Why Abraham leave his Homeland

The book of Abraham as one of the inspired scriptures translated by Joseph Smith. The LDS claim it as one of the Standard Works or a Holy Scripture, while some others mostly critics found it to be hoax and Joseph Smith was a fraud. Some scholars agree that the papyrus of which the Source of this Book of Abraham were no other than the Book of Breathing. But what amazed us was that how it reconcile some of the ancient writing unknown to Joseph's time.

On the first few verse on the first chapter of The Book of Abraham tells a story about Abraham himself and His father and Why he decide to leave the land where he lived. Let's try to open up some of it and see what we can find -

The Book Of Abraham

[Chapter 1] 

In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence;

2 And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.

3 It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.

4 I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed.

5 My fathers, having turned from their righteousness, and from the holy commandments which the Lord their God had given unto them, unto the worshiping of the gods of the heathen, utterly refused to hearken to my voice;

6 For their hearts were set to do evil, and were wholly turned to the god of Elkenah, and the god of Libnah, and the god of Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash, and the god of Pharaoh, king of Egypt;

... 

There's a part of the first chapter and here we know something about worshiping of idols and his father turns his belief in worshiping idols. Abraham who feared the Lord, decide to leave the place even to the house of his Father. He did this to worship God and the Priesthood was passed by him because of Righteousness.

Those are some of the cut verses and some brief event of his life.

The Bible did not mention specifically about idolatry of his Father, but rather God commanded him to leave the place.

Why and what's the reason behind God's instruction to leave behind his homeland his or everything around him.

[Genesis 11]

... 

27 ¶ Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

The story is just right there, they just left and went to Canaan and dwelt in Haran, then his Father died. And after his father died the Lord instructed them to get out of the land on the next chapter - 

[Genesis 12]

1. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4. Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Okay, so were there any deeper reasons that makes more sense about the instructions? God could anytime make Abraham "a great nation" (as his promised blessings) wherever he lives or wanted to live. But the instruction is clear to leave even the House of his Father. What really happens left a mystery as to why would God instruct Abraham to leave in the House of his Father. There must be some deeper reason as to why Lot and his Family leave the Sodom and Gomorrah? But just as what is written, Abraham will be blessed as "a great nation". So, this Book of Abraham seem nothing really correlated as to what the bible just said. But here's some of the writings that you might think how this Joseph Smith made up such things that perfect coincide some of other documents that he never knew existed in his time. Here let's read the 12th chapter of the Book of Jubilees and will take some parts of it - 

The Book of Jubilees

From www.pseudepigrapha.com see whole chapter just click on that link. 

Abram seeks to run Terah from idolatry, 1-8. Marries Sarai, 9. Haran and Nachor, 9-11. Abram burns the idols: death of Haran, 12-14 (cf. Gen. xi.28). Terah and his family go to Haran, 15. Abram observes the stars and prays, 16-21. Is bidden to go to Canaan and blessed, 22-4. Power of speaking Hebrew given to him, 25-7. Leaves Haran for Canaan, 28-31. (Cf. Gen. xi.31-xii.3.)

[Chapter 12]

1. And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, [1904 A.M.] that Abram said to Terah his father, saying, 'Father!'
2. And he said, 'Behold, here am I, my son.' And he said, What help and profit have we from those idols which thou dost worship, And before which thou dost bow thyself?
3. For there is no spirit in them, For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart. Worship them not:
4. Worship the God of heaven,
5. Who causes the rain and the dew to descend on the earth and does everything upon the earth, And has created everything by His Word, And all life is from before His face. Why do ye worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of (men's) hands, And on your shoulders do ye bear them, And ye have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: Worship them not.'
6. And his father said unto him, I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them?
7. And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaves to them to worship them and honour them.
8. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay thee.' And these words he spake to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent.

And here's another History of Abraham written in a Script called "The Apocalypse of Abraham". And see how the story goes.

The Apocalypse of Abraham

[Chapter 1]

1. On the day I was guarding the gods of my father Terah and the gods of my brother Nahor, while I was testing (to find out) which god is in truth the strongest,

2. I (then) Abraham, at the time when my lot came, when I was completing the services, of my father Terah’s sacrifice to his gods of wood, of stone, of gold, of

3. silver, of copper, and of iron, having entered their temple for the service, I found a god named Marumath, carved from stone, fallen at the feet of the iron god

4. Nakhin. And it came to pass, that when I saw it my heart was perplexed and I thought in my mind that I, Abraham, could not put it back in its place alone,

5. because it was heavy, (being made) of a big stone. But I went and told my father,

6. and he came in with me. And when we both lifted it to put it in its place, its head

7. fell off, even while I was holding it by its head. And it came to pass, when my father saw that the head of his god Marumath had fallen, he said to me, "Abraham!:

8. And I said, "Here I am!" And he said to me, "Bring me the axes and chiselsfrom the house. "And I brought them to him

9. from the house. And he cut another Marumath from another stone, without a head, and he smashed the head that had fallen off Marumath and the rest of Marumath.

[Chapter 2]

1. He made five other gods and he gave then to me and ordered me to sell them

2. outside on the town road. I saddled my father’s ass and loaded them on it and

3. went out on the highway to sell them. And behold merchants from Phandana of Syria were coming with camels, on their way to Egypt to buy kokonil from

4. the Nile. I asked them a question and they answered me. And walking along I conversed with them. One of their camels screamed. The ass took fright and ran away and threw off the gods. Three of them were crushed and two remained

5. (intact). And it came to pass that when the Syrians saw that I had gods, they said to me. ""Why did you not tell us that you had gods? We would have bought them

6. before the ass.heard the camel’s voice and you have had no loss. Give us

7. at least the gods that remain and we will give you a suitable price." I considered it in my heart. And they paid both for the smashed gods and the gods which

8. remained. For I had been grieving in my heart how I would bring payment to my

9. father. I threw three broken (gods) into the water of the river Gur, which was in this place. And they sank into the depths of the river Gur and were no more.

[Chapter 3]

1. As I was still walking on the road, my heart was disturbed and my mind

2. distracted. I said in my heart, "What is the inequality of activity which my

3. father is doing? Is it not he rather who is god for his gods, because they come

4. into being from his sculpting, his planning, and his skill? They ought to honor my father because they are his work. What is this food of my father in his works?

5. Behold, Marumath fell and could not stand up in his sanctuary, nor could I myself

6. lift him until my father came and we raised him up. And even so we were not able (to do it) and his head fell off of him. And he put it on another stone of

7. another god, which he had made without a head. And... the other five gods which got smashed (in falling) from the ass, who could not save themselves and injure the ass because it smashed them, nor did their shards come up out of the

8. river. And I said to my heart, "If it is so, how then can my father’s god Marumath, which has the head of another stone and which is made from another stone, save a man, or heart a man’s prayer, or give him any gift?"

[Chapter 4]

1. And thinking thus, I came to my father’s house. And I watered the ass and gave him hay. And I took out the silver and placed it in the hand of my father Terah.

2. And when he saw it, he was glad, and he said, "You are blessed. Abraham, by the god of my gods, since you have brought me the price for the gods, so that my

3. labor was not (in) vain." And answering I said to him, "Listen, father Terah! The gods are blessing in you, because you are a god for them, because you made

4. them, for their blessing is their perdition and their power is vain. They did not

5. help themselves; how then can they help you or bless me? I was good for you in this transaction, for through my good sense I brought you the silver for the

6. smashed (gods)." And when he heard my speech he became furiously angry with me, because I had spoken harsh words against his gods.

[Chapter 5]

1. 1But having pondered my father’s anger, I went out. And afterward when I had

2.(3.) gone out, he called me saying, "Abraham!" And I said, "Here I am!" And he said, "Up, gather wood chips, for I was making gods from fir before you came,

4. and prepare with them food for my midday meal." And it came to pass, when I was choosing the wooden chips, I found among them a small god which would

5.(6.) fit...in my left hand. And on its forehead was written: god Barisat. And it came to pass when I put the chips on the fire in order to prepare the food for my father, and going out to inquire about the food, I put Barisat near the enkindling

7. fire, saying to him threateningly, "Barisat, watch that the fire does not go out

8. before I come back! If the fire goes out, blow on it so it flares up." I went out

9. and I made my counsel. When I returned I found Barisat fallen on his back. His

10. feet enveloped by fire and burning fiercely. And it came to pass when I saw it, I laughed (and) said to myself, "Barisat, truly you know how to light a fire and

11. cook food!" And it came to pass while saying this in my laughter, I saw (that)

12. he burned up slowly from the fire and became ashes. I carried the food to my

13. father to eat. I gave him wine and milk, and he drank and he enjoyed himself

14. and he blessed Marumath his god. And I said to him, "Father Terah, do not bless Marumath your god, do not praise him! Praise rather Barisat, your god, because, as though loving you, he threw himself into the fire in order to cook your food."

15.(16.) And he said to me, "Then where is he now?" And I said, "He has burned in the fierceness of the fire and become dust." And he said, "Great is the power of Barisat! I will make another today, and tomorrow he will prepare my food."

[Chapter 6]

1. When I, Abraham, heard words like this from my father, I laughed in my mind,

2. and I groaned in the bitterness and anger of my soul. I said, "How then is a

figment of a body made by him (Terah) an aid for my father? Or can he have subordinated (his) body to his soul, his soul to a spirit, and the spirit to stupidity

4. and ignorance?" And I said, "It is only proper to endure evil that I may throw

5. my mind to purity and I will expose my thoughts clearly to him." I answered and said, "Father Terah, whichever of these gods you extol, you err in your thought.

6. Behold, the gods of my brother Nahor standing in the holy sanctuary are more

7. venerable than yours. For behold, Zouchaios, my brother Nahor’s god is more venerable than your god Marumath because he is made of gold, valued by man.

8. And if he grows old with time, he will be remolded, whereas Marumath, if h

9. e is changed or broken, will not be renewed, because he is stone. What about Ioav, the god on the other god, who stands with Zouchaios? For he is also more venerable than the god Barisat; he is carved from wood and forged from silver. Because he too is a term of comparison, being valued by man according to external 10,11experience. But Barisat, your god, when he was still not carved, rooted in the

12. earth, being great and wondrous, with branches and flowers; and praise...But

13. you made him with an axe, and by your skill he was made a god. And behold

14. he has already dried up and his fatness has perished. He fell from the height to

15. the earth, he came from greatness to smallness, and the appearance of his face

17. wasted away. And, he himself was burned up by the fire and he became ashes

18. and is no more. And you say, Let me make another and tomorrow he will make

19. my food for me. But in perishing he left himself no strength for his (own) destruction."

[Chapter 7]

1. This I say:

2. Fire is more venerable in formation, for even the unsubdued (things) are subdued in it, and it mocks that which perishes easily by means of its

3. burning. But neither is it venerable, for it is subject to the waters.

4. But rather the waters are more venerable than it (fire), because they overcome fire and sweeten the earth

5. with fruits. But I will not call them god either, for the waters subside under the

6. earth and are subject to it. But I will not call it a goddess either, for it is dried by the sun (and) subordinated to man for his work.

7. More venerable among the gods, I say, is the sun, for with its rays it illuminates the whole universe and the various airs.

8. Nor will I place among the gods the one who obscures his course by means of the moon and the clouds.

9. Nor again shall I call the moon or the stars gods, because they too at times during the night dim their light.

10. Listen, Terah my father, I shall seek before you the God who created all the gods supposed by us (to exist).

11. For who is it, or which one is it who made the heavens crimson and the sun golden, who has given light to the moon and the stars with it, who has dried the earth in the midst of the many waters, who set you yourself among the things and who has sought me out in the perplexity of my thoughts?

12. I (only) God will reveal himself by himself to us!"

[Chapter 8]

1. And it cane to pass as I was thinking things like these with regard to my father Terah in the court of my house, the voice of the Mighty One came down from

2. the heavens in a stream of fire, saying and calling, "Abraham, Abraham!" And

3. I said, "Here I am." And he said, "You are searching of the God of gods, the

4. Creator, in the understanding of your heart. I am he. Go out from Terah, your father, and go out of the house, that you too may not be slain in the sins of your

5. father’s house." And it came to pass as I went out-I was not

6. yet outside the entrance of the court- that the sound of a great thunder came and burned him and his house and everything in his house, down to the ground, forty cubits.

[Chapter 9]

1.(2.) Then a voice came speaking to me twice: "Abraham, Abraham!" And I said, 1. Then a voice came to me speaking twice, "Abraham! Abraham!" and I said, "Here I am!" And He said, "Behold it is I, fear not for I am with you, for I AM before the ages, even the Mighty God who created the first light of the world. I am your shield and your helper."

3. "Here I am." And he said, "Behold, it is I, Fear not, for I an Before-the-World

4. and Mighty, the God who created previously, before the light of the age. I am

5. the protector for you and I am your helper.

Go, get me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon, 2. "Go, take me a young heifer of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, a turtledove and a pigeon, and bring me a pure sacrifice. And in this sacrifice I will lay before you the ages to come, and make known to you what is reserved, and you shall see great things which you have not hitherto seen:

6. and make me a pure sacrifice. And in this sacrifice I will place the ages. I will announce to you guarded things and you will see great things which you have not

7. seen, because you desired to search for me, and I called you my beloved. But for forty days abstain from every kind of food cooked by fire, and from drinking 3. because you have loved to search me out, and I have named you 'my friend.' But abstain from every form of food that comes forth out of the fire, and from the drinking of wine, and from anointing yourself with oil, for forty days, and then set forth for me the sacrifice which I have commanded you, in a place which I will show you on a high mountain, and there I will show you the ages which have been created and established by my word, and I will make known to you what shall come to pass in them on those who have done evil and righteousness in the generations of men."

8. of wine and from anointing (yourself) with oil. And then you shall set out for me the sacrifice, which I have commanded you, in the place which I will show you

9. on a high mountain. And there I will show you the things which were made by

10. the ages and by my word, and affirmed, created, and renewed. And I will announce to you in them what will come upon those who have done evil and just things in the race of man."

What happens here was that, the "Book of Abraham" which was Translated by Joseph Smith through Revelation could be incorrect or maybe Joseph's just telling the truth as what he received from Heaven. Those writings makes it more detailed on Abraham's days and the worship of idols in their lands and in his father's Household. Biblical, it wasn't mentioned, but this proves something about the Book of Abraham and Joseph Smith's Revelation. It's for you to find out.