A poem that captures the spirit of the Book of Abraham.

Questions and answers given at an unknown time and place.
Answers the following questions: “What is the Prophet’s attraction to Egypt?”; “Why have the vast majority of people never known the Gospel?”; “What is the relationship between the Osiris myth and the Abraham story?”; “What is the pattern we must follow to become sons of God, to gain eternal life?”; “How do the three Facsimiles relate to that pattern?”; “What specifically is the Hypocephalus?”; and “What is the appeal of Light to the Egyptians? What does the Sun represent?” —from Gary Gillum

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Thirteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Sunday Evening, August 25, 1878. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

Introductory. The Discovery and subsequent history of the Mummies. Translation of the Papyrus by the Prophet Joseph.

Abraham’s early life in Ur. Human Sacrifices. The causes which led Abraham to leave Chaldea. Confirmatory testimony of Joshua, Josephus, the Book of Judith, etc.

Abraham as a preacher of righteousness. The testimony of Paul. His ministry in Ur and Haran. God’s covenant with him based on the Gospel.

Abraham in Egypt.—Confirmatory Statements of Josephus, Nicolaus of Damascus, etc. —Abraham’s influence on the Religions of Persia and Hindostan — Traces of Gospel teaching in the mythologies of the ancients.

Gospel ideas believed in by the Ancients.— First departures from the True Faith.—The Egyptian Worship of Adam and the Patriarchs.—The book of the Dead.

Traces of Gospel Ideas in Persian, Greek and Roman Mythologies. The Ancient Pagan Mysteries. The Circular Cut in The Book of Abraham, its import, etc.

The chronology of the Ancients, a Key to its mysteries—The anti-deluvian monarchs—Josephus and Chinese chronology.

Abraham on Pharaoh’s Throne. He makes a Treaty ending a One Hundred years’ war. The true system of Astronomy, Governing Planets, Kolob.

The System of Astronomy taught by Abraham proven true by recent research. Testimony of Various Authors. Admissions that the Ancients were taught scientific truths by Divine Revelation.

Abraham as a Pyramid Builder. Philition. The uses of the Pyramids. The Coffer a Baptismal Font, Symbolism in baptism for dead.

The Sacred Cubit. “One Day to a Cubit.” Alcyone—The Sun’s Distance. Pyramid References to Astronomical Truths.

Summary of Pyramid references. From the earth to Kolob. Additional reasons for accepting the Abrahamic system of astronomy.

Scientific Objections to the Prophet’s Translations of the Book of Abraham —M. Deveria’s Translation.

Samples of Ancient Languages in the Book of Abraham — Word Roots. Lack of Chronologic Sequence. Conclusion.

Argument as to when man was created, reconciling the apparent discrepancies in Genesis 1 and 2 and the Pearl of Great Price

Presents the opinions of scholars that the translation of the Pearl of Great Price was a total failure, and Smith’s inaccurate translation of the Book of Abraham dismisses any accuracy of the Book of Mormon.

Article mocks Joseph Smith’s claims that he translated the Book of Mormon under the inspiration of God, or that he had received gold plates. As proof that the Book of Mormon is fraudulent, Reverend F. S. Spalding of Utah’s Episcopal Church contacted eight renowned Egyptologists who state that the facsimiles are poorly copied and the translation was inept. Smith’s work is compared to artifacts found in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

This article shows that Bishop Spalding makes three unwarranted inferences in his pamphlet “Joseph Smith, Jr., As a Translator”—that the Book of Abraham is translated incorrectly, that the Book of Mormon cannot be authentic if the Book of Abraham is poorly translated, and that all Mormon belief should be discarded since the Book of Mormon is the basis of the religion.

This article answers F. S. Spalding’s allegations that the Book of Mormon is not true and Spalding’s claims that the Book of Abraham was falsely translated and therefore both documents are fraudulent.

This article refutes claims made by Rev. F. S. Spalding that the Book of Mormon was not an authentic book because the Book of Abraham was translated incorrectly and that surely means that Joseph Smith was not a translator. Sjodahl points out that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, whereas the book of Abraham required seven years of laborious study coupled with inspiration. One cannot be judged on the merits of the other.

Bishop F. S. Spalding of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Utah hopes to prove Joseph Smith a charlatan and his Book of Mormon a fraud by pointing out flaws in the facsimiles of the Pearl of Great Price.

This article explains why Reverent Spaulding’s testing of the Book of Mormon by examining the authenticity of the book of Abraham as an ancient Egyptian text is unfair. Latter-day Saints do not value the Bible less than the Book of Mormon. The belief of the Church is that both were divinely inspired of God and are placed on the same plane, though it is recognized that the Bible may have copyists’ errors.

Responds to an article by the same name written by Rev. Bishop F. S. Spaulding, who attempts to discredit the Book of Mormon by attacking the translation of the book of Abraham. The position of the RLDS church is that Spaulding was not able to discredit the Book of Mormon completely, and it is impossible and unfair to judge the Book of Mormon except upon its own merits.

A defense of F. S. Spaulding’s pamphlet Joseph Smith Jr., As a Translator that shows that Joseph Smith was either self-deceived or an impostor. Compares the facsimiles in Abraham and the characters of the Anthon transcript and asserts that the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon were written in the same Egyptian and therefore the Book of Mormon may be judged on the same basis as the Book of Abraham. The facsimiles have been proven to be falsely translated—thus the Book of Mormon also must surely be a false translation or a product of Joseph Smith.

The 1938–39 study manual for MIA

Reprinted in Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.
Discussions of the book of Enoch and its relationship to the Book of Abraham and other ancient texts and folklore.

Considers the verdict of the Egyptologists against the Book of Abraham in 1912 to be a sufficient control to repudiate the Book of Mormon.

Hugh Nibley discusses Reverend F. S. Spaulding’s handling of the booklet Joseph Smith as a Translator, concluding that Spaulding was partial in his method of consulting the opinions of the great Egyptologists of 1912 concerning the book of Abraham. An examination of their comments reveals inadequacy and inconsistency This paper anticipates the first section of the series A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.

“Now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” So lamented Moses in utter humility after seeing in vision the complexities of the planet Earth and her countless inhabitants. Shortly thereafter Moses was to see once again the earth and her. Imagine, however, his profound astonishment when, in answer to his plea for an explanation, the Lord revealed himself to Moses and told him of even more wondrous creations. “And worlds without number have I created. . . . For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power.” Other heavens and earths had already expired. New heavens, star systems with inhabitable planets, would be born in the distant future. Moses would surely have felt even more insignificant had not the Lord reassured him with his presence and the counsel that “all things are numbered unto me.”

Nibley’s own translation of an Egyptian funerary text.
This is Nibley’s translation of the most famous parallel version of the Egyptian text once in the possession of Joseph Smith. Cf. Richard A. Parker, “The Book of Breathings (Fragment 1, The ‘Sensen’ Text, with Restorations from Louvre Papyrus 3284),” Dialogue 3/2 (1968): 98–99; and Klaus Baer, “The Breathing Permit of Hôr: A Translation of the Apparent Source of the Book of Abraham,” Dialogue 3/3 (1968): 109–34. The hieratic text of P. Louvre 3284 is reproduced in BYU Studies 11/2 (1971): 154–56. **Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri

The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
This booklet is a compilation of essays on the book of Abraham published in the Improvement Era. It contains three broad sections. First, Hugh Nibley reviews the controversy that broke out in 1912 when a Protestant minister in Salt Lake City solicited the opinions of the leading Egyptologists of the day concerning the viability of Joseph Smith’s translation of the book of Abraham. The second seciton refers to the Egyptian milieu of Abraham’s time and shows how the text of the book of Abraham and the first facsimile have plausible ties. Third, Nibley discusses legends about Abraham from early Jewish and Christian apocrypha that can be compared to the book of Abraham.

Includes pictures of the Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri and letter of sale given to the Church by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art on 27 November 1967.
Written on 27 November 1967. Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Some 10 pages of this item consist of questions and answers.

Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham, articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Some thoughts on a fragment of parchment kept in the Church Historian’s Office.

A contribution to the continuing debate over the Joseph Smith Papyri and the historical authenticity of the Book of Abraham.

Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham: Articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
A review of a piece by Wallace Turner arguing against the authenticity of the Joesph Smith Papyri and the Book of Abraham, and a defense of the papyri and book themselves.

No abstract available.

Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham: Articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
A history of “The Book of Breathings” as well as a description of what it is.

Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham: Articles from BYU Studies, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Looks at several of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and rumors surrounding them that may or may not be true based on the lack of evidence surrounding them.

Map with explanation

Hugh Nibley defends Joseph Smith as a prophet by refuting so-called “evidence“ set forth about the origin of the Book of Abraham.

Written by an associate member of the Institute for Ancient Studies at Brigham Young University.
A discussion of Hugh Nibley’s book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri and its contributions to the understanding Latter-day Saints have of the papyri today.

Baer was an eminent Egyptologist and former teacher of Hugh Nibley, then teaching at the University of Chicago. From 1962 to 1975 letters were exchanged between the two friends. This copyrighted correspondence is part of the University of Chicago’s Klaus Baer Archives.
Nibley provides a listing of various reasons why one should give careful consideration to the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He deals with Joseph Smith’s version of the book of Enoch, with the Book of Abraham, various compelling elements of the Book of Mormon, and the role of prophetic warnings to the Saints.

Republished in 2005 in a richly illustrated volume with new format and additional material as Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 16. For reviews, see C. Wilfred Griggs, “A Great Fuss about a Scrap of Papyrus,” Ensign, October 1975. 84, and Eric Jay Olson, “A Hint of an Explanation,” Dialogue 9, no. 4 (1974): 74–75.
A translation and commentary on the so-called “Book of Breathings” that turned up among the Joseph Smith Papyri, containing parallels with early Christian materials.

Suggests parallels to Moses 1, which lie far beyond the reach of coincidence or daydreaming. The number of details and the order in which they occur make it perfectly clear that we are dealing with specific works of great antiquity which come from a common source. To show what they mean, they compare Moses’s, Abraham’s, and Adam’s confrontations with Satan.

In the “I Have a Question” series in the Ensign.
Questions about the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, answered for guidance, not as official statements of Church policy.

This essay was published as part of the section in Ensign called “I Have a Question.”
Questions about the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, answered for guidance, not as official statements of Church policy.

Examines three approaches to the Book of Abraham: ask the experts; examine Joseph Smith’s work in some broad and general aspects; and take a closer look at some particulars. Part 1 constitutes the first 8 pages and Part 2 the remainder of the manuscript. These materials were circulated in response to inquiries concerning the debate over the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, with a cover letter addressed to “Dear Brother, Sister, Friend,” which discussed the charges brought against the Book of Abraham by Dee J. Nelson, who advertised himself as a trained Egyptologist and a Latter-day Saint. Nibley raises questions about Mr. Nelson’s credentials, which were later shown to be bogus. For an exhaustive debunking of Mr. Nelson and his attack on the Book of Abraham, see Robert L. and Rosemary Brown, They Lie in Wait to Deceive, vol. 1, ed. Barbara Ellsworth, rev. ed. (Mesa, AZ: Brownsworth, 1982). For an example of uncritical use of Mr. Nelson’s “work” on the Book of Abraham, see Fawn M. Brodie’s “Supplement” to No Man Knows My History, 2nd ed. (New York: Knopf, 1971), where, preliminary to an attack upon Nibley’s views on the Book of Abraham (424), the reader is urged (on 423) to consult “Mormon scholar Dee Jay Nelson’s translation, The Joseph Smith Papyri, Parts I and II, and Joseph Smith’s Eye of Ra (Salt Lake City: Modern Microfilm, 1969).” Brodie and others anxious to find “authorities” who would assert that the Book of Abraham was fraudulent and hence that Joseph Smith had been involved in crafting false historical documents made somewhat uncritical use of both of Nelson’s essays.

The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians. The text available here is from the 2nd edition published in 2004. It is available only in PDF format. ISBN 0-8849-4338-0

Republished as a chapter in An Approach to the Book of Abraham, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 18.
A response by Nibley to a criticism of the historicity of the Book of Abraham by Edward H. Ashment at the Sunstone Theological Symposium at the University of Utah on 24–25 August 1979.

Hugh Nibley notes that variations within stereotyped images, such as a person about to be sacrificed on the lion couch, can have widely divergent interpretations, thus leaving room for Joseph Smith’s interpretation of Abraham on the altar.
This presentation contains suggestions for interpreting various features found in the Pearl of Great Price facsimiles.

This presentation contains suggestions for interpreting various features found in the Pearl of Great Price facsimiles. Hugh Nibley notes that variations within stereotyped images, such as a person about to be sacrificed on the lion couch, can have widely divergent interpretations, thus leaving room for Joseph Smith’s interpretation of Abraham on the altar. Facsimile 2 can be compared to apocryphal books about Abraham that describe a cosmic journey with elements resembling certain features in the book of Abraham. The coronation scene in Facsimile 3 also shows authentic elements.

Republished in 2000 in a second edition with new materials and illustrations as Abraham in Egypt, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 14.
Nibley examines the Book of Abraham’s striking connections with ancient texts and Egyptian religion and culture.

Adam, Moses, Abraham, and Noah in apocryphal writings and traditions

Joseph Smith’s study of Hebrew is related to the translation of the Book of Abraham

Blake Ostler examines what relationship exists between the papyri of the ancient Egyptian Book of Breathings possessed by Joseph Smith and the Book of Abraham. Ostler finds that Joseph Smith, in associating vignettes of the Book of the Dead to explain Abraham’s experiences, was actually duplicating an ancient practice about which he could not have known from secular sources available in his day.

Contents:

The Pearl of Great Price as Scripture / A. Theodore Tuttle
The New Edition of the Scriptures / Robert J. Matthews
Historical Background of the Pearl of Great Price: How the Book Came to Be / James P. Mitchell
Moses One: The Divine Prelude to the Holy Bible / H. Donl Peterson
To Prepare a People / William O. Nelson
Eschatology in the Pearl of Great Price / Rodney Turner
The Duel of the Kings / Richard D. Draper
Understanding Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham / James Roy Harris
Astronomy and the Book of Abraham / Fred Holmstrom

Reprinted in An Approach to the Book of Abraham, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 18.
This essay contains Nibley’s views on the Book of Abraham presented in the form of questions and answers.

An in-depth review of Hugh Nibley’s book Abraham in Egypt.

A 36-page typescript, with an additional 8 pages of figures.

Originally printed as an article in the Improvement Era series There Were Jaredites.
Discussions of the book of Enoch and its relationship to the Book of Abraham and other ancient texts and folklore.

Review of . . . By His Own Hand upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri (1992), by Charles M. Larson.

Review of . . . By His Own Hand upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri (1992), by Charles M. Larson.

Review of “The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review” (1993), by Edward H. Ashment.

In this informal lecture, Hugh Nibley proposes that exploring the explanations of the facsimiles was not timely in Joseph Smith’s day, but the 1960s opened avenues for serious investigation. He reviews some of the mythical details in the Egyptian account of the premortal council. He also cites examples of Egyptian truisms that relate to Hebrew wisdom literature.

Full transcript.
Has the time come to know the meanings of figures 12–20 in Facsimile 2? Hugh Nibley responds.

Review of The Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham: A Study of the Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri (1990), by James R. Harris; For His Ka: Essays Offered in Memory of Klaus Baer (1994), edited by David P. Silverman; and The Story of the Book of Abraham: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Mormonism (1995), by H. Donl Peterson.

Prophesying of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Nephi foretold that an unlearned man would be asked by God to read the words of a book after a learned man had failed to do so. The unlearned man was initially unwilling, claiming, “I am not learned” (2 Nephi 27:19). One interpretation of Nephi’s account is that Joseph Smith could not translate the Book of Mormon before the meeting of Martin Harris and Charles Anthon. Early historical accounts are consistent with this interpretation. However, according to Joseph Smith—History 1:64, Harris did take a translation to Anthon. Although this translation has not been found, evidence exists of similarities between this document and documents produced during the preliminary stages of the translation of the Book of Abraham. These similarities suggest that the document taken to Anthon was a preliminary and unsuccessful attempt to translate the Book of Mormon, during which Joseph Smith studied the translation problem out in his own mind as he qualified himself to receive the revealed translation from God.

John Gee provides an overview of how the Book of Abraham came to be in the possession of Joseph Smith, and how it was translated by the Prophet. Gee also discusses three aspects of the book that had doctrinal impact on the restoration, particularly in relation to doctrines of premortal existence.

Michael Lyon examines the importance and significance of hypocephali as works of art and expressions of religious belief. Facsimile 2, associated with the Book of Abraham, belongs to this class of documents. Lyon illustrates that hypocephali symbolize the sacred center of the universe, expressed in Facsimile 2 as well as in the shield of Achilles and the mandala tradition.

Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 445–82.
Here, Nibley identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world.

Hugh Nibley discusses how Abraham was an ordinary man who held no office and worked no miracles, and yet he was one of the greatest minds of the last forty centuries. Nibley discusses Abraham’s relationship with the temple and gives an overview of the ancient temple. He also shows how the Book of Abraham answers what Nibley calls the “terrible questions”: Where do I come from? Why am I here? How does the universe figure in the gospel? How did it all begin, and how will it all end? Nibley argues that the vision given to Abraham in the Book of Abraham contains stage directions indicating that the vision is dramatized, and the Book of Abraham includes the script.

The Temple in Time and Eternity, edited by Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks, is the second volume in the series Temples Through The Ages. The importance of the temple to a religious community of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean world can scarcely be exaggerated. The eleven articles in this volume are divided topically into three sections: “Temple in Ritual,” “Temples in the Israelite Tradition,” and “Temples in the Non-Israelite Tradition.”
The “Temple in Ritual” section features Hugh Nibley’s discussion on “Abraham’s Temple Drama,” which identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world. An article by Ricks discusses oaths and oath taking in the Old Testament. John A. Tvedtnes shows that baptizing for the dead was known in various parts of the Mediterranean world and in Egypt. In a second article, Tvedtnes enlightens our understanding of the form and purposes of the temple prayer in ancient times.
Richard R. Cowan, in the section “Temples in the Israelite Tradition,” traces the development of temples to modern times. Richard D. Draper and Parry make intriguing comparisons of temple symbolism between Genesis 2–3 and Revelation 2–3, focusing particularly on promises and blessings. Alan K. Parrish shares with us insights into modern temple worship throughout the eyes of John A. Widtsoe, and Thomas R. Valletta examines priesthood and temple issues by contrasting “the holy order of the Son of God and its spurious counterpart, the order of Nehor.”
The concluding chapters of the book, grouped into the section “Temples in the Non-Israelite Tradition,” include John Gee’s discussion of getting past the gatekeeper (gleaned from various Egyptian literary corpora), a fascinating study by Gaye Strathearn and Brian M. Hauglid of the Great Mosque and its Ka’ba in light of John Lundquist’s typology of ancient Near Eastern temples, and E. Jan Wilson’s enlightening treatment of the features of a Sumerian temple.

In response to the articles in this issue, Peterson notes that Latter-day Saints do not extend themselves to expose and attack other faiths. He further discusses, among other things, an open canon and continuing revelation, salvation as outlined in the scriptures, the ordinances of the gospel, revelation following the incarnation and resurrection of Christ, the biblical canon, inerrancy, biblical texts, the Book of Abraham, and the nature of God.

Transcript of a lecture presented on 3 March 1999 as part of the FARMS Book of Abraham Lecture Series.John Gee recounts the history of the Joseph Smith papyri, their discovery, travels, and eventual translation. Particular attention is devoted to the reconstruction of the papyri and their relationship to the Book of Abraham. The origin and contents of the Book of Abraham and the Kirtland Egyptian Papers are also discussed.

Stories about Abraham circulated in ancient times and were continued into the medieval period. Many of these accounts were then lost and have come to light only recently. John Tvedtnes examines several such stories— ranging from creation accounts to the attempted sacrifice of Abraham— and shows how they support the Book of Abraham.

Although much attention has been paid to those who have possessed the Joseph Smith Papyri in modern times, relatively little attention has been paid to the ancient owners of the papyri. This lecture examines the ancient owners, the world in which they lived, and their contact with the Book of Abraham.

Transcript of a lecture presented on 6 April 1999 as part of the FARMS Book of Abraham Lecture Series.
Hugh Nibley discusses how Abraham was an ordinary man who held no office and worked no miracles, and yet he was one of the greatest minds of the last forty centuries.

Considered by many to be a classic in LDS literature, this new edition of Abraham in Egypt [published in association with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)] contains all the material from the first edition as well as additions from Nibley’s 1968–70 Improvement Era series “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.”
In 1968–70, Hugh Nibley wrote a series of articles for the Improvement Era titled “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” Brother Nibley asked that some of these articles be made into chapters to be added to Abraham in Egypt. These new chapters are what constitutes the new edition; no changes were made to the original chapters. For the articles, Nibley drew from many Jewish and rabbinical sources, while his work in the first edition was based on Egyptian material.

Since the rediscovery of the Joseph Smith Papyri in 1967, the papyri have been the center of conflicting, and often confusing, claims. This full-color, reader-friendly guide contains an overview of the basic facts and major theories about the papyri, along with helpful maps, illustrations, charts, and glossaries of terms and names.
Written by Egyptologist John Gee, this guide reflects not only the latest Egyptological research but also the most recent Latter-day Saint thought about the papyri. It deals with the nature of the papyri, their contents, their provenance, their relationship to the Book of Abraham and the Book of Breathings, current views of believers and detractors, and more.

The Hôr Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. Available in March 2002.

A FARMS symposium at BYU on Saturday, 26 January, highlighted findings from a years-long effort to collect, translate, and publish ancient accounts of the early life of the patriarch Abraham. Titled “Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham,” the free public event featured presentations by John Tvedtnes, Brian Hauglid, and John Gee, compilers and editors of a new book of the same title published by the Institute under the FARMS imprint.

Continuing a series of conferences on the Book of Abraham, the Institute sponsored “The World of Abraham,” a free public event at Brigham Young University on 23 March featuring new research that further illuminates the geographical and cultural horizons of the Book of Abraham. Institute executive director Daniel Oswald greeted a crowd of 350 people in the Tanner Building auditorium and dozens more in an overflow room. Many others viewed the event via delayed Web transmission a few hours later.

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham.

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. The book features hieroglyphs that were custom designed for this project. Available in June 2002.

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, was recently published by FARJv1S. This landmark volume is a full publication of the Hor Book of Breathings ( the extant portions of the roll from which Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham also derive) and includes a transliteration, translation, and philological commentary; a complete glossary of all Egyptian words in the surviving text; and both color and grayscale digital images of the papyri.

Review of John A. Tvedtnes, Brian M. Hauglid, and John Gee, comps. and eds. Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham.

Review of Thomas D. Cottle. The Papyri of Abraham: Facsimiles of the Everlasting Covenant.

Since 1989, the Review of Books on the Book of Mormon has published review essays to help serious readers make informed choices and judgments about books and other publications on topics related to the Latter-day Saint religious tradition. It has also published substantial freestanding essays that made further contributions to the field of Mormon studies. In 1996, the journal changed its name to the FARMS Review with Volume 8, No 1. In 2011, the journal was renamed Mormon Studies Review.
Review of Hugh Nibley. Abraham in Egypt.

The FARMS Review (vol. 15, no. 1), edited by Daniel C. Peterson, contains reviews of a FARMS publication titled Uncovering the Original Text of the Book of Mormon: History and Findings of the Critical Text Project, Terryl L. Givens’s study of the Book of Mormon titled By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion (published by Oxford University Press), three books on the Book of Abraham, and an evangelical critique titled The New Mormon Challenge, initially treated in the last Review. The FARMS Review (formerly FARMS Review of Books) also includes a study of what was known about chiasmus at the time the Book of Mormon was produced. Beginning with this issue is a section called “Book Notes,” in which brief descriptions of recent books will be given. Available in late April.

Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, edited by John Gee and Brian Hauglid, is volume 3 in the Book of Abraham Series. It includes FARMS conference papers on the Book of Abraham and its commonalities with ancient texts, Abraham’s vision of the heavens, and the significance of the Abrahamic covenant. Available autumn 2003.

Review of Robert K. Ritner. “The ‘Breathing Permit of Hôr’ Thirtyfour Years Later.” Dialogue 33/4 (2000): 97–119. Review of Robert K. Ritner. “ ‘The Breathing Permit of Hôr’ among the Joseph Smith Papyri.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 62/3 (2003): 161–77.

The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians
Ever since the days of the Prophet Joseph, presidents of the Church have appealed to the Saints to be magnanimous and forbearing toward all of God’s creatures. But in the great West, where everything was up for grabs, it was more than human nature could endure to be left out of the great grabbing game, especially when one happened to get there first, as the Mormons often did. One morning, just a week after we had moved into our house on Seventh North, as I was leaving for work, I found a group of shouting, arm-waving boys gathered around the big fir tree in the front yard. They had sticks and stones, and in a state of high excitement were fiercely attacking the lowest branches of the tree, which hung to the ground. Why? I asked. There was a quail in the tree, they said in breathless zeal, a quail! Of course, said I, what is wrong with that? But don’t you see, it is a live quail? A wild one! So they just had to kill it. They were on their way to the old B. Y. High School and were Boy Scouts. Does this story surprise you? What surprised me was when I later went to Chicago and saw squirrels running around the city parks in broad daylight; they would not last a day in Provo. Like Varro’s patrician friends, we have taught our children by precept and example that every living thing exists to be converted into cash, and that whatever would not yield a return should be quickly exterminated to make way for creatures that do. (We have referred to this elsewhere as the Mahan Principle; Moses 5:31.) I have heard influential Latter-day Saints express this philosophy. The earth is our enemy, I was taught does it not bring forth noxious weeds to afflict and torment man? And who cared if his allergies were the result of the Fall, man’s own doing? But one thing worried me: if God were to despise all things beneath Him, as we do, where would that leave us? Inquiring about today, one discovers that many Latter-day Saints feel that the time has come to put an end to the killing.

In 1977 two full-length biographies of Joseph Smith appeared, both more of the same with a little more added. They all continue to miss the point: why is Joseph Smith worth writing about? Only, apparently, because the Mormons are still going strong. He was once thought interesting as a picturesque, even fantastic, frontier character, but now that it has become the fashion to explain him away as a perfectly ordinary guy, even that has been given up. But do ordinary guys do what Joseph Smith did ? It is as if the biographers of Shakespeare were to go on year after year digging up all the details of his rather ordinary life, omitting only that, incidentally, he was credited with writing some remarkable plays. The documents which Joseph Smith has placed in our hands are utterly unique; if you doubt it, please furnish an example to match the books of Moses and Abraham, any book of the Book of Mormon, or for that matter, Joseph Smith’s own story. No one since Eduard Meyer has pointed out how closely Joseph’s productions match those of the prophets of Israel; no one but he and E. A. W. Budge have had the knowledge to detect familiar overtones from ancient apocryphal writings in Joseph Smith’s revelations and his autobiography. From the first deriding of the Book of Mormon before 1830 to the latest attacks on the Book of Abraham, the approach has always been the same: “Considering who Smith was and the methods he used, it is hardly worth the trouble to examine the writings which he put forth as holy scriptures and ancient histories.” And so his work remains unread by his critics, and the greatest of all literary anomalies remains not only unexplained but unexamined. But why should his critics not see in Joseph Smith only what they choose to see, since the Mormons themselves do the same?
An example of what some scholars may believe about Joseph Smith and how anyone can manipulate stories into whatever fits their purpose.

Each year at about this time we remind graduate students about the Nibley Fellowship Program and its application deadline. Named in honor of Hugh Nibley, this program provides financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Institute, particularly work done under the name of FARMS—studies of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old and New Testaments, early Christianity, ancient temples, and related subjects. Applicants cannot be employed at the Institute or be related to an Institute employee.

Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, edited by John Gee and Brian Hauglid, is the third volume in the Book of Abraham Series. It includes papers from a FARMS-sponsored conference on the Book of Abraham and covers such topics as Abraham’s vision of the heavens, commonalities between the Book of Abraham and noncanonical ancient texts, and the significance of the Abrahamic covenant. Available summer 2004.

In 1998 FARMS’s longtime interest in advancing research supportive of the Book of Abraham as an ancient text found new emphasis and direction as a formalized FARMS project, an impetus made possible by a farsighted donor: the Robert Gay family. Soon a working group of scholars was convened to exchange research and ideas on the text. The resulting exchange of information led to FARMS-sponsored public lectures and a scholarly conference in 1999. The next year saw publication of John Gee’s Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri and, fortuitously, an enlarged edition of Hugh Nibley’s Abraham in Egypt (a project years in the making). Following in short order were the first two volumes in the Studies in the Book of Abraham series—Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham (2001) and The Hor Book of Breathings (2002)—and a “World of Abraham” symposium and scholarly conference in 2002.

This third volume in the series Studies in the Book of Abraham includes nine papers from a FARMS-sponsored conference on the Book of Abraham, one of the canonized works of scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Three papers on related subjects are also included. An assumption underlying the papers in this volume is that the Book of Abraham is both an authentic and ancient text. In seeking to illuminate the background of the Book of Abraham from historical, geographical, cultural, scientific, and doctrinal perspectives, these studies deal with three broad themes: astronomy in the Book of Abraham, the Joseph Smith Papyri, and the nature of the Abrahamic covenant. As a whole, the research highlighted in this volume affirms that the Book of Abraham is what it claims to be—an ancient text. This becomes clear, for example, when certain nonbiblical themes reflected in the text are found to abound in extrabiblical traditions from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

This is the first and still the only book-length commentary on the Joseph Smith Papyri. In this long-awaited new edition, with expanded text and numerous illustrations, Professor Nibley shows that the papyri are not the source of the Book of Abraham. Rather than focusing on what the papyri are not, as most commentators have done, Nibley masterfully explores what the papyri are and what they meant in ancient times. He demonstrates how these ancient Egyptian papyri contain a message that is of particular interest to Latter-day Saints.

Those of us who saw the recent television documentary American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith may have noticed an interesting defect in the script, namely, that it was Hamlet with Hamlet left out. It was as if one were to produce the life of Shakespeare with charming views of Stratford-upon-Avon, country school, the poaching story, marriage to Anne Hatha-way, showbiz in London, and respectable retirement without bothering to mention that our leading character gave the world the greatest treasury of dramatic art in existence. Or a life of Bach with his niggardly brother-guardian, his early poverty, his odd jobs with local organs and choirs, his acceptance in the courts of the Holy Roman Empire, his nineteen children, and his loving nature without a word about the greatest volume of music ever produced by a mortal.

Joseph Smith was an explorer, a discoverer, and a revealer of past worlds. He described an ancient America replete with elaborate detail and daring specificity, rooted and grounded in what he claimed were concrete, palpable artifacts. He recuperated texts of Adam, Abraham, Enoch, and Moses to resurrect and reconstitute a series of past patriarchal ages, not as mere shadows and types of things to come, but as dispensations of gospel fullness equaling, and in some cases surpassing, present plenitude. And he revealed an infinitely receding premortal past—not of the largely mythic Platonic variety and not a mere Wordsworthian, sentimental intimation—but a fully formed realm of human intelligences, divine parents, and heavenly councils.

Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, the third volume in FARMS’s Studies in the Book of Abraham, was recently published and is now available. This book deals with three broad themes: astronomy in the Book of Abraham, the background of the Joseph Smith Papyri, and the nature of the Abrahamic covenant. In the course of treating these subjects, various papers discuss Jews in Ptolemaic Egypt, commonalities between the Book of Abraham and ancient Islamic texts, accounts of Abraham in 19th-century America, and a number of other interesting issues. All but 3 of the 12 articles were initially presented as papers at a BYU conference on the Book of Abraham.

After years of intense effort, the long-overdue second edition of Hugh Nibley’s 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment is at press. This new edition has been meticulously pre-pared by BYU Egyptologists John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, who upgraded this Nibley classic on many points (some unseen, others impossible to miss, such as the superior illustrations by Michael Lyon) while preserving the original con-tent. Published by FARMS and Deseret Book, this edition is a fitting tribute to Nibley’s pioneering work and will enable a new generation of students and scholars to profit from Nibley’s enduring insights into an area of perennial interest for Latter-day Saints.

Review of E. Douglas Clark. The Blessing of Abraham: Becoming a Zion People.

Review of John Gee and Brian M. Hauglid, eds. Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant.

Each year at this time we remind graduate students about the Nibley Fellowship Program and its application deadline. Named in honor of the late eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, this program provides financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Maxwell Institute, particularly work done under the name of FARMS—studies of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old and New Testaments, early Christianity, ancient temples, and related subjects. Applicants cannot be employed at the Institute or be related to an Institute employee.

Review of Allen J. Fletcher. A Study Guide to the Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham.

Gee shares the results of his twenty-year studies of the Joseph Smith Papyri, discussing matters that are not widely known.

The Maxwell Institute continues to encourage and support the work of graduate and undergraduate students through two funds. Each year at this time we remind graduate students about the Nibley Fellowship Program and its application deadline. Named in honor of the late eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, this pro-gram provides financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Maxwell Institute, particularly work done under the auspices of one department of the Institute, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, such as studies of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old and New Testaments, early Christianity, ancient temples, and related subjects. Applicants cannot be employed at the Institute or be related to an Institute employee.

Frank William (Bill) Gay, in whose name two Maxwell Institute research funds were endowed, passed away May 21, 2007, in Kingwood, Texas. His wife Mary Elizabeth, five children, 17 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren survive him. The William (Bill) Gay Research chair at the Maxwell Institute was created and endowed in his honor. John Gee is the William (Bill) Gay Associate Research Professor. This endowment supports all of the projects and publications done by Gee and others on the Book of Abraham and related studies.

This article explores what we know about the Joseph Smith Papyri, whether they are connected to the Book of Abraham, and the approaches that Latter-day Saints and non-LDS scholars take when trying to understand such a connection.

One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Here, Nibley identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world.

For a number of years the Maxwell Institute has sponsored a graduate fellowship program that gives financial aid to students pursuing advanced degrees in fields of special interest to the Institute. Named in honor of the late eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh W. Nibley, this program fosters the next gen- eration of faithful scholars by providing financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Maxwell Institute. Work done under the auspices of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, such as studies of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old and New Testaments, early Christianity, ancient temples, and related subjects are of particular interest.

This volume contains diverse essays, including Nibley’s “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price,” a three-year series of lengthy articles from the Improvement Era. According to Nibley, “Until now, no one has done much more than play around with the bedizening treasury of the Pearl of Great Price. They would not, we could not, make of the Book of Abraham an object of serious study. The time has come to change all that.”