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In the first two chapters of By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus, former Mormon and Brigham Young University graduate Charles M. Larson, recounts the circumstances under which Joseph Smith acquired the two Egyptian scrolls, and his claim to have identified one of them as an account by the Biblical patriarch Abraham of his sojourn in Egypt (as described in Genesis 12:10-20). Then in chapters 3-10 Larson steps the reader through a detailed array of primary physical evidences which establish four major points: (1) the papyri which came to public attention in 1967 (color photographs of which are reproduced in the book) are indisputably those which Joseph had in his possession when he produced the Book of Abraham, (2) Joseph Smith did purport that the Book of Abraham was a translation from one of these papyrus scrolls, (3) the scrolls are now known to date from around the time of Christ, some 2,000 years after the time of Abraham, and (4) the scrolls have been identified by Egyptologists - including LDS scholars - as common, pagan Egyptian burial documents, that do not mention Abraham and have no connection to the contents of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price.
By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus includes an impressive foldout panel with the first published full-color photographs of the Joseph Smith papyri. It also includes photographs of Joseph Smith's original translation manuscripts for the Book of Abraham, and translations by modern Egyptologists of the Egyptian text of the Joseph Smith papyri.
Later chapters of the book provide an up-to-the-minute examination of the various theories which Mormon scholars have put forth to defend the integrity of the Book of Abraham.
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Charles Larson's book is the story of how the Book of Abraham came to be.
Each of Smith's creations has a story to tell. The Book of Mormon describes the ancient voyages of Hebrews to the American continent, and their establishment of a vast civilization that smelted iron, cultivated old-world crops, and used domesticated horses to pull chariots (see "Quest for the Gold Plates," by Stan Larson). The Book of Moses claims to be a direct revelation from God regarding the creation of the earth and some aspects of its early history. The D & C contains revelations pertaining to the day-to-day organization and operation of the Church, along with many important revelations about specific and unique doctrines held by the Church, such as polygamy.
Mormons claim that Smith translated the Book of Mormon from plates of gold that he acquired from an angel. After translating the Book of Mormon, Smith said the angel retrieved the plates. Consequently, the gold plates have never been available for skeptical or scientific examination. The other books came directly from the mind of Joseph Smith. So they, too, have no original text with which they can be compared.
The Book of Abraham stands unique among Smith's creations because Joseph Smith claimed to have translated it directly from ancient Egyptian scrolls that were purchased from a man named Chandler, who sold them to LDS Elders (along with other artifacts) for $2,400.
... Read more ›I would like to let people now that this is the same feeling that the author gets from the last chapter, I should know, I'm his son.
At the time we were unable to publish the book without having financial backing. We were able to find this through a non-profit organization, their only requirement was that they be able to supply a chapter at the end of the book. The author, Charles M. Larson, did not write this chapter.
We hope to soon be able to fund a second printing of the book the way the author originally intended it to be, a purely scholarly reference.
This review is not a statement from the author and may not be taken or quoted as such.