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So, basically, it showed that he was completely making up his 'translations' of hieroglyphs to say what he wanted them to say while pinning them as words of God

So, basically, it showed that he was completely making up his 'translations' of hieroglyphs to say what he wanted them to say while pinning them as words of God?

wl 4y ago
That's the conclusion most people with the relevant knowledge (hieroglyphs and Demotic) and no dog in the fight come to. On the other hand, there's plenty of apologetics arguing that the extant Joseph Smith papyri aren't actually the ones Joseph used to do his translation of the Book of Abraham. The mistranslation of the facsimiles doesn't really have an even marginally plausible apologetic explanation.
- scrapcode 4y ago
  > The mistranslation of the facsimiles doesn't really have an even marginally plausible apologetic explanation. It has always interested me that these possibilities are there and potentially just ignored in something so crucial as religion to ~15 million LDS worldwide. Thanks for the introduction.
  - wincy 4y ago
    I have a friend in the church and he’s like “dude why ask so many questions? What am I gonna do, leave the church and become a pariah to my family and friends?” He knows it’s BS but to him if they’ve got a good thing going, why not stick with it. I grew up in the church and left because of similar things and honestly he seems happier than I do. As I get older I think maybe it’s better to be happy than to be right. Most people unconsciously just naturally do this, and those of us with “engineer mindsets” where we can’t abide by obvious falsehoods for the sake of the tribe are the weird ones.
    - scrapcode 4y ago
      Man, this certainly resonates with me, especially recently. I grew up in a tight knit small town where we knew everyone. Now in my thirties with a small family, hundreds of miles from our hometowns, recently sober, and a fully remote job - it is extremely hard to make friends. Especially friends that feel real, other families that we can just hang out with and do normal things with. I've turned back to religion, listening to apologetics podcasts, etc., all trying to convince myself that I am a believer. A lot of it so I can put myself and my family into a community that we can connect with. I am really outside of my element these days.

So, basically, it showed that he was completely making up his 'translations' of hieroglyphs to say what he wanted them to say while pinning them as words of God?

wl 4y ago

That's the conclusion most people with the relevant knowledge (hieroglyphs and Demotic) and no dog in the fight come to. On the other hand, there's plenty of apologetics arguing that the extant Joseph Smith papyri aren't actually the ones Joseph used to do his translation of the Book of Abraham. The mistranslation of the facsimiles doesn't really have an even marginally plausible apologetic explanation.

scrapcode 4y ago
> The mistranslation of the facsimiles doesn't really have an even marginally plausible apologetic explanation. It has always interested me that these possibilities are there and potentially just ignored in something so crucial as religion to ~15 million LDS worldwide. Thanks for the introduction.
- wincy 4y ago
  I have a friend in the church and he’s like “dude why ask so many questions? What am I gonna do, leave the church and become a pariah to my family and friends?” He knows it’s BS but to him if they’ve got a good thing going, why not stick with it. I grew up in the church and left because of similar things and honestly he seems happier than I do. As I get older I think maybe it’s better to be happy than to be right. Most people unconsciously just naturally do this, and those of us with “engineer mindsets” where we can’t abide by obvious falsehoods for the sake of the tribe are the weird ones.
  - scrapcode 4y ago
    Man, this certainly resonates with me, especially recently. I grew up in a tight knit small town where we knew everyone. Now in my thirties with a small family, hundreds of miles from our hometowns, recently sober, and a fully remote job - it is extremely hard to make friends. Especially friends that feel real, other families that we can just hang out with and do normal things with. I've turned back to religion, listening to apologetics podcasts, etc., all trying to convince myself that I am a believer. A lot of it so I can put myself and my family into a community that we can connect with. I am really outside of my element these days.