Joseph Smith Papyri

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A portion of the Joseph Smith Papyri

The Joseph Smith Papyri (JSP) are Egyptian funerary papyrus fragments from ancient Thebes dated between 300 and 100 BC which, along with four mummies, were once owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith purchased the mummies and papyrus documents from a traveling exhibitor in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835.[1][2] Smith said that the papyrus contained the records of the ancient patriarchs Abraham and Joseph.

In 1842, Smith published the first part of the Book of Abraham, which he said was an inspired translation from the papyri.[3][4] The consensus among both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars is that the characters on the surviving papyrus fragments do not match Smith's translation. A translation of the Book of Joseph was never published by Smith, but the scroll purported to be the untranslated Book of Joseph has been found to be a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a common funerary document, which contains no references to the biblical patriarch Joseph.[5][6]

After Smith's death, the papyri passed through several hands; they were presumed to have reached a museum in Chicago and subsequently destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Not all of the fragments were burned, however, and some were eventually acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1947.[7] The museum knew the importance of the papyri to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and, in 1966, reached out to church leaders to notify them of their collection. The LDS Church acquired the fragments in 1967.[8] The rediscovery of the papyri sparked renewed interest and scholarship. Due to the importance of the papyri to the Latter Day Saint movement, they have been heavily studied and debated.[9]

  1. ^ Ritner 2013, p. 1.
  2. ^ Gee 2000, p. 3.
  3. ^ "Introduction". www.churchofjesuschrist.org.
  4. ^ For the distribution of the manuscript fragments, see John Gee, "Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri," in The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, ed. Stephen D. Ricks et al. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2000), 188—91; and John Gee, A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2000), 10—13.
  5. ^ Quinten, Barney (April 2016). "The Joseph Smith Papyri and the Writings of Joseph of Egypt". Journal of Mormon History. 42 (2): 95–109. doi:10.5406/jmormhist.42.2.0095. JSTOR 10.5406/jmormhist.42.2.0095.
  6. ^ "Wilson, John A. The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, Translations and Interpretations; Dialogue Journal 1968" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Review of the Year 1947," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 7/1 (1948): 17.
  8. ^ "I Have a Question". Ensign. July 1988. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  9. ^ Ritner, R. K. (2013). The Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri: A complete edition; P. JS 1-4 and the hypocephalus of Sheshonq. Salt Lake City: The Smith Pettit Foundation. Page 6