Mormon historian caught lying

When Scholars Contradict Themselves: The Kirtland Egyptian Mummies and the Problem of Historical Accuracy

What happens when the historians we trust to tell us the truth about our own history turn out to have gotten the facts wrong, or worse, to have misrepresented them deliberately? This question sits at the heart of a significant moment in Mormon historical scholarship, one that deserves careful attention from anyone invested in understanding the factual record of Latter-day Saint origins. The case involves competing narratives about the Egyptian mummies that came to Kirtland, Ohio in the 1830s, artifacts central to the Book of Abraham's historical foundation.

For decades, Mormon church historians and scholars told a consistent story about the mummies: they came to Kirtland, Joseph Smith examined them, they generated considerable excitement in the community, and scrolls accompanied them. The narrative seemed straightforward enough. Yet when researchers have cross-referenced the documentary record, contemporary journals, letters, and accounts from Kirtland residents who were actually present, a more complicated picture emerges. Some scholars have made claims about what we do and do not know regarding these artifacts that do not align with the available evidence.

The Kirtland Mummies: What the Primary Sources Actually Tell Us

The documentary record from Kirtland is surprisingly robust on this subject. Multiple contemporary accounts mention the mummies and reference the scrolls that accompanied them. Residents of the community left written records discussing their observations and the public interest these artifacts generated.

Yet in recent scholarly discussions, some historians have claimed that the historical record is silent on a crucial detail: exactly how many scrolls arrived with the mummies. The argument goes something like this: we know mummies came, we know people were excited, but "nobody ever tells us" the specific number of scrolls. According to Mormon Stories Podcast, which has covered these debates in detail, some scholars have assertively stated that this information is simply not available in the historical record.