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Guide Home > Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham

Additional Topics

The following are additional topic areas related to Book of Abraham. If there is a bracket number after the topic, that number indicates how many actual articles there are related to that subject. If the link for the topic is not live, it simply means the topic is a 'planned area' for future growth.

Joseph Smith History
Kirtland Egyptian Papers [2]

FAIR Resources

These links are either to Web pages hosted on the FAIR Website, or to FAIR Papers. FAIR Papers are short articles about specific topics or questions, written by members of FAIR. These articles can be downloaded and read in PDF format and are intended to be distributed by e-mail or print for the general use of our patrons. (To read FAIR Papers you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded free from the Adobe Web site.) Click on a title below to visit a FAIR Web page or to read the latest version of a FAIR Paper.

"Book of Abraham Papyri," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki is a summary of a longer article dealing with the supposed problems of the Book of Abraham and modern Egyptology.

"Book of Abraham Papyri (long version)," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki is the longer article dealing with the supposed problems of the Book of Abraham and modern Egyptology.

Michael R. Ash and Kevin L. Barney, "The ABCs of the Book of Abraham," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, 2004 FAIR Conference) In this 2004 FAIR Conference presentation, Ash and Barney take a look at the history of the Joseph Smith Papyri; where it came from, what Joseph did with it, and what happened to it after Joseph was martyred. They also examine some of the criticisms agasint the Book of Abraham and provide lots of sources for those interested in learning more about this fascinating topic.

Kevin W. Graham, "The Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price," Mormonism 201 (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR) Graham reviews the critical arguments (as presented in Mormonism 101) regarding the Joseph Smith Papyri and the Book of Abraham.

Benjamin McGuire, "The Lost Book of Abraham: Investigating a Remarkable Anti-Mormon Claim," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, 8/12/2002) This FAIR Paper presents a review of an anti-Mromon film entitled The Lost Book of Abraham: Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism

The resources listed below are articles available in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site.

H. Donl Peterson, Stephen E. Thompson and Michael D. Rhodes; "Book of Abraham," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 132-138

Ensign Articles

These articles cited below provide information on the topic of this page. The Ensign is one of the official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When you click on one of the article links below, you are whisked to the article found in the archives of the Church's Web site.

John Gee, "Abraham in Ancient Egyptian Texts," Ensign, July 1992, 60.

Paul Y. Hoskisson, "Where Was the Ur of Abraham?," Ensign, July 1991, 62.

Hugh W. Nibley, "What, exactly, is the purpose and significance of the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham?," Ensign, March 1976, 34.

Eric Jay Olsen, "We are told that the Book of Abraham is a translation of an ancient Egyptian record, yet it seems to be written for non-Egyptian readers. To whom is Abraham writing?," Ensign, June 1982.

Daniel C. Peterson, "News from Antiquity," Ensign, January 1994, 16. The Book of Abraham is a favorite target for anti-Mormon critics. Although there is still much to be learned about its origins and its ties to other Abrahamic literature, much has been and is being discovered. In this 1994 Ensign article, Peterson looks at some of the similarities in the Book of Abraham story and extra-Biblical information about Abraham's life and environment.

Michael D. Rhodes, "Why doesn't the translation of the Egyptian papyri found in 1967 match the text of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?," Ensign, July 1988, 51.

Other Resources

The resources listed below are related items available on the Web that should be of interest. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site.

Klaus Baer, "The Breathing Permit of Hor: A Translation of the Apparent Source of the Book of Abraham," Dialogue (Autumn 1968), 109-134 Non-LDS Egyptologist, Klaus Baer, attempted an early translation of the rediscovered Joseph Smith Papyri fragments.

Kevin L. Barney, "The Facsimiles and Semitic Adaptation of Existing Sources," Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant (City Unknown: FARMS), 107-130 While there seems to be a disconnect between Egyptological interpretations of the Book of Abraham facsimilies and what Joseph Smith gave us, Kevin Barney argues that we need, instead, to understand how early Jews would have understood the facsimiles during the period when the Joseph Smith Papyri was produced.

John Gee, William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson; ""And I Saw the Stars": The Book of Abraham and Ancient Geocentric Astronomy," Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant (City Unknown: FARMS), 1-15 Drs. Gee, Hamblin, and Peterson make a compelling argument that the Book of Abraham's view of astronomy fits neatly into way seen by the ancient world and is contrary to how Joseph Smith would have understood the cosmos in his day.

John Gee, "Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri," The Disciple as a Witness (City Unknown: FARMS), 175-217 Egyptologist, Dr. John Gee examines what we know about the translation of the Joseph Smith Papyri.

John Gee, "FARMS Presentation," (Provo, UT: FARMS) In this audio presentation, Egyptologist Dr. John Gee, looks at Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham.

Stephen R. Gibson, "Was the Book of Abraham Disproved?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) Didn't a member of your church and a professor of Egyptology, Dr. Dee Jay Nelson, prove the Pearl of Great Price is a fraud? Why do you still consider it scripture?

Jeff Lindsay, Questions about the Book of Abraham: Fraud or sacred scripture?. A detailed exposition of the issues surrounding the Book of Abraham, in two parts. Includes a discussion of the source of the Book of Abraham, the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, and the facsimiles.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Abraham's Creation Drama," (Provo, UT: FARMS) Audio presentation. Dr. Nibley looks as the ancient texts which describe the creation and, Abraham's involvement is recording the creation drama, and LDS similarities to the details contained in these ancient documents.

Hugh W. Nibley, Juding and Prejuding the Book of Abraham.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 1. Restoring What Was Lost," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 46 minutes

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 10. The Babylon Creation Myth," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 46 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 11. The Human Condition," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 50 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 12. The Plurality of Worlds," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 47 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 13. The Pearl of Great Price on the Plurality of Worlds," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 46 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 14. Treasures in Heaven," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 46 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 15. The Geological Problem," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 52 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 2. Allegory and Rhetoric," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 48 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 3. Literalism," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 51 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 4. Preexistence," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 52 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 5. Cosmology," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 52 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 6. The Creation," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 51 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 7. The Council," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 51 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 8. The Council According to the Shabako Stone," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 50 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 9. The Shabako Stone Continued," (Provo, UT: FARMS) MP3: 53 minutes.

Hugh W. Nibley, "The Joseph Smith Papyri: Phase One," Dialogue (Summer 1968), 99-105 Dr, Nilbley gives his early impressions after the redisovery of the Joseph Smithy Papyri fragments.

Hugh W. Nibley, "What is "The Book of Breathings"?," BYU Studies, Vol. 11:2 (1971), 1-25 Upon their publication in 1967, the Joseph Smith Papyri Nos. X and XI were quickly and easily identified as pages from the Egyptian �Book of Breathings.� The frequent occurrence of the word snsn provided a conspicuous clue, and, though the last page of the book (the one that usually contains the title) was missing, its contents closely matched that of other Egyptian writings bearing the title sh� (sh�i, sh�.t) n snsn, commonly translated �Book of Breathing(s).� A most welcome guide to the student was ready at hand in J. de Horrack�s text, translation, and commentary on a longer and fuller version of the same work (Pap. Louvre 3284) which he published in 1878 along with another version of the text (Louvre No. 3291) and variant readings from a half dozen other Paris manuscripts. Thanks to de Horrack, the experts found their work already done for them, and they showed their gratitude by consistently following the readings of the de Horrack�s text and translation instead of the Joseph Smith text whenever the latter proved recalcitrant.

Michael Rhodes, Response to the video: "The Lost Book of Abraham: Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim".

Kerry Shirts, "Kerry Shirts on the Book of Abraham Video from IRR," (8/4/2002) An analysis of an anti-Mormon film published by Luke Wilson of the Institute of Religious Research.