Re: The Book of Abraham right at home in the literary milieu of Greco-Roman Egypt
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:09 pm
Muhlestsin & Smoot article https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/prop ... nd-papyri/
"In the spirit of candor, we acknowledge that this outline for a plausible transmission of the Book of Abraham rests on the assumption that Joseph Smith had in his possession a physical ancient copy of Abraham’s writings. If one assumes that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Abraham in a way comparable to his translation of the parchment of John (D&C 7)9—that is, as revealed text that did not exist among the Egyptian papyri he possessed or a physical copy of which he otherwise did not have tangible access to—then much of what is discussed in this paper will likely lose most of its significance. After all, some prefer to see the translation of the Book of Abraham as purely revelatory and disassociated from any actual papyri in Joseph Smith’s possession.10 This position is understandable, has some merit, and should be carefully considered.11 Skousen & Givens.
This type of reasoning reminds me of the paper "How to read a Mormon Scholar"
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-cont ... 04_131.pdf
Talk about it all and draw a conclusion that Smith was lying in his interpretations of the facsimiles. Were the contents of the Book of Abraham given by revelation and Smith's interpretations just his own thoughts? Good luck with that reasoning.
"In the spirit of candor, we acknowledge that this outline for a plausible transmission of the Book of Abraham rests on the assumption that Joseph Smith had in his possession a physical ancient copy of Abraham’s writings. If one assumes that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Abraham in a way comparable to his translation of the parchment of John (D&C 7)9—that is, as revealed text that did not exist among the Egyptian papyri he possessed or a physical copy of which he otherwise did not have tangible access to—then much of what is discussed in this paper will likely lose most of its significance. After all, some prefer to see the translation of the Book of Abraham as purely revelatory and disassociated from any actual papyri in Joseph Smith’s possession.10 This position is understandable, has some merit, and should be carefully considered.11 Skousen & Givens.
This type of reasoning reminds me of the paper "How to read a Mormon Scholar"
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-cont ... 04_131.pdf
Talk about it all and draw a conclusion that Smith was lying in his interpretations of the facsimiles. Were the contents of the Book of Abraham given by revelation and Smith's interpretations just his own thoughts? Good luck with that reasoning.