There is a New Book of Abraham Article on the Web Site Page, from MormonTimes.com. This recent Book of Abraham Article is about the pretty recent Speech given by Brian Hauglid, about Questions People might have about the Book of Abraham. This Speech was given at the 2008 FAIR Conference in Utah. Here is this pretty recent Article on Questions People might have about the Book of Abraham:
By Michael De Groote
Mormon Times
Published: Friday, Aug. 15, 2008
Helping people who are questioning their belief in the Book of Abraham isn't easy. Brian Hauglid told FAIR Conference attendees four ways to talk about the Book of Abraham that might be helpful to those with questions.
Hauglid, an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, spoke last week to a crowd of about 300 people attending the Mormon Apologetics Conference presented by the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research.
Even though he has addressed specific issues related to the Book of Abraham in previous presentations, papers and books, in this setting he chose to talk about general ways of discussing those issues.
Although many of the questions people might have about the Book of Abraham may have come from critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hauglid prefers a pastoral approach to questions -- one that doesn't worry about confronting the critics but that focuses on face-to-face discussions with the questioning individual.
It is difficult for many people to sort through the questions on their own -- primarily because of the disinformation on the Internet. "The Internet is not accurate most of the time," Hauglid said, "Most of the information that gets put out there about the Book of Abraham is not correct. Even though there are some facts there that are correct, it's twisted and turned so that it gives out this other message that Joseph Smith is not a true prophet."
But still the seeds of doubt are planted, and people who start out loving the Prophet Joseph slowly lose their faith in him as they continue to look only at these critics' claims. It is important for them to look at contrary evidence and to discuss it with someone who can help put the questions into a more faith-affirming context.
Hauglid gave four different ways to talk about the Book of Abraham with someone who has doubts or questions.
1. Treat the person with respect.
Treating someone with respect is easier to do face-to-face than it is on the anonymous Internet message boards. Hauglid told of how three people approached him with some questions about the Book of Abraham. He made sure that they understood that having questions does not make them bad members of the church. "They really thought that was great that somebody was willing to listen to them and hear what they had to say even though they were tough questions," he said.
Sometimes church defenders are so anxious to answer objections they do not listen to the question asked. He said it is important to remember that their questions are really personal to them.
Hauglid then quoted Heb. 12:12, "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees," and D&C 88:118, "And as all have not faith . . . teach one another."
2. Treat questions seriously.
Even though some questions may seem trivial or rude, they must be treated seriously, according to Hauglid. If the questions are dismissed, it sends the message that either there is something wrong with them for having the question or that the church is trying to hide something.
He told a story about a family friend who is currently going through some difficulty with some questions about the church. Only a few weeks ago, this person had given a letter that spelled out some of his concerns to his bishop. Hauglid said the questions were difficult, but the person was sincere in wanting some answers. The bishop gave the letter to one of his counselors to respond.
One question, for example, dealt with critics' allegations that Joseph Smith had committed banking fraud in the Kirtland Safety Society failure in Ohio. The family friend, however, made a typographical error and misspelled "banking" as "baking." The counselor's response to the question was, "Did he burn the cookies?"
Another response to a question was: "This is laughable." A recounting of some difficulties his family had brought this response: "Why? Because your parents were apostate like you?" When the family friend wrote how he had prayed to learn the truth, the counselor wrote: "This is a fraud."
Hauglid said he thinks the counselor just may not have known the answer to any of these questions, but only responded out of frustration. "But this was hurtful to the person . . . and I know he was really trying to find some answers there. And that's the way he was treated. And that is wrong, wouldn't you agree?" he said.
One way to take questions seriously is to admit when we do not know the answers. "We can have all that knowledge and as much understanding as we can, and we can still be short of certainty, can't we? We can still not know for sure what's really going on," he said.
3. Sometimes we have to acknowledge that the critics are right on certain things.
This is a hard one, according to Hauglid. Critics will say things that are true, but put it in a derogatory context. "Usually the critics will have a heyday with some of this stuff -- they can go all over the place and be totally irresponsible and they are having fun doing it," he said. "But you and me, we have to be very cautious and careful and plod through and even slog through what our responses are going to be."
But sometimes the critics come up with important facts in spite of themselves. The best thing to do, according to Hauglid, is to be up-front with people and just admit the facts, but then say, "Let's talk about what that (fact) might mean now, how can we explore that."
By allowing certain facts, different solutions may present themselves. "I don't think it's bad to go down those roads a little bit and make sure we are covering our bases," he said. "Instead of sticking to just one thing, when in reality it may help us to let the critic have a little bit of leeway on that particular point."
For example, with the Book of Abraham, "the papyrus attached to Facsimile 1 does not contain the Book of Abraham, we all know that. It doesn't translate to the Book of Abraham," he said. And, if the critics are right, he said, and those particular papyri really are what Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Abraham, then "OK, there it is. I'm OK with that. I don't lose my faith over that. I don't measure my faith on what I don't find in my research. And I am not sure it is even a healthy thing to try to do it that way. . . .If that's the way it is, that's the way it is."
But Hauglid doesn't think that is the way it is. The critic's theory that we have the dictation manuscripts (which utilize the particular papyrus fragments mentioned above) and that Joseph Smith created those manuscripts is "way, way bad."
"If the critics were right on that one, I would be the first to say 'OK, fine.' But they are not, it is just not right," he said. If the Lord told him that Joseph had indeed translated them that way, he wouldn't have a problem with it -- as long as we got the Book of Abraham out of it. He doesn't believe that is the way it happened, but it wouldn't bother him if it had.
"I don’t have a problem with these problems as much as some people do," Hauglid said. "Yeah, they are challenges, they are mysteries. I like a good mystery just like anybody else. But I still am OK. I still get to be a member of the church and take the sacrament and do the things that Lord would have me do."
4. Focus on what is in the book of Abraham, not just on how we got the book of Abraham.
The text of the Book of Abraham is the best witness of its truthfulness, according to Hauglid. It should be looked at from a multiple perspectives.
Historically, the Book of Abraham fits in well with its purported time period. Hauglid said there are over 35 themes in the Book of Abraham that are not in the Bible. But these themes were found in many other ancient sources. He said the book is more comfortable in an ancient setting than in a 19th-century setting.
Doctrinally, there are enlightening passages on priesthood, ordination and immortality.
But still many mysteries remain to be investigated. Hauglid said he has a thick file of questions to get answered after he dies, but those questions do not stop him from believing now.
"We can know that the Book of Abraham is the word of God," Hauglid said. "Now how we got it and the miracle that brought it into our hands, I don't know. But . . . we can recognize it is a miracle in our hands, that it is the word of God and that it is scripture."
Here is the Link to this Article:
http://mormontimes.com/WC_education.php?id=1796
Here are a couple of Points, That I will like to make here:
1. The evidence is indeed, very, very overwhelming that the Book of Breathings ((also known as Shait en Sensen) "Breathing permit" for the priest Hor text), is indeed the source from which the Book of Abraham was 'Translated' from.
Please Check Out And See:
http://www.bookofabraham.com/boamathie/BOA_5.html
And:
http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/vie ... ?f=1&t=656
2. The text of the Book of Abraham does contain a few anachronisms within it.
Please Check Out And See:
http://www.bookofabraham.com/boamathie/BOA_8.html