By His Own Hand upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri

By Charles M. Larson

Book Overview

A survey of the controversy surrounding Mormon founder Joseph Smith's claim that he translated the Book of Abraham from an ancient Egyptian papyrus. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0962096326
• ISBN13: 9780962096327
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Inst for Religious Research
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

FARMS is so pitiful....

Charles M. Larson's book is an excellent, step-by-inexorable-step debunking of Joseph Smith and the Book of Abraham as listed in the Mormon church's Pearl of Great Price. Essentially, Joseph Smith said he translated Egyptian papyri that talk about Abraham and astronomy. The papyri were found, and the LDS church was really excited about this opportunity to prove to the world that Joseph Smith was a prophet and seer. Unfortunately, the Egyptian papyri have absolutely nothing to do with the Book of Abraham. Smith just made up every single word. Before we go any further, please don't let the last chapter diminish your enjoyment of the book. According to Larson's son, this chapter was written by the publishers as they are a non-denominational Christian company. Larson needed to accept that last chapter's inclusion so IRR would publish this important work. Mr. Larson apparently disliked that last chapter too. Another great aspect of this book is that it discusses some far-fetched ideas by apologists about how, even though we now know Joseph couldn't translate any other language, this doesn't mean the Book of Abraham is a fraud. Mike Rhodes of FARMS wrote a review that was absurb. He still contends, against strong evidence to the contrary, that we just haven't found the papyri that Joseph really did translate. He also helps us to understand that if we scrunch up our eyes, turn around until we're dizzy, and stand on our heads, we can sort of see something that could resemble a bird--and by golly! there's a bird mentioned in the Book of Abraham!! It could still be true! He concludes his review of "By His Own Hand" by doing the classic Mormon...well, you can't use your brain to make a decision about these things! You have to talk yourself into it.... Great book with devastating consequences. It also shows that Hugh Nibley was definitely a hired gun whose statements cannot always be embraced.

A Well Researched, Well Written Look at the Facts

Most of the previous reviews have done a good job covering the details of Larson's book, "By His Own Hand", so I will not elaborate further. I will saythat this is one of the best books around that examines the claims of The Latter Day Saints, aka "Mormons." The LDS leaders have long claimed that "The church rises and falls on the person of Joseph Smith" and have challenged "gentiles" (non-Mormons) to examine their claims to see if they are not true. Well, Larson has done just that with profound results. The most devastating proof that Joseph Smith misrepresented his ability to translate ancient documents that were allegedly written in "Reformed Egyptian" (a "language" by the way of which no reputable Egyptologist has ever heard). The LDS Scriptures, therefore, based on this translation are false. In the 1830's, precious few in the United States, or the entire world for that matter, knew enough about ancient Egypt to challenge J. Smith assertions that he could read the ancient papyrus scroll that he had found. His translation of that scroll into "The Book of Abraham", therefore, went unchallenged for many years, until the original was rediscovered in the late 1960's. No scholars have free access to the same papyrus that Smith used and now the clear truth is able to come out: Joseph Smith falsified his claims about this book in the LDS Scriptures; he could not read "Reformed Egyptian; and the credibility of the rest of his claims, especially his alleged translation of the rest of the LDS canon, is severely challenged. This is a must book for anyone investigating the claims of the LDS church. . Joseph Smith claimed certain things that have formed the foundation of LDS thought. Primary among those claims is that he was a special prophet with special abilities to translate God's messages to God's people. Larson's book examines this claim with scholarly integrity: Either J. Smith could and did translate these writings, or he could not and did not. If he could not, then he was not who he said to be and the whole LDS theological structure comes apart.

Must reading for anyone interested in the LDS Church

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

Time to clear up a misinterpretation of the author

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.

The research is solid

Besides the excellent research, Larson writes a book that is readable. His conclusions are damning for those who claim that Joseph Smith had the ability to interpret the Egyptian language. Although Larson comes from a Christian perspective, I believe that he is very objective about his findings. A follower of Smith's might point to the author's Christian beliefs as a reason why this book is tainted, but this is ridiculous. Instead of attacking the messenger, the critics should go after the message...and I don't think this is so easy in this case. I especially like the fold-out color charts of the original papyrii--the book is worth its price just for these alone--and this makes it very easy to follow his explanations throughout the analysis. Visual learners will love it! I believe that this book is very important, for if Joseph Smith were a true prophet of God, and if he did indeed translate the Book of Mormon (the plates from this 1830 book are missing, so we cannot check his interpreting ability here), then we should expect the translation from the "Book of Abraham" to be very accurate. Alas, Smith did not know Egyptian (as proved by Larson); he was able to get away with so much because he lived when the science of translating the language was in its infancy. This is something every Mormon should think about.As far as those reviewers who do not like the last two chapters where the case for Christianity is presented: Larson is not trying to give the definitive case for his faith. That's not what this book is about. Rather, he was trying to say, If Mormonism is not true, then what is? This is a legitimate question, and I think these chapters were very appropriate where they were placed. To the Mormon, Christian, and atheist alike, I give By His Own Hand my highest recommendation.