Episode 253: Who Was Joseph Smith? [Part 2] with Eric Johnson of Mormonism Research Ministry

The Book of Abraham is considered to be sacred scripture by mainstream Latter-day Saints today. Joseph Smith claimed that the Egyptian papyri from which the Book of Abraham had come was the authentic, autograph original of Abraham himself, detailing his sojourn in Egypt. But through a series of events, those original papyri which were thought to have been lost, resurfaced in 1966 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is now widely acknowledged, even by some in the mainstream LDS Church, that Smith's translation was not in accordance with what the papyri actually described. We continue with our July 2024 presentation from Eric Johnson of Mormonism Research Ministry (www.MRM.org) about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Here on part two, Eric provides more details about the origins and translations of the Book of Abraham. We also feature a question-and-answer session with Eric and our Watchman Fellowship Utah Mission Team. This training took place at MRM's new Utah Christian Research Center in Draper, Utah (www.utahchristianresearchcenter.com).Eric Johnson has been a student of Mormonism since 1987 when he first served as a summer missionary to Utah. Eric graduated from San Diego State University as well as at Bethel Seminary San Diego. Eric cohosts the daily radio program Viewpoint on Mormonism and writes for MRM’s Mormonism Researched newsletter.  He is the co-author of Answering Mormons’ Questions: Ready Responses for Inquiring Latter-day Saints (Kregel, 2013),  Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Baker Book, 2015) and Introducing Christianity to Mormons (Harvest House, 2022).Related Links: Get the rest of the story including some of our most popular podcasts on Mormonism, access to some of our key LDS articles and our free, 4-page Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism): Watchman Fellowship articles on Mormonism: watchman.org/LDS Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: watchman.org/Mormonism Additional ResourcesFREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: watchman.org/notebook. SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.