One of the books of official scripture in
Mormonism. The Book of Abraham was created when
Joseph Smith, the religion's founder, purchased some
Egyptian funereal scrolls from a travelling showman, "translated" them, and provided interpretations for some accompanying diagrams. He claimed the scrolls were written "by the hand of
Abraham" and contained some of what are now
Mormonism's deeper doctrines (i.e.
Kolob).
The scrolls were lost for a time, but they have since been rediscovered and translated by Egyptologists, who state unanimously that they are common funereal scrolls which date from a time period when Abraham would not have been able to write them. This revelation has pushed some Mormon apologists to propose the theory that the scrolls were merely a catalyst for a "translation" that was actually more of an inspired writing, rather than a true source text.