Proof of Mormon Scripture in Egypt
Does Science Validating Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?
The Book of Abraham has never been used in research on Ancient Egypt, so why does the claim exist among the faithful that it has?
Rumors often circulate that new findings are validating the Book of Mormon. Many of these rumors do not pan out and turn out to be nothing more than the faith promoting rumors spread to bolster someones testimony. Apologists circulate such claims with glee as their role is only to state that something might be true.
A recent article that ran on the Mormon times website states that new discoveries in the field of Egyptology are proving the historicity of the Book of Abraham. The Book of Abraham is part of the Pearl of Great Price and the translation of the scrolls that Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Abraham and other parts of the text are part of the Egyptian Book of Breathings.
Egyptian Temple Teachings
The Mormon Times, a publication of the Deseret News, quotes C. Wiflord Griggs, an antiquities professor at BYU as stating that Joseph Smith got into the field before many others, but that modern scholars will not accept the Mormon prophets interpretations. Joseph Smith's interpretations is that they bare little to no resemblance to what Egyptologist and historians know about the actual daily life in Ancient Egypt. The Book of Abraham remains important to the Mormon faith as part of one of the standard works, but it is not used as a research tool for Egyptologists.
Joseph Smith's Claims on Ancient Egypt
When the Pearl of Great Price was completed, readers learned of books that mirrored more or less the story of the Bible with a few added details such as the curse of Cain being carried on through Ham's descendants. The scrolls that make up the Pearl of Great Price are currently in the possession of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and confirm that the scrolls that the first Mormon prophet purchased from an antiquities dealer in Nauvoo were the same scrolls used to translate what became the Pearl of Great Price.
The Joseph Smith papyri, as the scrolls have become known are parts of the Egyptian Book of Breathings and do not translate into the Mormon scripture known as the Book of Abraham.
Outside Peer Review of The Findings in the Mormon Times
Although Roger L. Hardy states that many scholars are accepting the Pearl of Great Price as an ancient book, he neglects to give any of their names. Hardy assumes that the reader of his article does not want to know the names of the experts he cites.
The author of this article could find no non-Mormon source that agrees with the Egyptologists finding proof of the Pearl of Great Price or the story of the Book of Abraham. The value of Joseph Smith's translation of the Joseph Smith papyri remains religious and not historical.
Resources:
By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus. Charles M. Larson. Institute for Religious Research. 1992.
“Ancient Writings Support LDS Scripture and Teachings.” Roger L. Hardy. The Mormon Times. April 28, 2008.
