Improvement Era, 1913 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Religion

"The 'sacred Books' of the Mormons".

(A protest against misrepresentation. By Sterling B. Talmage, B.S., curator of the Deseret Museum.)

An article under the above caption, from the pen of Prof. Edgar J. Banks, of Toledo University, appeared in the Christian Herald of Jan. 29, 1913. purporting to be an additional argument in favor of Bishop Spalding's recent denunciation of the Book of Abraham, but in reality little more than a passing notice of the Bishop's pamphlet, without raising any new points. The only new thoughts expressed in the article are decidedly original with the author, and so inconsistent with known history as to call for a word of protest against their presentation under the guise of fact.

The whole article shows that the author's acquaintance with the "Sacred Books of the Mormons" is decidedly superficial and apparently derived from hearsay only, and evinces a lack of careful study and painstaking verification of facts which seems remarkable in view of the author's scientific standing. An editorial footnote characterizes Prof. Banks as "one of America's most distinguished archeologists," and gives a list of his accomplishments along the line of archeological research. A perusal of the article itself makes one wonder whether that explanatory note was not inserted in selfdefense by the editors of the paper, that they might not be open to the charge of publishing an amateurish review of Bishop Spalding's recent pamphlet, supplemented by a few notes from some encyclopedia, and with a liberal sprinkling of purely imaginative matter.

True, the literary style of the article referred to is finished, but the author's palpable exaggerations and feeble presentation of unsupported arguments rob the article of most of its force as an argument against the divinity of Joseph Smith's work.

The first thing that strikes one in reading over this article is the number of things which the writer says can be "seen at a glance" by a mere tyro in Egyptology. Thus we are told that "The most elementary student of Egyptian may see at a glance from the translation that Smith had not the slightest knowledge of the Egyptian language, or history, or burial customs, and that the source of his inspiration was equally ignorant of these things." Also "A mere glance at Smith's drawing, crude, as it is, convinces the student of Egyptian burial customs that the Mormon prophet understood absolutely nothing of what he attempted to copy and to explain." And in reference to a certain figure "Any student of Egyptology can see at a glance that it is but the Egyptian sun-god in his boat," and more to the same effect. Apparently the author considered a superficial glance at Bishop Spaldings pamphlet sufficient, for he has simply appropriated some of the ideas expressed by the jury of scholars, altered the wording slightly, supplemented this with a few purely imaginary items of "Mormon" history, and presented this to the unsuspecting editors of The Herald as his own work. NOT ONE NEW ARGUMENT against the Book of Abraham is given; every one has been already published AND REFUTED.

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