Proof of Mormon Scripture in Egypt: Does Science Validate Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?

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 someone's 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 prophet's interpretations. Joseph Smith's interpretation 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 Kirtland 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.

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.

May 14, 2008 10:27 PM

Guest :

I'm sorry but this article is really badly written and quite frankly in not understandable. What does this sentence mean -- 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.

Besides the fact the article is obviously very biased the writer accuses others of not backing up their facts and yet Shawn himself does not tell the reader where he gets his information.

I'm disappointed Suite101.com allowed this article to be printed as a factual article misleading readers that Shawn is some kind of an expert on this topic. I have read the articles from Suite101 for years and have always been impressed with how much research is put into them. However, this one really let me down and quite frankly makes me think twice about the information I have read on this site under any of the topics.

I thought Suite101 was supposed to be a site where people could research information and use what they find here as a credible source. This article however, is anything but credible and I really hope the editors will think twice before publishing something else similar to this.

Suite101 has a reputation to uphold after more than 10 years on the net please think about this in the future when deciding what articles should go up on your site.