The KEPA Manuscripts as Oral Dictation Transcripts

[_William Schryver]

There ain’t nothin’ like runnin’ the controls to a powerful front loader and using it to artfully and skillfully dump horse manure in your garden and on your pastures. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it . . . ;-)

If I ever get goosebumps over the prospect of dumping horse manure, will somebody please shoot me?

Simple pleasures, Shades, simple pleasures . . .

There's gotta be somebody else on this board who can relate. It's the same kind of thing that hobby gardeners feel when they squeeze warm fertile soil through their fingers in late April. It's what Steven Stills was singing about:

Woodstock

Well I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him tell where are you going
This he told me:

Said "I am going down to Yasgur's farm
Going to join in a rock and roll band
Got to get back to the land to set my soul free"

We are stardust, we are golden
We are billion year old carbon
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden

Well then can I walk beside you
I have come to lose the smog
And I feel like I'm a cog in something turning
And maybe it's the time of year
Yes and maybe it's the time of man
And I don't know who I am
But life is for learning

We are stardust, we are golden
We are billion year old carbon
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden

By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes
Riding shotgun in the sky
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation

We are stardust, we are golden
We are caught in the devil's bargain
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden

But Metcalfe and I are probably the only ones old enough to have been around back then, let alone understand . . .

[_gramps]

Well, except that he didn't write it. That is a Joni Mitchell song, is it not?

I was around then, too. Same high school graduating class along with Brent.

Hi Brent! I'm coming in to slc next October. Maybe we can hook up.

And gosh, Will, I'm flying into Vegas, so maybe an old apostate can drop by and ride your horses and, of course, help you spread some manure around. :)

[_Paul Osborne]

#3 - Abraham 1:11
Book of Abraham - “Onitah, one of the royal descent directly”
Ms1a - “Onitah, one of the xxxxxx royal descent directly”
Ms1b- “Onitah, one of the xxxxxx royal descent directly”
xxxxx is an illegible word that was crossed out by both scribes as the corrected term was made in transition. Again, if these were copies then the scribes must have coincidentally made copying errors in the same exact manner in the same exact places. What are the chances?

The scratching of a misread word while copying sacred text into a finer draft signifies sloppiness. It’s hard to accept that both scribes were sloppy in the same manner and in the exact same place. If these are indeed copy errors then I’d say the scribes were jinxed. The odds are certainly against it.

#4 Abraham 1:12
Book of Abraham - “I will refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record”
Ms1a - “I will refer you to the representation that is at the commencement of this record.”
Ms1b - "I will refer you to the representation, that is lying before you at the commencement of this record"
"that is lying before you" was crossed out and corrected in transition by William Parrish. The partial mistake was made by Williams who was probably transcribing at a slower pace and was corrected before getting past "that is." But the point here is that Brian and now Kerry Shirts, have argued that these can all be explained as "copying" errors just the same.

Brian and Kerry insult the intelligence of Warren Parrish by insinuating that he could make such a stupid mistake in copying texts. I’ll wager that Warren Parrish was more intelligent than both of them and did not make this error while copying but while listening to the prophet dictate.

The difference between me and my fellow LDS apologists is that they belittle Parrish and his his work while I praise it - "Behold the Lord’s scribe!"

Now, who are you going to believe; Kerry or Paul O?

Place your bets on the winner, folks.

:-)

Paul O

[_Paul Osborne]

Will,

Thank you for the link supplying Sam Brown’s lecture on the KEP. It was simply wonderful and highly refreshing. He has the correct perspective – he nailed it! Forget about what Nibley has said. Don’t bother with John Gee. Take Brown’s discourse and run all the way to the bank. There is no doubt in my mind that the workings of the KEP are inspired and Sam Brown has provided the most accurate description I’ve ever heard on the subject. The KEP will be vindicated.

I predict Brent Metcalfe will gain a profound respect for that work. I dare him to prove me wrong. I double dare him.

;-)

Paul O

[_William Schryver]

Well, except that he didn't write it. That is a Joni Mitchell song, is it not?

I was around then, too. Same high school graduating class along with Brent.

Hi Brent! I'm coming in to slc next October. Maybe we can hook up.

And gosh, Will, I'm flying into Vegas, so maybe an old apostate can drop by and ride your horses and, of course, help you spread some manure around. :)

gramps,

I actually initially wrote "when Joni Mitchell wrote", but then I realized I was going to quote the CSN version, sung by Steven Stills. It varies in minor respects from Joni's original version. I much prefer the CSN version. Great song. Great era -- in many ways, that is.

Let me know when you roll into Vegas. If you want to visit Cedar City, let me know in advance. I might be able to find you a good cheap room. I have a few connections in the local hospitality industry.

[_gramps]

Well, except that he didn't write it. That is a Joni Mitchell song, is it not?

I was around then, too. Same high school graduating class along with Brent.

Hi Brent! I'm coming in to slc next October. Maybe we can hook up.

And gosh, Will, I'm flying into Vegas, so maybe an old apostate can drop by and ride your horses and, of course, help you spread some manure around. :)

gramps,

I actually initially wrote "when Joni Mitchell wrote", but then I realized I was going to quote the CSN version, sung by Steven Stills. It varies in minor respects from Joni's original version. I much prefer the CSN version. Great song. Great era -- in many ways, that is.

Let me know when you roll into Vegas. If you want to visit Cedar City, let me know in advance. I might be able to find you a good cheap room. I have a few connections in the local hospitality industry.

Will, being that you are in Cedar City (and a good Mormon to boot) rather than Vegas, I will take the "hospitality" offer, as I am sure you meant it. :)

But, what, no offer to ride? I am saddened. Don't trust your horses with an apostate, I see.

Are you a fly fisherman? We could get out and do a little of that. Gosh, I miss fly fishing something awful. October, southern Utah, must be perfect for going after some of those big browns, huh?

By the way, I like both versions. I am both a big Joni Mitchell and Stephen Stills fan.

[_CaliforniaKid]

I have a few connections in the local hospitality industry.

I sold a thousand business cards to a pimp one time when I worked at Mailboxes, Etc. They said something like "Alonzo's Hospitality Service."

Maye you should get business cards. It could help supplement the software income. Heck, you could even combine your worlds and go digital!

[_gramps]

I have a few connections in the local hospitality industry.

I sold a thousand business cards to a pimp one time when I worked at Mailboxes, Etc. They said something like "Alonzo's Hospitality Service."

Maye you should get business cards. It could help supplement the software income. Heck, you could even combine your worlds and go digital!

LOL!

[_Paul Osborne]

#3 - Abraham 1:11
Book of Abraham - “Onitah, one of the royal descent directly”
Ms1a - “Onitah, one of the xxxxxx royal descent directly”
Ms1b- “Onitah, one of the xxxxxx royal descent directly”
xxxxx is an illegible word that was crossed out by both scribes as the corrected term was made in transition. Again, if these were copies then the scribes must have coincidentally made copying errors in the same exact manner in the same exact places. What are the chances?

#7 - Abraham 1:26
BoA- “and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him”
Ms1b – “and also of Noah, his father, xx xx xxx xxxx who blessed him”
Ms1b – “and also of Noah, his father, xx xx xxx xxxx who blessed him”
Both scribes wrote four illegible words before crossing them out and replacing them with the corrected text.

These are basic examples that prove the manuscripts were important in reflecting the truth contained in the canonical Book of Abraham. The records were set in order and every word was carefully combed over. Who can doubt that these pages are inseparably connected to the Book of Abraham sponsored by Joseph Smith’s Time’s and Seasons? Who can doubt the rest of the KEP having direct ties to Joseph Smith and his Book of Abraham? It’s a testimony that runs together – each part bearing witness of the other. These all run together as a collective effort to restore lost knowledge about Abraham, astronomy, and a pure language had by Adam’s posterity.

It does the prophet no honor when trying to separate the KEP from his authority as President of the Church. We LDS should honor the KEP as a work given by the hands of the Lord's servants – all this under the direction of the first seer of the latter days. No one receives inspiration for the whole Church and the giving of new revelation for the whole Church except through the President of the Church. Those who set their pens to the KEP knew this to be true.

Finally, whether these manuscripts are copies from a master copy or actual transcripts that fell from the prophet’s lips makes little difference to their value. They are sacred text nonetheless – preserved by the hands of the Lord’s apostles. Therefore, whether the corrections were made during dictation or copying there is no reason to suppose these works were not done under the direction of the Lord’s appointed servants for the benefit of the whole Church.


Paul O

[_Brent Metcalfe]

Hi Will,

Yes, Rock Band is like Guitar Hero III—only on steroids (in addition to slots for lead, rhythm, and bass controllers, the game includes a drum kit and microphone). Game development is my profession, and I'm always pleased when a game broadens the creative horizons of gamers.

I'd like a clarification before I respond to your rejoinder. You wrote:

I find your analysis entirely unpersuasive. In fact, I think the best explanation is just the opposite of what you have suggested. The pool of ink was left by the scribe’s pen immediately after he had finished writing the parenthesis, and in the course of his pen moving back up to the remainder of the insertion. Under greater magnification, there is a distinct connection between the termination of the parenthesis and the ink pool above. Also, the terminating bottom curve of the parenthesis can be seen to pass over the ascender of the "h".

[Bold emphasis added.]

When you say, "Under greater magnification," are you saying that,

• You've looked at the original manuscript "[u]nder greater magnification"?
  
• Brian Hauglid has looked at the original "[u]nder greater magnification" and concurs that the "parenthesis" must have been written after the "h" in "the" in the succeeding line?
  
  —or—
  
• <Insert your alternative explanation>?

I've already written a draft of my analysis of the variations in BoAbr mss. 1a (fldr. 2) and 1b (fldr. 3) that correspond to Abr. 1:12, but I'm hesitant to vet my arguments on an informal Web message board. For what it's worth, my analysis differs—in some instances, fundamentally—with your proposal and that of Kevin Graham, Paul Osborne, and Chris Smith (at least as far as I understand what Chris believes is plausible).

Hi Paul,

My experimentation with ink flow patterns should not be considered a "scientific proof" (whatever we may decide that to be); but my experiments with a quill pen (with and without a steel nib) satisfied my own curiosity about which character was almost certainly written first.

Hi gramps,

I'd love to spend an evening with you toasting glasses of wine to the class of '76; but, as luck would have it, I'm now living in the Puget Sound area.

Happy holidays to all!

My best,

</brent>