The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has been around for almost two centuries. It has ebbed and fluctuated in such a predictably adaptive manner throughout it's relatively short life in the religious realm. This Church has a very sordid past, which it does a very good job of teaching for itself, whether the history is slanted or not, is yours to decide. Join me on a journey through the history of the LDS Church through the eyes of the people that were actually there. We will learn about the founding members, where the practices came from, where the Book of Mormon (Mormon Bible) came from, and most importantly, we will examine Joseph Smith in every aspect possibly available to us today.

On this episode, we wrap up our logical deconstruction of the Book of Abraham. We focus our petrifying gaze on the lds.org essay titled, ‘Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,’ the LDS Church’s official statement on this challenging piece of Mormon scripture. Is it merely more apologetics, or is there something special with this essay compared with other apologetic arguments for the ‘historical plausibility’ of the Book of Abraham? No, it’s just delicately worded apologetics we discussed at length last week. What more can we learn from this essay? What would it look like for the Brighamite LDS Church to disavow an historically authentic interpretation of this book and other Mormon scripture? We use the RLDS as an analogue to muse on what the Church has to lose when it comes to moving into an unorthodox and progressive stance on scripture and doctrine.

Links:

Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham
https://www.lds.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng

Book of Abraham and Kirtland Egyptian material
http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/book-of-abraham-and-egyptian-material

Kirtland Egyptian language and grammar
http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/grammar-and-alphabet-of-the-egyptian-language-circa-july-circa-november-1835/7

Original printing of Book of Abraham and Facsimile 1
http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/book-of-abraham-and-facsimiles-1-march-16-may-1842/1

Book of Abraham MormonThink
http://www.mormonthink.com/book-of-abraham-issues.htm#theegyptionpapyriwerenotall

Lucy Mack Smith Book of Abraham ‘translation’ method
http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/intro/introduction-to-book-of-abraham-manuscripts

Roger Launius The Reorganized Church, the Decade of Decision, and the Abilene Paradox
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/issues/V31N01.pdf

Community of Christ FY2017 Budget
http://www.cofchrist.org/common/cms/resources/Documents/FY17-Budget-ENGLISH.pdf

Community of Christ D&C 163
https://www.cofchrist.org/doctrine-and-covenants-section-163

Current LDS Membership Statistics
http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target=church_growth_articles

Current LDS Income Statistics
http://www.churchistrue.com/blog/lds-membership-statistics-report-2017/

LDS Self-reported Membership Statistics
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/church-growth

Show Links:

Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com
Twitter @NakedMormonism
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311
Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism
Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/
Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/
Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/

Direct download: NM_106_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:32pm EDT
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