Anti-Mormons |
Nelson’s claim that the LDS Church “commissioned” him to translate the papyri is absurd in that fact that this is not the way the Church operates. If Church wanted the papyri translated (and there was no reason that it should be-- Joseph’s translation used the papyri as a vehicle for more in-depth revelations which literal translations could not provide) they would have turned to several world experts, not the unknown Dee Jay Nelson. Nelson has never been able to demonstrate that the Church ever asked him to do anything.
As the Browns investigated Nelson’s credentials they found that it was Nelson who was perpetrating the fraud. Nelson’s B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology were received from Pacific Northwestern University. With some research the Browns discovered that “Pacific Northwestern University is found to be an unethical ‘diploma mill’ subsequently shut down by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Washington!” An advertisement for a degree from Pacific Northwestern states: “`No classes... low cost... custom printed... seal to attest to its authenticity... no studying... no exams... you will receive one transcript with diploma to provide proof of authenticity of your diploma... additional copies of the transcript will be mailed to whomever you wish for a small fee... satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded’” (emphasis Brown’s). Prices for the degree of one’s desire are listed as follows: Bachelor’s degree-- $85.00; Master’s degree-- $140.00; Doctor’s degree-- $195.00.
Nelson claimed that his second Ph.D. came from the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago which is an impressive school. Both the record department of the Institute, however, as well as world-renowned Dr. Klaus Baer (Egyptologist) said that Nelson had never attended the Oriental Institute. Nelson claimed to have received his M.S. in Egyptology from the University of California-- Berkeley. When checking with the admissions of that school it was discovered that he had never attended Berkeley either.
In truth, Nelson had dropped out of high school after two years, joined the army, then got his G.E.D. (General Equivalency Degree-- equivalent to a high school degree) after which he enrolled in Eastern Montana College which he dropped out of before the end of the quarter. Dee Jay Nelson was a high-school and college drop-out. To go along with his fake degrees, Nelson has boasted the title of “professor” and claimed to be a “‘Professor’ of Egyptology at Rocky Mountain College, Billings, Montana.” When the Browns contacted Rocky Mountain College, they said that Nelson was not a professor there but taught volunteer, non-credit courses on topics of interest to the community. The credentials of volunteer workers are not checked. In addition to his false academic credentials, Nelson claimed to have made four licensed digs in Egypt. The Browns checked with the American Research Center in Cairo, Egypt, who replied:
Michael R. Ash