothing to do with the truth found by expert Egyptologist translators and linguists.
Unfortunately for the Mormons, who were awaiting confirmation of the story their founder told them and which they continue to spread, it turned out that the papyrus had nothing to do with Abraham. It turned out that this piece of papyrus was a funerary text of the Egyptian religion, the so-called Book of Breathings, based on the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Its date is only a few centuries before the time of Christ, and not, as the Mormon founder said, from an antiquity of 4,000 years B.C.
Consequently, it has been proven that the Book of Abraham is a false translation, and that the references to Abraham are false, invented from barely a few words of the papyrus, where fewer than 100 real words became thousands in Joseph Smith’s manipulative mind. Thus, one word, “Khons”, became for Smith 177 different English words. Nothing the prophet Smith said makes sense in light of the truth brought to light by specialists. Nevertheless, the Mormon sect remains resistant to the truth, a truth it especially hides from its members.
Without going into further detail, we leave you with the reference to an excellent work on this matter: Charles M. Larson, By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri. A shorter reference in Spanish, in audio format, can be found in the Radio María program cited above, broadcast by RIES on 25-2-2012.
Author: Vicente Jara
Source: Infocatolica.com – RIES
