In 1835, Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons) made a remarkable claim: he declared that an ancient Egyptian scroll he purchased from an antiquities dealer was a lost book of the biblical patriarch Abraham--a handwritten text dating back nearly 4,000 years! Joseph Smith claimed the ability to translate this scroll, and his translation, called the Book of Abraham, is part of the Mormon scripture today.

In 1967 the Metropolitan Museum in New York City made a startling announcement--they had discovered in their possession Egyptian papyrus documents that once belonged to Mormon founder Joseph Smith! Could these be the same papyri Jospeh used to translate the book of Abraham? Finally, modern Egyptologists could see for themselves whether or not Joseph's claims held true.

The Lost Book of Abraham retells the story of Joseph's amazing discovery and investigates the veracity of his translation. This compelling documentary visits prominant Egyptologists and scholars, both Mormon and non-Mormon, in an attempt to uncover the truth about this fascinating episode in Mormon history.

Release Date: 2002
Produced by: Institute for Religious Research
Runtime: 55 minutes

Formats/Languages Available:

DVD (English / Spanish)