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The Book of Abraham is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1842 by Joseph Smith. Smith said the book was a translation from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo, and purchased by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from a traveling mummy exhibition on July 3, 1835. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records... purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus". The Book of Abraham is about Abraham's early life, his travels to Canaan and Egypt, and his vision of the cosmos and its creation.
Jerald Dee Tanner and Sandra McGee Tanner are American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Tanners founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry (UTLM), whose stated mission is "to document problems with the claims of Mormonism and compare LDS doctrines with Christianity". As of 2022 Sandra Tanner continues to operate the ministry after Jerald's death in 2006.
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American scholar and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a prolific author, and wrote apologetic works supporting the archaeological, linguistic, and historical claims of Joseph Smith. He was a member of the LDS Church, and wrote and lectured on LDS scripture and doctrinal topics, publishing many articles in the LDS Church magazines.
Kolob is a star or planet described in the Book of Abraham, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Several Latter Day Saint denominations claim that the Book of Abraham was translated from an Egyptian papyrus scroll by Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement. According to this work, Kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne of God. While the Book of Abraham calls Kolob a "star", it also calls planets "stars", and therefore some Latter Day Saint commentators consider Kolob a planet. The body also appears in Latter Day Saint culture, including a reference to Kolob in an LDS hymn.
Richard John Mouw is an American theologian and philosopher. He held the position of President at Fuller Theological Seminary for 20 years (1993–2013), and continues to hold the post of Professor of Faith and Public Life.
Anti-Mormonism includes people and literature that are critical, or opposed to, the adherents, institutions, or beliefs of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement as a whole. It may include physical attacks, discrimination, persecution, hostility, or prejudice against Mormons and the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ex-Mormon or post-Mormon refers to a disaffiliate of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or any of its schismatic breakoffs, collectively called "Mormonism". Ex-Mormons—sometimes referred to as exmo or postmo—may neither believe in nor affiliate with the LDS Church. In contrast, Jack Mormons may believe but do not affiliate; and cultural Mormons may or may not affiliate but do not believe in certain doctrines or practices of the LDS Church. The distinction is important to a large segment of ex-Mormons, many of whom consider their decision to leave as morally compelling and socially risky. According to 2014 Pew data, around 1/3 of adults raised LDS no longer adhere to the faith and in 2008 only 25% of LDS young adults were actively involved. Two surveys taken across the state of Utah between 1980 and 1981, showed that for every five converts into Mormonism, there were two converts out. Many ex-Mormons experience troubles with family members who still follow Mormon teachings. Aggregations of ex-Mormons may comprise a social movement.
The Joseph Smith Papyri (JSP) are Egyptian funerary papyrus fragments from ancient Thebes dated between 300 and 100 BC which, along with four mummies, were once owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith purchased the mummies and papyrus documents from a traveling exhibitor in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835. Smith said that the papyrus contained the records of the ancient patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.
The historicity of the Book of Mormon is the historical actuality of persons and events that are written in it, meaning the quality of it being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. Most, but not all, Latter Day Saints hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. This view finds no confirmation outside of the movement in the broader scientific and academic communities. Relevant archaeological, historical, and scientific facts are not consistent with the Book of Mormon being an ancient record of actual historical events.
The Book of Abraham is a work produced between 1835 and 1842 by the Latter Day Saints (LDS) movement founder Joseph Smith that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records ... purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus". The work was first published in 1842 and today is a canonical part of the Pearl of Great Price. Since its printing, the Book of Abraham has been a source of controversy. Numerous non-LDS Egyptologists, beginning in the mid-19th century, have heavily criticized Joseph Smith's translation and explanations of the facsimiles, unanimously concluding that his interpretations are inaccurate. They have also asserted that missing portions of the facsimiles were reconstructed incorrectly by Smith.
John Laurence Gee is an American Latter-day Saint scholar, apologist and an Egyptologist. He currently teaches at Brigham Young University (BYU) and serves in the Department of Near Eastern Languages. He is known for his writings in support of the Book of Abraham.
The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus was a papyrus fragment, part of a larger collection of papyri known as the Joseph Smith Papyri. The papyri are Egyptian funerary papyrus fragments from ancient Thebes dated between 300 and 100 BC which, along with four mummies, were once owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name of the owner Sheshonq is written in the hieroglyphic text on the hypocephalus. Smith purchased the mummies and papyrus documents from a traveling exhibitor in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835. Smith said that the hypocephalus contained records of the ancient patriarch Abraham. In 1842, Smith published the first part of the Book of Abraham, which he said was an inspired translation from the papyri. The consensus among both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars is that the characters on the surviving papyrus fragments do not match Smith's translation.
Mormonism and Nicene Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express their doctrines using biblical terminology. They have similar views about the nature of Jesus Christ's atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as mainstream Christians. Nevertheless, most Mormons do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity as codified in the Nicene Creed of 325 and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. Although Mormons consider the Protestant Bible to be holy scripture, they do not believe in biblical inerrancy. They have also adopted additional scriptures that they believe to have been divinely revealed to Joseph Smith, including the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons practice baptism and celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, but they also participate in other religious rituals. Mormons self-identify as Christians.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
Patrick Q. Mason is an American historian specializing in the study of the Latter-day Saint movement. Since 2019, he has held the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University.
Robert Kriech Ritner was an American Egyptologist most recently at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
The Breathing Permit of Hôr or Hor Book of Breathing is a Ptolemaic-era funerary text written for a Theban priest named Hôr. The breathing permit or Book of Breathing assisted its owner in navigating through the afterlife, being judged worthy and living forever.
The Book of Joseph is an untranslated text identified by Joseph Smith after analyzing Egyptian papyri that came into his possession in 1835. Joseph Smith taught that the text contains the writings of the ancient biblical patriarch Joseph. From the same papyri collection, Smith produced the first part of the Book of Abraham, but was killed before any known part of the Book of Joseph was translated.
Eyewitness accounts associated with the Joseph Smith Papyri have been analyzed extensively to understanding the content, purpose and meaning of the Book of Abraham, a canonized text of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1835, Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, came into possession of four mummies, two papyrus rolls, and various papyrus fragments, which Smith said contained the writings of the ancient biblical patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.
This is a bibliography of literature treating the topic of criticism of Mormonism, sorted by alphabetical order of titles.
References
- ↑ "About Us". IRR.org. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ↑ Boatwright, Phil (January 12, 2005). "FIRST-PERSON: Begin preparing for 'The Da Vinci Code'". Baptist Press . Southern Baptist Convention. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005.
- ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (August 8, 2002). "Film Challenges LDS Translation". The Salt Lake Tribune . p. E5. Article Archive ID: 100E47F89C27BAB3 (NewsBank).
- ↑ Winstead, Chris (August 28, 2002). "Matters of Faith: New Documentary Questions the Authenticity of LDS Scripture". The Daily Utah Chronicle .
- ↑ Gee, John (1992). "A Tragedy of Errors". Review of Books on the Book of Mormon . 4 (1). Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University: 93–119. Archived from the original on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ↑ Baer, Klaus (November 1968). "The Breathing Permit of Hôr: A Translation of the Apparent Source of the Book of Abraham" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 3 (3): 109–134. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ↑ Thompson, Stephen (Spring 1995). "Egyptology and the Book of Abraham". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 28 (1): 143–160. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ↑ Ritner, Robert (2000). "The 'Breathing Permit of Hôr' Thirty-Four Years Later" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 33 (4): 97–119. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ↑ Moore, Carrie A. (January 15, 2005). "Speaker's apology to LDS stirs up fuss". Deseret News . Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.
- ↑ Huggins, Ronald. "An Appeal for Authentic Evangelical–Mormon Dialogue". Institute for Religious Research. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
