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

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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.

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.

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.

Besides the excellent research, Larson writes a book that is readable. His conclusions are damning for those who claim that Joseph Smith had the ability to interpret the Egyptian language. Although Larson comes from a Christian perspective, I believe that he is very objective about his findings. A follower of Smith's might point to the author's Christian beliefs as a reason why this book is tainted, but this is ridiculous. Instead of attacking the messenger, the critics should go after the message...and I don't think this is so easy in this case. I especially like the fold-out color charts of the original papyrii--the book is worth its price just for these alone--and this makes it very easy to follow his explanations throughout the analysis. Visual learners will love it! I believe that this book is very important, for if Joseph Smith were a true prophet of God, and if he did indeed translate the Book of Mormon (the plates from this 1830 book are missing, so we cannot check his interpreting ability here), then we should expect the translation from the "Book of Abraham" to be very accurate. Alas, Smith did not know Egyptian (as proved by Larson); he was able to get away with so much because he lived when the science of translating the language was in its infancy. This is something every Mormon should think about.

As far as those reviewers who do not like the last two chapters where the case for Christianity is presented: Larson is not trying to give the definitive case for his faith. That's not what this book is about. Rather, he was trying to say, If Mormonism is not true, then what is? This is a legitimate question, and I think these chapters were very appropriate where they were placed. To the Mormon, Christian, and atheist alike, I give By His Own Hand my highest recommendation.

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.

Charles Larson has written a very good book that discusses in detail the controversy over whether Joseph Smith really translated the Book of Abraham from Egyptian Papyri sold to him in the 1830's, or whether the book was derived through other means.

Any intelligent reader who has researched this area--without fixed pre-conceived notions-- realizes that the papyri which were found in the New York Metropolitan Museum pose a terrific challenge to the authenticity of the Book of Abraham.

Larson most impressively presents vivid photographs which show the symbols and facsimiles contained on the papyri. He than reviews claims of the LDS Church about the Book of Abraham and compares them with views by modern Egyptian scholars who have translated the writings. I was particularly impressed by the way that Larson documents that Smith included "Facsimile #1" from the Papyri which are currently in existence, as material in the Book of Mormon. Modern Egyptologists hold that both the facsimile in question, and the writing on that and related sections of the papyri have absolutely no relationship to the Biblical Prophet Abraham and instead are part of Egyptian funerary documents that were not created until centuries after Abraham supposedly lived.

Equally impressive is the way that Larson reviews the rebuttal that LDS authorities and scholars have made to the claim that the papyri have nothing to do with Abraham. No less than eight separate theories have been postulated to account for why Abraham's text cannot be found anywhere on the papyri. One by one, Larson disposes of most of these claims. One cannot help but think that those arguing in favor of the authenticity of the Book of Abraham couldn't have done a better job making consistent arguments, before they allowed all eight of these to go into print. Interestingly, while continuing to insist the Book of Abraham is scripture, the LDS Church takes no official position on which of any of these theories may be the explanation for why the papyri that exist don't contain Abraham's words.

I don't like the way that Larson shifts gears at the end of the book from a very professional examination of the Book of Abraham to arguing the case for Christianity, but this is more than offset by his use of logic and evidence to shed real light on the questionable origins of the Book of Abraham.

In July of 1835, Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, purchased from a travelling exhibition 4 Egyptian mummies and some ancient scrolls found with the mummies. The scrolls contained Egyptian symbols, some of which Smith said he recognized.

Translation commenced and it was announced to the Mormon community the scrolls contained the writings of Abraham, the biblical founder of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Another was said to contain the writings of Joseph.

Yet the scrolls told of very different things than the Bible; God justified deceit when a righteous purpose is served, Abraham is instructed in astronomy in which the heavens are explained as an eternal progression of pre-existing spirits. Certain men would be exalted and go on to become gods themselves. It taught there were a plurality of gods who created the universe. The scrolls offered support to a variety of things Joseph Smith had been introducing to his teachings.

However, at that time, there was no one in America who could read ancient Egyptian. The Rosetta Stone was found only a few years prior in the 1820's and the knowledge had not crossed the Atlantic.

Eventually the translation was canonized in Mormon theology as the Book of Abraham, being placed at the same level of authority as the Book of Mormon. The scrolls were thought destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, but were rediscovered in 1967 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

When Egyptologists were able to examine them, they found Smith's translation was a fabrication; single symbols were translated by Smith in his notebooks as several paragraphs. For example, the Egyptian symbol for "born of" was "translated" by Smith into 3 paragraphs about a Chaldean famine, etc.

The books Smith said were the records of Abraham are actually a common pagan funeral papyrus, of relatively late date, known to Egyptologists as "The Book of Breathings" prepared between 50 BC and 50 AD for a priest name Hor, who served the Egyptian god Amon at Karnak. It was composed using Egyptian writing that didn't exist until 600 B.C., 12 centuries after the time of Abraham.

The writings said to be from Joseph are a late copy of the Egyptian "Book of the Dead", prepared for a woman named Ta-Shert-Min. The scrolls had nothing to do with Abraham or Joseph. Egyptologists see Smith's translation and interpretation of drawings in the scrolls as gibberish,

"By His Own Hand..." traces the history and analysis of the book of Abraham...

The book is filled with photographs of Smith's translation notebook, the original scrolls, comparisons of the two, with extensive commentary from scholars of Egyptian studies. There is also a video documentary version sold at Amazon.com called "The Book of Abraham"...

Having first read this book, then a mountain of explanations from a Mormon perspective, especially BYU and FARMS,you can only conclude that Smith had no idea what the manuscripts were all about.

Regardless of the tortuous apologics issued under the name of scholarship by the LDS, the simple facts are:

1. 'Reformed' Egyptian does not exist
2. If we do not possess the actual manuscripts that Smith translated from, then why did Smith keep all the manuscripts that we now have and why didn't he simply identify them as accounts of pagan Egyptian burial rites?
3. And there is nothing to indicate from any accounts or findings that there were 2 different types of 'languages' on the manuscripts - 'Reformed' Egyptian and traditional Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The simple answer is that he has NO IDEA what any of the manuscripts said and whatever he found 'time' to 'translate', was all a figment of his imagination.

A great read!

As an ex Mormon, I know the real story about how the "Book of Abraham" was "translated". The current crop of "Mormon intellectuals and apologists" are running for the border to escape the reality of Joe Smith's ongoing fraud. They cannot dodge the vast amount of evidence that clearly states that Joe Smith "TRANSLATED by revelation" the scrolls that make up his "Book of Abraham". Problem is that many of the nasty doctrines of Mormonism come from the "Book of Abraham". Negros and the priesthood, nature of God, multiple gods, ETC. Egyptologists have confirmed this fraud of Joe Smith as a hoax. Joe Smith could hardly read english let alone "translate" any ancient language. Read this book to learn the absolute truth of just how Joe Smith pulled another fast one in his quest to set himself up as God on Earth.

This is the book that nearly everyone refers to in the LDS (Mormon) "Book of Abraham" discussion. Mr. Charles Larson has written a comprehensive, understandable and heavily annotated critical examination of a modern document of faith.

In 1835, Joseph Smith, Jr. - leader of the 5 year old Mormon Church in Kirtland, Ohio at the time - was introduced to Mr. Michael Chandler who had some Egyptian things to sell. Mr. Smith, who had already claimed to have translated some ancient metal plates into the "Book of Mormon," ended up with some papyrus rolls. In time, Mr. Smith identified these ancient Egyptian scrolls as the writings of the ancient patriarch of the Hebrews, Abraham, while another scroll was of Joseph, the son of Israel. This "Book of Abraham" was supposed to relate the experiences of the patriarch as he left his pagan kinsmen to heed God's call. Joseph worked for several months and produced what he claimed was a translation of the Abraham scroll and some of its pictorial "facsimiles", along with supplementary material describing the documents and his translation process. It was a busy time for Joseph Smith, and he never got around to producing the "Joseph Scroll" translation prior to his early death at the hands of a mob in 1844.

In time, the scrolls - which remained with Joseph's widow and were sold to the Chicago Museum - disappeared from history, believed lost in the Chicago fire of 1871. No matter. For faithful LDS, the "Book of Abraham" remained in its translated form and it was accepted as canonical literature in 1880. It endured as a legacy of the ability of Joseph Smith, Jr. as a prophet, and translator.

In 1966, a non-LDS professor of Arabic Studies from Salt Lake City was examining documents and artifacts in a vault in New York when he saw something familiar to him: A ancient document bearing a remarkable likeness to the LDS facsimilies of the "Book of Abraham" with which he was acquainted. Word made its way to Salt Lake City and the LDS leadership excitedly made arrangements to examine and eventually procure the documents.

This book is an attempt to "let the papyri speak for themselves." It contains the best available photographic reprints of the papyri on a beautiful, glossy, double-sided foldout. Joseph's careful notes regarding the papyri he used to product the "Book of Abraham," comments regarding the art, and originals of the facsimiles themselves are examined critically. That part of the story, you need to read for yourself. It is sufficient to observe that an unbiased thinker will very likely agree with Mr. Larson and his experts that these papyri represent common funerary texts from a period much later than those of Abraham and Joseph of the Old Testament. And they also argue convincingly that these are the documents that Joseph Smith, Jr. used as a basis for his claimed translation of the "Book of Abraham."

But in the end, the "Book of Abraham" remains literature of faith. This book does not purport to be a textual criticism of "Abraham," nor will it dash the doubts of the faithful who conclude that the papyri have little to do with "Abraham" as faith literature. Some faithful will simply deny Larson's carefully documented conclusions while others will assert that the papyri served as a spiritual catalyst that moved Joseph Smith to receive a revelation of "Abraham." But this book convincingly argues that that papyri that served as either a basis for the purported translation or as inspiration for divine revelation were found and have a rather ordinary geneaology.