“Is it possible that a record written by Abraham, and another by Joseph, containing the most important revelation that God ever gave to man, should be entirely lost by the tenacious Israelites, and preserved by the unbelieving Egyptians, and by them embalmed and deposited in the catacombs with an Egyptian priest[?]….I venture to say no, it is not possible. It is more likely that the records are those of the Egyptians.”

William S. West, A Few Interesting Facts Respecting the Rise, Progress and Pretensions of the Mormons. (Braceville, OH: Self-Published, 1837), 3.