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The Book of Abraham is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1842 by Joseph Smith. Smith said the book was a translation from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo, and purchased by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from a traveling mummy exhibition on July 3, 1835.[1] According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records... purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus".[2] The Book of Abraham is about Abraham's early life, his travels to Canaan and Egypt, and his vision of the cosmos and its creation.
The Latter-day Saints believe the work is divinely inspired scripture, published as part of the Pearl of Great Price since 1880. It thus forms a doctrinal foundation for the LDS Church and Mormon fundamentalist denominations, though other groups, such as the Community of Christ, do not consider it a sacred text. The book contains several doctrines that are particular to Mormonism, such as the idea that God organized eternal elements to create the universe (instead of creating it ex nihilo), the potential exaltation of humanity, a pre-mortal existence, the first and second estates, and the plurality of gods.
The Book of Abraham papyri were thought to have been lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and in the LDS Church archives. They are now referred to as the Joseph Smith Papyri. Upon examination by professional Egyptologists (both Mormon and otherwise), these fragments were identified as Egyptian funerary texts, including the "Breathing Permit of Hôr"[nb 1] and the "Book of the Dead", among others. Although some Mormon apologists defend the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, no scholars regard it as an ancient text.[3]
- ^ Gee 2000a, pp. 4–6
- ^ Smith 1842, p. 704.
- ^ Ritner 2013, pp. 7–8
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