Editing Book of Abraham (section)

{{short description|Religious text of some Latter Day Saint churches}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Pearl of Great Price}}

[[Image:Joseph Smith Papyrus I.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A portion of the papyri used by Joseph Smith as the source of the Book of Abraham. The difference between Egyptologists' translation and Joseph Smith's interpretations has caused considerable controversy.]]

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 language|Egyptian]] [[scroll]]s 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.<ref name=autogenerated8>{{Harvnb|Gee|2000a|pp=4–6}}</ref> 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]]".<ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|1842|p=704}}.</ref> 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 story|creation]].

The Latter-day Saints believe the work is divinely inspired scripture, published as part of the [[Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)|Pearl of Great Price]] since 1880. It thus forms a doctrinal foundation for the LDS Church and [[Mormon fundamentalism|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 [[creatio ex nihilo|creating it ''ex nihilo'']]), the potential [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] of humanity, a [[Pre-existence|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 [[Ancient Egyptian Funerary Texts|Egyptian funerary texts]], including the "[[Breathing Permit of Hôr]]"{{#tag:ref|The name of the individual for whom the "Breathing Permit" was intended has variously been rendered as "Hôr" (e.g. {{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=6}}), "Hor" (e.g. {{Harvnb|Rhodes|2005}}), "Horos" (e.g. {{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=71}}), and "Horus" (e.g. {{citation|url=https://user.xmission.com/~research/breathing/index.htm|title=Breathing Permit of Horus|last=Marquardt|first=H. Michael|access-date=August 9, 2016}}).|group="nb"}} and the "[[Book of the Dead]]", among others. Although some [[Mormon apologetics|Mormon apologists]] defend the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, no scholars regard it as an ancient text.<ref>{{harvnb|Ritner|2013|pp=7–8}}</ref>