Dr. Robert Ritner - An Egyptologist Translates the Book of Abraham Pt 1 - Mormon Stories

For more than a century, the Book of Abraham has been revered by Mormons, and denounced by credible Egyptologists as a product of Joseph Smith’s imagination. Its first scholarly analysis was published in the New York Times in 1912. The article was never adequately addressed by LDS Church leadership, and the issue faded until 1966, when the Book of Abraham papyri fragments were found in the archives of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While many Mormons have heard the opinions of pseudo-Egyptologists and Book of Abraham apologists, few have heard the opinions of a world-class Egyptologist about the historicity and credibility of the Book of Abraham – until now.

In a joint production of Mormon Stories Podcast and Radio Free Mormon, we interview Dr. Robert Ritner, Professor of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. A HUGE thank you to Bruce MacArthur for making this interview possible.


The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition by Robert K. Ritner
https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Smith-E...

"Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham," Gospel Topics Essay
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...

"Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham--A Response," by Robert K. Ritner, University of Chicago Oriental Institute
https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchi...

"Facsimile 1 Examined", comparing the Joseph Smith translation to what it actually says in Egyptian
http://www.mormoninfographics.com/201...

"The Four Sons of Horus, Facsimile 2 Figure 6," by John Gee
https://www.pearlofgreatpricecentral....

Mormon Stories interview with Shannon Caldwell Montez
https://www.mormonstories.org/podcast...

The Four Sons of Horus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_so...

"Lion Couch Scene in the Book of Abraham: Evidence of Authenticity," produced by FAIR
   • Lion Couch Scene in the Book of Abrah...  

"The Book Of Abraham – Missing Scrolls, Catalyst Theories, and Bad Apologetics" on Radio Free Mormon
Part 1: https://radiofreemormon.org/2018/12/r...
Part 2: https://radiofreemormon.org/2018/12/r...
Part 3: https://radiofreemormon.org/2019/02/r...

Robert Ritner's Curriculum Vitae
https://humanities-web.s3.us-east-2.a...

"Public Response to Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham," linked from Dr. Ritner's homepage at the University of Chicago
  / can_we_get_a_big_public_thank_you_for_dr_r...  

Radio Free Mormon
https://radiofreemormon.org/


00:00:00 Introduction and opening remarks
00:10:25 Ritner's childhood love for all things Egyptian
00:16:57 His parents wanted him to become an engineer and take over the family sheetrocking business
00:20:36 Training as an Egyptologist specifically on religious texts
00:26:37 Ritner's prominent Mormon pupil: John Gee
00:28:26 America's fascination with Egyptian artifacts in the early 19th century
00:38:51 Is it even possible that ancient Israelis would have been writing on gold plates in "reformed Egyptian"?
00:58:58 The real origin of the Kirtland scrolls and mummies
01:15:28 There is no possible way that Abraham authored the Book of Abraham
01:42:45 The Egyptian translation of Facsimile 1, in reality a common funerary text
02:34:27 John Gee and other church apologists know better and have intentionally misrepresented what the Facsimiles say
02:42:27 Supplementary images to understand Facsimile 1
03:23:10 Closing remarks and setup for Part 2