
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.
During a BBC interview with John Sweeney in March 2012, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was asked about the Book of Abraham:
Sweeney: Mr. Smith got this papyri and he translated them and subsequently as the Egyptologists cracked the code something completely different...
Holland: 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.
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.
(Clique aqui para obter o artigo completo (Inglês))
The Church has known and publicly acknowledged in the Improvement Era that the papyri fragments do not match the text of the Book of Abraham since 1968 (for over 45 years). This isn't something new. Elder Holland knows this.
Furthermore, Elder Holland's statement is consistent with what the Church itself says on this subject in the The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual. Elder Holland said "what got translated got translated into the word of God." The manual says, "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."
Resumo: Os críticos costumam afirmar que a Igreja não identificou a Joseph Smith Papiro como um texto funerária egípcia até depois egiptólogos examinou-as. Eles também afirmam que a Igreja está se escondendo ou "encobrir" conteúdo real do papiros. Ambas as afirmações são incorretas. De fato, a Igreja publicou uma série multi-parte com imagens a cores dos papiros do Improvement Era (o predecessor do Ensign) menos de dois meses depois de terem sido recebidos do Metropolitan Museum.[1] A série repetidamente afirmou que os papiros recuperado continha materiais funerárias egípcias e não o texto do Livro de Abraão. Embora o artigo erroneamente identificado como o papiro egípcio "Livro dos Mortos", que mais tarde foi corretamente identificado como um "Livro das Respirações".
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.
We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.
Donate Now