I want to say to you, read the book, the Pearl of Great Price, and read the Book of Abraham. The Pearl of Great Price I hold to be one of the most intelligent, one of the most religious books that the world has ever had; but more than that, to me the Pearl of Great Price is true in its name. It contains an ideal of life that is higher and grander and more glorious than I think is found in the pages of any other book unless it be the Holy Bible. It behooves us to read these things, understand them: and I thank God when they are attacked, because it brings to me, after a study and thought, back to the fact that what God has given He has given, and He has nothing to retract." - Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report (April 1913), 74

"...it must be evident to all who seriously consider the matter, that if the Book of Abraham as given to us by Joseph Smith be true, it must have been translated by a greater than human power." - George Reynolds, The Book of Abraham: Its Authenticity Established as a Divine and Ancient Record (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1879), 4

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Journal of Discourses - Orson Pratt - 1878

In August 1878, Orson Pratt delivered a discourse regarding revelation.  In his discourse he recounted some of the revelations and scriptures given by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith and in connection with this, Elder Pratt briefly discussed the history of the Book of Abraham as it was understood at that time. He also mentioned that through revelation Joseph Smith could translate by aid of the Urim and Thummim. The portion of his discourse regarding the Book of Abraham is found in Journal of Discourses, 20:64-65.


 

2 comments:

  1. I find it interesting no one points out that the book of breathing is only in black ink and this journal says that the Book Of Abraham was in red and black ink. Also if you look at some photos of the dead sea scrolls many of the writing is done in red a black. I do not see this pointed out and talked about.

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    1. Hello brookesaves - thanks for the comment. I agree, it is an overlooked point and should be discussed further. At some point, when I'm done uploading documents, this blog will be redirected towards discussion of Book of Abraham related topics. This is definately one that will be discussed. If I remember correctly, Oliver Cowdery also described the Book of Abraham text as including black and red (rubric) text.
      As far as the Dead Sea Scrolls, I'm not sure what connection you are making there. Feel free to elaborate.
      Thanks,
      Tim

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