By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri [Paperback]

Charles M. Larson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1992

A survey of the controversy surrounding Mormon founder Joseph Smith's claim that he translated the Book of Abraham from an ancient Egyptian papyrus.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Charles Larson does an excellent job of presenting the facts about how drastically different Egyptomologists and Joseph Smith translate the same hieroglyphics, while maintaining an attitude of Christian love toward those who have trusted Joseph Smith. His purpose is to spread the knowledge of the truth, and draw all his readers closer to Christ. He's obviously done a tremendous amount of research. I was very impressed with every aspect of this book. The photos are wonderful. The papyrus speak for themselves. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares if "The Book of Abraham" is truly from God. In the words of Christ, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." May God bless your search for truth. -- [e-mail] from Marysville, WA, U.S.A. , September 15, 1998

From the Publisher

This book examines one of the most significant events in modern Mormon history - the rediscovery in 1967 of the Egyptian papyri from which Joseph Smith claimed to translate the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price.

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Inst for Religious Research; Revised Edition edition (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962096326
• ISBN-13: 978-0962096327
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

225 of 255 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must reading for anyone interested in the LDS Church February 19, 2001

By Duwayne Anderson

Format:Paperback

A fundamental claim of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) is that modern-day prophets who receive revelation from God lead the Church. Accordingly, the Church lists as scripture (in addition to the Bible) several other books, including the Book of Mormon, The Book of Moses, The Book of Abraham, and the Doctrine & Covenants (D&C).

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.... Unlike the vanished gold plates, the documents from which Joseph Smith claimed to have translated the Book of Abraham actually exist, and Joseph Smith's "translation" can be compared with the professional opinions of modern-day Egyptologists.

The Book of Abraham thus stands as a unique and direct test of Joseph Smith's self-proclaimed ability to translate ancient documents "by the gift and power of God." The main thrust of Charles Larson's book is that the Book of Abraham, and Joseph Smith, fail the test.

Larson begins by describing how Joseph Smith and the early LDS Saints came across the Egyptian papyri, how they were purchased, and how Joseph Smith began and finished his work of translation. According to Joseph Smith none other than Abraham authored the writings on the papyrus. They tell of the creation of the world and the universe, as well as important information about unique LDS beliefs such as the pre-mortal existence. After Smith's murder, and the subsequent struggle for control of the Church, the collection of papyri became separated from the Saints, found their way to Chicago, and were presumed lost in the great Chicago fire.

Smith, however, included facsimiles of drawings from the papyri in the Book of Abraham. These allowed some measure of scientific examination which, unfortunately for the Church, resulted in early Egyptologists identifying them as nothing more than common Egyptian funerary documents. Although devastating from a scholarly point of view, the Church was sequestered in the Utah frontier and the Saints and their leaders simply ignored these scientific opinions with their typical disdain for "the learning of the world." Furthermore, since the papyri had been presumed lost in the great Chicago fire, apologists for the Church argued that, without the entire collection available for examination, speculation based on the reproductions in the Book of Abraham were premature.

That changed in the spring of 1966 when Professor Aziz S. Atiya found eleven tattered pieces of Egyptian Papyri that matched the description of the Joseph Smith Papyri exactly. On November 27, 1967 the Mormon-owned "Deseret News" announced that:

"A collection of papyrus manuscripts, long believed to have been destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871 was presented to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here Monday by the Metropolitan Museum of Art ... Included in the papyri is a manuscript identified as the original document from which Joseph Smith had copied the drawing which he labeled "Facsimile No. 1" and published with the Book of Abraham."

At first there was euphoria among Church scholars at the prospects of Joseph Smith's final vindication. This hope was soon dashed to bits, however, as it became almost immediately obvious that nothing written on the papyri resembles anything in the Book of Abraham. Undeterred, LDS apologists began a campaign of misinformation and apologetics. Their campaign was so effective that in 1974 (nearly ten years after their discovery) when I served a mission for the LDS Church in British Columbia, we were still telling converts that the papyri had been destroyed in the great Chicago fire.

Not only does Larson assemble an air-tight argument that the found documents are the very same ones Smith gazed upon when he translated the Book of Abraham, he does a good job of assembling various other apologetic arguments, and discrediting them one by one.

In writing this book Larson has provided perhaps the most comprehensive examination of the Book of Abraham available to the average reader. It includes the first published full color photographs of the Papyri collection in a foldout glossy photograph. It also has line-by-line translations by Egyptologists side-by-side with the "translation" given by Joseph Smith, an exhaustive appendix, notes section, and index. All of which make this an useful book for future reference after its been read.

For anyone who is honestly committed to the truth about the LDS Church, this is a book that simply cannot go unread. Read more ›

96 of 108 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Time to clear up a misinterpretation of the author November 19, 2000

By Ben Larson

Format:Paperback

I have read many reviews for this book and it has come to my attention that most people fine the book to be well written and informative. However they feel that the last chapter is not as desirable. I am referring to the one that says OK let's all become Christian now. This is indeed troubling to most if not all readers, lets face it if you just read a book that brought question to your ingrained beliefs would you feel a bit sick after reading the last chapter?

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.

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Well Researched, Well Written Look at the Facts April 19, 2005

By Martin W. Eldred

Format:Paperback

Most of the previous reviews have done a good job covering the details of Larson's book, "By His Own Hand", so I will not elaborate further. I will saythat this is one of the best books around that examines the claims of The Latter Day Saints, aka "Mormons." The LDS leaders have long claimed that "The church rises and falls on the person of Joseph Smith" and have challenged "gentiles" (non-Mormons) to examine their claims to see if they are not true. Well, Larson has done just that with profound results.

The most devastating proof that Joseph Smith misrepresented his ability to translate ancient documents that were allegedly written in "Reformed Egyptian" (a "language" by the way of which no reputable Egyptologist has ever heard). The LDS Scriptures, therefore, based on this translation are false.

In the 1830's, precious few in the United States, or the entire world for that matter, knew enough about ancient Egypt to challenge J. Smith assertions that he could read the ancient papyrus scroll that he had found. His translation of that scroll into "The Book of Abraham", therefore, went unchallenged for many years, until the original was rediscovered in the late 1960's. No scholars have free access to the same papyrus that Smith used and now the clear truth is able to come out: Joseph Smith falsified his claims about this book in the LDS Scriptures; he could not read "Reformed Egyptian; and the credibility of the rest of his claims, especially his alleged translation of the rest of the LDS canon, is severely challenged.

This is a must book for anyone investigating the claims of the LDS church. . Joseph Smith claimed certain things that have formed the foundation of LDS thought.... Primary among those claims is that he was a special prophet with special abilities to translate God's messages to God's people. Larson's book examines this claim with scholarly integrity: Either J. Smith could and did translate these writings, or he could not and did not. If he could not, then he was not who he said to be and the whole LDS theological structure comes apart. Read more ›

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars FARMS is so pitiful.... July 22, 2006

By A Discerning Reader

Format:Paperback

Charles M. Larson's book is an excellent, step-by-inexorable-step debunking of Joseph Smith and the Book of Abraham as listed in the Mormon church's Pearl of Great Price. Essentially, Joseph Smith said he translated Egyptian papyri that talk about Abraham and astronomy. The papyri were found, and the LDS church was really excited about this opportunity to prove to the world that Joseph Smith was a prophet and seer. Unfortunately, the Egyptian papyri have absolutely nothing to do with the Book of Abraham. Smith just made up every single word.

Before we go any further, please don't let the last chapter diminish your enjoyment of the book. According to Larson's son, this chapter was written by the publishers as they are a non-denominational Christian company. Larson needed to accept that last chapter's inclusion so IRR would publish this important work. Mr. Larson apparently disliked that last chapter too.

Another great aspect of this book is that it discusses some far-fetched ideas by apologists about how, even though we now know Joseph couldn't translate any other language, this doesn't mean the Book of Abraham is a fraud.

Mike Rhodes of FARMS wrote a review that was absurb. He still contends, against strong evidence to the contrary, that we just haven't found the papyri that Joseph really did translate. He also helps us to understand that if we scrunch up our eyes, turn around until we're dizzy, and stand on our heads, we can sort of see something that could resemble a bird--and by golly! there's a bird mentioned in the Book of Abraham!! It could still be true! He concludes his review of "By His Own Hand" by doing the classic Mormon...well, you can't use your brain to make a decision about these things! You have to talk yourself into it.......

Great book with devastating consequences. It also shows that Hugh Nibley was definitely a hired gun whose statements cannot always be embraced. Read more ›