Customer Reviews

The Lost Book of Abraham : Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've been a member of the Mormon church for over 40 years and a researcher church history for more than a decade. I can certainly understand the defensive reactions of members of the LDS church toward "The Lost Book of Abraham: Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim" DVD since it denounces long held beliefs about this book of LDS scripture contained in the Pearl of Great Price.

The information presented in this DVD is quite accurate, however. Some of the statements and claims are a little biased, but as a whole, the presentation is good. After years of studying the issues related to the Book of Abraham, I have firmly concluded that the text of this book did not come literally from the papyrus from which it was supposedly translated. To me, that is absolute.

There are at least three theories how Joseph Smith may have obtained the "Abraham" information. 1) Hidden within the text are "secret" meanings that Smith, himself, was able to discern by the power of God. 2) The papyrus was a "springboard" for God to reveal to him about Abraham even though the papyrus itself was completely non-related. 3) Joseph Smith made it up.

I am not going to declare which of those three possibilities I currently believe. However, as a member of the LDS church, I will declare that I know beyond any doubt that the "old" belief that the Book of Abraham was a literal translation from the papyrus is not accurate. The church knows this and most LDS scholars accept and promote one of the other alternate theories. There are many LDS sites that will go into great detail about these alternate theories.

When current members of the LDS church are first presented with this "new" information that the BOA is not a literal translation, the negative hostile reactions are understandable. They will write scathing reviews and try to defend the traditional belief. As you read the reviews on this DVD, you will notice that the "1 star" reviews reflect this very defensive position.

However, as members of the LDS church investigate and research the actual findings of the BOA (as I did), they will come to know that the text of this book came from means other than a literal translation of papyrus.

As a former Mormon, I'm always hopeful to find non-enflamatory, yet totally factual information about Mormonism. This video is SUPERB! Produced in a "History Channel" style, it presents the facts about the LDS Book of Abraham in an interesting, non-offensive, and thorough style. I found it most interesting that, although several were invited, LDS authorities refused to be interviewed for the video. But, even without their input, the producers did their best to present a fair picture of the truth behind the Book of Abraham, including some on-camera interviews with members of the LDS Church.

I can't recommend this video enough! Even those unfamiliar with the LDS Church would find this video informative and interesting. I will be using it quite a bit as a "teaching tool" for both non-LDS and LDS friends and family. Because of the tone of the video, I'm not at all concerned about any angry reactions from LDS friends and family. I believe it will be well accepted, even by them. It also will make a great companion tool to "By His Own Hand on Papyrus", a book on the same subject.

I have recently viewed the Lost Book of Abraham video and found it to be very well done. The research is indisputable and factual with documentation that supports every statement. As a former member of the LDS church for 21 years I found the video to be fair and definately non offensive. I didn't give it five stars simply because the video quality wasn't quite as good as productions costing millions of dollars more, but the content was certainly worth five stars. I would recommend the video to anyone who has a serious interest in LDS Church history.

The Book of Abraham is the stake-in-the-heart of the LDS organization's claims regarding Joseph Smith as a prophet. Well put together, with a host of objective scholars, it lays out the case against the Mormon claim that this work is of Abraham. Instead it is a common funery document with literally thousands of exemplars. The Mormons made a big mistake in making this document available to the general public.

I am a return missionary and have been LDS (Mormon) for over 30 years. I believe most Mormons are misinformed about the origin and history behind the Book of Abraham papyri. I would HIGHLY reccommend this DVD for anyone who is interested in some remarkable information about this particular aspect of Mormonism. The great thing about the DVD is that it can be viewed in English or Spanish. Buy two copies and give one to each of your home teachers as Christmas gifts.

I am a return missionary and have been LDS (Mormon) for over 30 years. I believe most Mormons are misinformed about the origin and history behind the Book of Abraham papyri. I would HIGHLY reccommend this video for anyone who is interested in some remarkable information about this particular aspect of Mormonism. The makers of this video interview several LDS experts and lay members in an effort to be unbiased. This is as educational as it gets. Buy a copy and show it to the Gospel Doctrine class. Buy two copies and give one to each of your home teachers as Christmas gifts.

I teach Egyptology and no self-respecting Egyptologist would agree with the Mormon claim about the Book of Abraham. Facts are Facts - Joseph Smith didn't have a clue about translating `Reformed Hieroglyphics' (especially since there is no such language). The true source for book of Abraham is not an ancient lost scroll but the fertile imagination of Joseph Smith.

Very educational and very well put together. Brings light to a dark subject, answering many questions with documented fact, hard evidence and statements from well-known professors of Egyptology. Easy to follow and understand. As an LDS member for 41 years, I would recommend this to other members.

This is an excellent documentary that displays a laudable respect for the Mormon faith even as it authoritatively puts the lie to Joseph Smith's translation of "The Lost Book of Abraham." It may appear biased to some, but the relatively one-sided nature of the presentation is largely due to the fact that no Mormon scholars or church leaders would agree to even a mere interview on the subject. That being the case, the producers went out of their way to ask a number of LDS members their opinions on the Book of Abraham. That, to my mind, makes this documentary is as fair and balanced as it could possibly be. While the presented findings raise crucial questions about the very foundations of the church Joseph Smith founded, the presentation never turns into an attack on the LDS faith itself.

The more I learn about the Mormons, and Joseph Smith in particular, the more fascinated I become with the whole subject. As an outside Christian looking in to the facts of the LDS Church, I am continually amazed that this religion survived the assassination of its prophet, Joseph Smith, as it has much in the nature of a cult of personality. Even today, though, Mormonism is inextricably linked with its controversial founder. If Smith's claims are untrue, the church has no legs to stand upon. That is what makes this analysis of Smith's "The Book of Abraham" so intriguing. Smith's "translation" of the Book of Mormon, while highly dubious, cannot be tested because the gold plates containing the original text were supposedly returned to the angel Moroni - and thus cannot be tested. The same cannot be said of the Book of Abraham, as the original source - long thought to have been destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 - is extant. Authorities within the LDS church probably wish otherwise, as the true meaning of those documents greatly undermines Joseph Smith's integrity and has forced the church to backpedal mightily in the face of academic scrutiny.

When a traveling salesman came through Kirtland, Ohio peddling several papyri from ancient Egypt (along with several authentic mummies), Joseph Smith could hardly dispute his ability to translate the ancient Egyptian writings (despite the fact that no scholar on the American continent could have done so at that time) - not after having translated the Book of Mormon from the "Reformed Egyptian" language. Scrounging together the $2400 needed to purchase the salesman's ancient wares, he diligently went about said translation. According to him, these papyri contained a lost book of wisdom written by the very hand of Abraham himself during his time in Egypt. The Book of Abraham soon became a work of great importance in the Mormon religion and has remained so to this day.

Smith's translation, particularly in terms of the copies of three plates included in The Book of Abraham, was called into question as soon as Egyptologists possessed the knowledge necessary for accurately interpreting the ancient hieroglyphics. Now, numerous experts have had an opportunity to study the ancient fragments, and you'll hear from many of them in this documentary. Smith's translation appears quite laughable and obviously wrong in just about every way possible according to all these experts. The papyri contain fairly common funerary odes and have nothing whatsoever to do with Abraham. The truth has compelled some LDS members to leave the church (you'll meet one in this documentary), and no Mormon leader would even agree to appear in this evenhanded presentation of fact.

There can be no question that this is an informative, very professional documentary which concentrates on the establishment of truth rather than a de facto attack on the Mormon religion. The fact that no authority in the LDS Church would agree to defend Smith's translation speaks volumes as to the scholarly import of the transportation.

Mormons will see this film as anti-Mormon, and others will see it as an accurate depiction of the facts.

This video does not seem "anti-Mormon" to me, just factual.

I did not enjoy the recreation of 1840 scenes. The filming did not seem to match the times. I think it would have been more interesting just to have pictures of the 1840 era used in the film with maybe a Ken Burns type of effect.

If the Egyptian-studies scholars had been interviewed, the 1840 pictures used, I would have found it more interesting. the scenes recreating the times just seemed too bright, the actors seemed too modern. Just not as believable as other films depicting that era.

BUT...that is not to say the film is not interesting. It is. And the facts speak for themselves. Another interesting book: You may wish to read By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus.

If you are LDS, you may find a good rebuttal to this film by searching for publications from FARMS (at BYU).