Source:Introduction to Book of Abraham Manuscripts:The Joseph Smith Papers:Joseph translated the Book of Abraham by revelation through the Urim and Thummim

The Joseph Smith Papers: Joseph translated the Book of Abraham by revelation through the Urim and Thummim

The Joseph Smith Papers: Joseph translated the Book of Abraham by revelation through the Urim and Thummim

"Introduction to Book of Abraham Manuscripts," The Joseph Smith Papers, The Church Historian's Press:

Little is known concerning the process JS employed in bringing forth the Book of Abraham, and only a few ambiguous observations are available. For instance, John Whitmer, an early church historian, recorded in July 1835 that JS “by the revelation of Jesus Christ could translate these records, which gavee an account of our forefathers, even Abraham.” (Whitmer, History, 76) In a critical account published in the Painesville Republican in 1838, JS’s former scribe Warren Parrish noted that he had “set by his [JS’s] side and penned down the translation of the Egyptian hieroglyphicks as he claimed to receive it by direct inspiration of Heaven.” (Letter to the Editor dated 5 February 1838, Painesville Republican, 15 February 1838, Vol. II, No. 14–15) In February 1842, as he was “assisting in setting the tipe for printing the first peace of the book of abraham” to be presented to the world, Wilford Woodruff spoke of the power of Joseph the Seer “to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God; to translate through the Urim & Thummim Ancient records & Hyeroglyphics as old as Abraham or Adam.” (Woodruff, Journal, 19 February 1842)