Mormonism’s “Book of Abraham” and Modern Astronomy

A supposedly “inspired” translation is ridiculed by modern science

Introduction

The Book of Abraham is a standard “inspired work” of the Mormon Church, translated under “inspiration” by Joseph Smith from Egyptian papyri bough by Smith from a traveller and identified falsely by him as a record of Abraham in ancient Egypt (when in actual fact they were nothing more than pagan funeral texts – see the link under Archaeology on the main page for more info).

Facsimile No. 2 of the Book of Abraham, which deals with discussions of astronomical issues, has the following commentary for figure 5:

“Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh: this is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians to be the sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash…This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob.“

There are two errors in this passage, the first being the identification of the sun as a “planet” which we know it is not. In fact, the Book of Abraham, 3:5 describes the moon as a “planet,” another astronomical error in the supposedly “inspired” translation of Joseph Smith.

But now note very carefully the words I have highlighted in bold. The sun, according to the “inspired” Book of Abraham, receives its light from the revolutions of Kolob. According to the Book of Abraham 3:3, Kolob is the “great” star which governs (or governed) the earth. It is from this star, then, that the sun supposedly received its light.

But what does modern science tell us? The sun generates its own light and energy through the process of nuclear fusion. It has nothing whatsoever to do with “borrowing light” from some other star. The nonsensical astronomical account in the Book of Abraham is nothing more that the idle specualtion of a 19th century religious leader who knew nothing of nuclear fusion and was merely relaying his own speculation on the matter.