Welcome to Book of Abraham.Com

"If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed."
-J. Reuben Clark, D. Michael Quinn, J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1983, p. 24.

"If faith will not bear to be investigated; if its preachers and professors are afraid to have it examined, their foundation must be very weak."
-George A. Smith, 1871, Journal of Discourses, Vol 14, pg 216.

". . . convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the word of God, and we will be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the pleasing reflection that you have been instruments in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings from the darkness which you may see enveloping their minds."
Orson Pratt, from The Seer, pp 15-16, (1853).

"Each of us has to face the matter-either the Church is true, or it is a fraud. There is no middle ground. It is the Church and kingdom of God, or it is nothing."
- President Gordon B. Hinckley. "Loyalty," April Conference, 2003.

This website is devoted to the idea that the "Book of Abraham," recognized as holy scripture by the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), is not what it purports to be. A compelling body of evidence suggests that Joseph Smith fabricated this book of scripture while holding out to the world that he could translate ancient Eqyptian. Using the pretext of "translating" the Book of Abraham text from old Egyptian papyrus fragments, Smith introduced bold, new theological elements to the Mormon religion. The papyrus fragments Smith used to create his "translation" appear to be nothing more than common Egyptian funeral documents. To further complicate matters, these papyri have been shown to date to the time of Christ, not to the time of Abraham as claimed by Smith. The papyrus fragments used by Smith were once thought to be lost, however, they have been recovered and translated by modern Egyptologists. The results show that Smith had absolutely no knowledge of ancient Egyptian. In short, Smith pulled a fast one in order to further his dreams of creating a theocratic empire.

The LDS church can't change the fact that the Book of Abraham has come under attack from the scientific community as a fraudulent translation. It seems that the church can make only one of two possible choices: They can offer up increasingly improbable explanations for this embarrassing book of scripture...or they can completely ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. It is my opinion that the church, as an official institution, has chosen the latter path. They have recognized the Book of Abraham as a tar-baby of sorts and have decided to ignore the controversy. They've learned that the more they handle the issues, the dirtier their hands get. It appears that they are currently content to ignore the issues, and pray that their members ignore the issues as well. If the members remain ignorant of this gross deception, perhaps they will remain active in Mormonism, and continue to contribute their time, talents, and money "...for the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion."

Another group, the "Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship" (formerly "F.A.R.M.S." or Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies) is trying to take the first approach. This Brigham Young University-backed organization has produced many complicated and tortured defenses for the Book of Abraham. The opinions of Mormon apologist Hugh Nibley feature prominently in their defense of the Book of Abraham. It is my opinion that these apologetics do more damage to the credibility of the Book of Abraham than insults from the book's critics. Their success lies in "muddying the waters" enough so that inquiring minds may not see what in reality is embarrassingly clear. Indeed, the issues surrounding the Book Of Abraham can seem quite complicated if you are determined to believe in it's authenticity.

Before I discovered the troubling truth regarding the Book of Abraham I was a life-long member. I was a "born-in-the-covenant," Eagle-scout, seminary student, RM, BYU-graduate, temple-endowed Mormon. The fact that I could go through decades of activity in the church and know nothing of this scripture scandal astounds me. My hat is off to the corporate bureaucrats at church headquarters...they've done a great job of suppressing the truth from the rank and file members. Consider this website a personal project at reclaiming truth and personal integrity.

I am not trying to reinvent the wheel with this website. There are many websites on the Internet that deal with this material, and Mormonism in general. Rather, I intend to invite others to contribute material, read information from the hyper-links, and otherwise engage in a discussion regarding the Book of Abraham. I offer this domain name as a clearing-house for information. Is the Book of Abraham a fraud? I think so, but you are welcome to form your own opinion.