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Summary: An invalauble tool in witnessing to mormons!
Review: This book is dynamite! Scholarly yet readable, factual yet enjoyable. ... This is an essential work on mormonism and should be a part of the library of every concerned Christian who is witnessing to the mormon people.
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Summary: A story of deception
Review: 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"...
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Summary: A fraud is know by his frauding.
Review: YOu can tell a criminal by his criminal mind, how it turns and twists, and eventually sputters away. Chas LArson is owed a raise in whatever pay his ministry is givibng him since he scored a touchdown. He has the facts, the evidence, the data that we knead to uncover the lies behind Joseph Schmidt. YOu can see by the cover that ther are actual photogrpahys of the Egyptian book-scolls that Joseph Schmit use to fabiricate his lies in the midst of the mormons. I do not hate mormons--they are an honsets people who work hard, and are quite bright and intelligent peoples, except in one area of religion. Even that isn;'t all that bad, excvept for the cultish aspects of the religion that is a cult. I like the Olympics in 20002, but you saw a fraud. People are never that nice and the ice skating was a ruse to cover up the real crimes that the have. This book explains it all, so that we all can see thet fraud. Your soul is in there, so tyhe book can see all that we do not.
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Summary: Another hole in the dam
Review: The LDS church is growing quickly and the vast majority of members exhibit strong character and build strong families based on Christian ethics. I personally know several members, all of whom are "good" people. I mean this sincerely.
However, this doesn't change the fact that LDS church history and Theology are riddled with contradictions, shady characters, and is just plain "odd".
Joseph Smith, and his writings, are the source of much of the credibility problem. As long as the LDS remained "sequestered" in Utah, their theology did not come under heavy scrutiny. As the church grows and becomes higher profile, their history and beliefs and, most importantly, the sources of those beliefs, have come under very detailed review. And they aren't fairing too well. This book is well researched and well written. It's true that the author may be part of the anti-mormon crowd. But in the field of serious Christian theology, who isn't? Serious pro-mormon theologians are a rare breed. There's just not a leg to stand on. My guess is that the LDS will morph over time into a more mainstream Christian denomination. If not, the dam will burst and they will be washed away. Only time will tell.
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Summary: Don't Be Duped
Review: This work that so many 'reviewers' (one would have to question who and what their motives are) here report as wonderful and revealing, is so flawed that even any half-baked scholar ( yet being able to lay aside all personal bias) would agree that it is indeed a travesty of pseudo-scholarship. It is just more skewed, and inaccurate, run-of-the-mill anti-Mormon rhetoric. The book is published by The Institute for Religious Research which is closely affiliated with the Gospel Truths Ministries, sharing the same phone and at least some of the same personnel which has a well recognized anti-Mormon agenda. To quote a review from another source ( "A Tragedy of Errors" by John Gee) and after reading the book myself: "One of the major problems, not only with Larson's book, but with all the anti-Mormon efforts to discredit the book of Abraham, was most succinctly encapsulated by the eminent Egyptologist Klaus Baer: "Whether the resulting book of Abraham is or is not inspired scripture can . . . only be told by examining the Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Abraham)." This the anti-Mormons have consistently refused to do. As Hugh Nibley put it, "To this day the critics insist on confining their efforts strictly to an exposé of Joseph Smith's method, while avoiding any discussion of the results with almost hysterical touchiness." In doing so they ignore a growing mass of scholarly writings dealing with the subject. Some of the most significant things to have come out of looking at the book of Abraham in its ancient context include: 1. The book of Abraham has close affinities to a large number of apocryphal and Egyptian writings to which Joseph Smith could have had no access. 2. Abraham claims that his story starts out near a place called "Olishem" (Abraham 1:10), and that place name is indeed attested in newly discovered inscriptions from approximately Abraham's time. 3. There is no evidence to place Ur of the Chaldees in southern Mesopotamia, but there is good reason to locate Ur in the north, near the site of Olishem. 4. Most of Joseph Smith's interpretations of the fac-similes have been shown to be in the right general ballpark although "there has been little or no work done on [these types of texts by Egyptologists] since the end of the last century." 5. The astronomy detailed in the book of Abraham does not match the heliocentric astronomy of Joseph Smith's or our own time, but can only be a geocentric astronomy like that characteristic of the ancient Mediterranean world. 6. David Cameron discovered an Egyptian lion couch scene much like Facsimile 1 explicitly mentioning the name Abraham.68 This last reference casts in a new light Larson's claim that "none of the book of Abraham facsimiles (or the papyrus drawings from which they were adapted) make mention of Abraham" (p. 110). "Up to the minute" research, indeed! Until the critics are willing to take the book of Abraham-text as well as pictures-and the recent scholarship seriously, they only dodge the issues. Larson's book is another attempt at evasion. The book of Abraham is deceptively small, for dealing with it adequately is far more complicated than almost anyone has guessed. We agree with Larson on one point: "Exposing error is the right thing to do, as only good can be the ultimate result of people learning the truth" (p. 171, deemphasis mine). Larson's book is so full of errors that it deserves to be exposed for what it is." Enough said. Sure, buy the book if you're curious, but get a hold of a copy of "The Pearl of Great Price" and read the "Book of Abraham" as well. The contrast as far as 'truth' or at least 'truthfulness' is concerned, will be more than evident. Consequently, you will draw your own conclusions and won't be duped.
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Summary: Sad Beyond Belief
Review: This is a careful presentation of a true case of simple fraud. One has great sympathy for the Mormons (at least the membership; the leadership of the church doesn't come off quite so well), but none at all for Smith. As a lawyer, I often ask other lawyers if they tried their case 10 times, how often would they get a verdict in their favor. If one tried this case against Smith for fraud 10 times, you would get 9 convictions (the tenth would be the OJ jury). This guy simply made it up as he went along. Yes, he was clever, perhaps even bright, but crooked as a mountain road. The facts laid out here make clear there is no room for 'mistake'. This is outright fraud and Smith is the perp. Larson presents a compelling case.
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Summary: Still got the burning in the bossom?
Review: It's amazing when offering to give this book to a Mormon they blindly refuse to even open the cover. They rely so heavily on their burning of the bossom and have been brain washed to not read anything that will expose the sham of Mormonism. The few that acually accept the book are left so shaken in their belief that if they are honest and can stand the peer preassure from family and friends will leave the organisation all together after having read this book. The Bible have stood it's test of time and can defend itself against critics whilst the Mormon Books can't which is why the LDS organisation strongly discourage Mormons to read books like this.
A strong recommendation of a book to give to anyone that is visited by Mormons, have family and friends who belong to that Cult or Mormons that is prepared to put their faith in the spotlight.
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Summary: Excellent book! Clear and concise presentation of FACTS.
Review: Larson has done a masterful job of presenting the full history of the JSP and its origins, up to the time of it's rediscovery in 1967, and the scrutiny that has followed in the last three decades. He quite clearly brings to light the correct translation of the document by many independent expert Egyptologists and the numerous fallacious responses by Dr. Nibley and other LDS apologists. After reading this book, the conclusions are right there in front of any intellectually honest person, plain as day... Joseph Smith did not come anywhere near a correct translation of the JSP in writing the Book of Abraham, and by extension his credibility has, at the very least, been seriously compromised. Despite what many church leaders endorse, i.e. faith takes precedence over all other things including facts, I strongly endorse the philosophy of "truth takes precedence over all other things (including long held beliefs)", and truth obviously includes facts. Facing truth is sometimes very difficult, but self deception is not an acceptable alternative. Regarding the final chapter that many here have complained about, I just want to point out that Larson's son, who has written a review here, claims that his father did not write this chapter and that he had to include it to get it published. This is very easy to believe as the last chapter takes on a completely different tone and while it may have some value religiously, it is totally out of place for this scholarly piece. It was most likely entirely written by Mr. McElveen mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, who is also very likely associated with the Inst. for Religious Research, which is not so sublty promoting itself at the end of this book. Hopefully future editions will be printed without this chapter as Mr. Larson's son says is likely.
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Summary: Must reading for anyone interested in the LDS Church
Review: 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.
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Summary: Time to clear up a misinterpretation of the author
Review: 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.
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