Editing Book of Abraham (section)

==Content==
===Book of Abraham text===
{{Wikisource}}
[[File:Molnár Ábrahám kiköltözése 1850.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Part of the text describes Abraham's journey from [[Ur Kaśdim|Ur]] to [[Canaan]] and [[Egypt]].]]

The Book of Abraham's narrative tells of Abraham's life, travels to Canaan and Egypt, and a vision he received concerning the universe, a [[Pre-existence#Mormonism|pre-mortal existence]], and the creation of the world.<ref name="abrahamsummary">{{cite web|title=The Book of Abraham|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/abr/1|publisher=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref>

The book has five chapters:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Chapter !! Description
|-
| style="text-align: center;"|{{lds||Abraham|1}}|| Recounts how Abraham's father [[Terah]] and his forefathers had 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".<ref>[[s:Pearl of Great Price/Abraham#1:6|Abraham 1:6]]</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Chase|2014|p=165}}.</ref> [[Chaldea]]n priests then sacrifice three virgins to pagan gods of stone and wood, and one priest attempts to sacrifice Abraham himself before an angel comes to his rescue.<ref name=ritner2658>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|pp=26, 58}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Chase|2014|pp=166–168}}.</ref> The text then examines the origins of Egypt and its government.<ref name="abrahamsummary"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Chase|2014|p=169}}.</ref>
|-
| style="text-align: center;"|{{lds||Abraham|2}} || Includes information about God's covenant with Abraham and how it would be fulfilled; in this chapter, Abraham travels from Ur to Canaan, and then to Egypt.<ref name="abrahamsummary"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Chase|2014|pp=173–180}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align: center;"|{{lds||Abraham|3}} || Abraham learns about an Egyptian understanding of celestial objects via the [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]].<ref name="abrahamsummary"/><ref name="chase204">{{Harvnb|Chase|2014|p=204}}.</ref> It is in this chapter that Abraham also learns about the "eternal nature of spirits{{nbsp}}[...] pre-earth life, [[foreordination]], the Creation, the choosing of a [[Jesus in Christianity|Redeemer]], and the second estate of man."<ref name="abrahamsummary"/>
|-
| style="text-align: center;"|{{lds||Abraham|4}} || Along with chapter 5, contains expansions and modifications of the creation narrative in Genesis.<ref name=ritner40>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=40}}.</ref>  The [[God in Mormonism#Plurality of gods|gods]] (there are over 48 references to the plurality of the gods in chapters 4 and 5)<ref name=ritner42>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=42}}</ref> plan the creation of the earth and life on the earth.
|-
| style="text-align: center;"|{{lds||Abraham|5}} || The gods complete creation, and Adam names all living creatures.<ref name="abrahamsummary"/>
|}

Nearly half of the Book of Abraham shows a dependence on the [[King James Version]] of the [[Book of Genesis]].<ref name=ritner52>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=52}}.</ref> According to [[H. Michael Marquardt]], "It seems clear that Smith had the Bible open to Genesis as he dictated this section [i.e., Chapter{{nbsp}}2] of the 'Book of Abraham.{{'"}}<ref name=ritner36>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=36}}.</ref> Smith explained the similarities by reasoning that when Moses penned Genesis, he used the Book of Abraham as a guide, abridging and condensing where he saw fit. As such, since Moses was recalling Abraham's lifetime, his version was in the [[Narration|third person]], whereas the Book of Abraham, being written by its eponymous author, was composed in the [[First-person narrative|first person]].<ref name=ritner36/><ref>{{Harvnb|Larson|1992|pp=17–18}}.</ref>

The Book of Abraham was incomplete when Joseph Smith died in 1844.<ref>John Taylor, the editor of the Times and Seasons, wrote in 1843, "We would further state that we had the promise of Br. Joseph, to furnish us with further extracts from the Book of Abraham". February 1843 edition of the Times and Seasons. see http://thebookofabraham.blogspot.com/2011/07/times-and-seasons-jt-1843.html</ref> It is unknown how long the text would be, but Oliver Cowdery gave an indication in 1835 that it could be quite large:

{{blockquote|When the translation of these valuable documents will be completed, I am unable to say; neither can I gave you a probable idea how large volumes they will make; but judging from their size, and the comprehensiveness of the language, one might reasonably expect to see sufficient to develop much on the mighty of the ancient men of God.<ref>Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to William Frye, Lebanon, IL, 22 Dec. 1835 http://thebookofabraham.blogspot.com/2011/01/messenger-and-advocate-december-1835.html</ref>}}

A visitor to Kirtland saw the mummies, and noted, "They say that the mummies were Epyptian, but the records are those of Abraham and Joseph...and a larger volume than the Bible will be required to contain them."<ref>William S. West, ''A Few Interesting Fads, Respecting the Rise, Progress and Pretensions of the Mormons'' (Warren, Ohio, 1837), 5.</ref>

===Distinct doctrines===
{{Main|Priesthood (Mormonism)|Mormon cosmology|Kolob|Pre-existence|Exaltation (Mormonism)|God in Mormonism}}
{{See also|Curses of Cain and Ham and the LDS Church|Mormon teachings on skin color}}

The Book of Abraham text is a source of some distinct Latter Day Saint doctrines, which Mormon author Randal S. Chase calls "truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that were previously unknown to Church members of Joseph Smith's day."<ref>{{Harvnb|Chase|2014|p=160}}</ref> Examples include the nature of the [[Priesthood (Mormonism)|priesthood]],<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=1|verse=1–4}}.</ref> an understanding of the cosmos,<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3}}.</ref> the [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] of humanity,<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=2|verse=10}}</ref> a [[Pre-existence|pre-mortal existence]], the first and second estates,<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=18–28}}</ref> and the [[plurality of gods]].<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=4|verse=1}}</ref>

The Book of Abraham expands upon the nature of the [[priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|priesthood]] in the Latter Day Saint movement, and it is suggested in the work that those who are foreordained to the priesthood earned this right by valor or nobility in the pre-mortal life.<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=22–23}}</ref> In a similar vein, the book explicitly denotes that Pharaoh was a descendant of Ham<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=1|verse=21}}</ref> and thus "of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood".<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=1|verse=27}}</ref> This passage is the only one found in any Mormon scripture that bars a particular lineage of people from holding the priesthood. Even though nothing in the Book of Abraham explicitly connects the line of Pharaoh and Ham to black Africans,<ref>{{harvnb|Mauss|2003|p=238}}</ref> this passage was used as a scriptural basis for withholding the priesthood from black individuals.<ref>{{harvnb|Bringhurst|1981|p=193}}</ref> An 1868 ''[[Juvenile Instructor]]'' article points to the Pearl of Great Price as the "source of racial attitudes in church doctrine",<ref name=":2" /> and in 1900, First Presidency member [[George Q. Cannon]] began using the story of Pharaoh as a scriptural basis for the ban.<ref name="Reeve 2015">{{cite book|author1-link=W. Paul Reeve |last1=Reeve |first1=W. Paul |title=Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=95j4BQAAQBAJ |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-975407-6 }}</ref>{{rp|205}} In 1912, the First Presidency responded to an inquiry about the priesthood ban by using the story of Pharaoh.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dialogue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwTrAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Dialogue Foundation|year=2001 |page=267}}</ref> By the early 1900s, it became the foundation of church policy in regards to the priesthood ban.<ref name="Reeve 2015" />{{rp|205}} The 2002 ''Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual'' points to Abraham 1:21–27 as the reasoning behind [[black people and priesthood (LDS)|not giving black people the priesthood until 1978]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/official-declaration-2-every-faithful-worthy-man?lang=eng |title=Official Declaration 2, 'Every Faithful, Worthy Man' |year=2002 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |pages=634–635 }}</ref>

Chapter 3 of the Book of Abraham describes a unique (and purportedly Egyptian)<ref name="chase204"/><ref name=ritner59>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=59}}</ref> understanding of the hierarchy of heavenly bodies, each with different movements and measurements of time.<ref name="auto">{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=4}}.</ref> In regard to this chapter, Randal S. Chase notes, "With divine help, Abraham was able to gain greater comprehension of the order of the galaxies, stars, and planets than he could have obtained from earthly sources."<ref name="chase204"/> At the pinnacle of the cosmos is the slowest-rotating body, [[Kolob]], which, according to the text, is the star closest to where God lives.<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=3–16}}.</ref> The Book of Abraham is the only work in the Latter Day Saint canon to mention the star Kolob.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kolob |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/kolob |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref> According to the Book:

{{blockquote|[Abraham] saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God;{{nbsp}}[...] and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.<ref name="ReferenceA1">{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=2|range=-3}}</ref>}}

Based on this verse, the LDS Church claims that "Kolob is the star nearest to the presence of God [and] the governing star in all the universe."<ref name=studyguide/> Time moves slowly on the celestial body; one Kolob-day corresponds to 1,000 earth-years.<ref name="auto"/> The Church also notes: "Kolob is also symbolic of Jesus Christ, the central figure in God's plan of salvation."<ref name=studyguide/>

The Book of Abraham also explores pre-mortal existence. The LDS Church website explains: "Life did not begin at birth, as is commonly believed. Prior to coming to earth, individuals existed as spirits."<ref name=ldst&h/> These spirits are eternal and of different intelligences.<ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=18–19}}</ref> Prior to mortal existence, spirits exist in the "first estate". Once certain spirits (i.e., those who choose to follow the plan of salvation offered by God the Father of their own accord) take on a mortal form, they enter into what is called the "second estate".<ref name=studyguide>{{harvnb|Church Education System|2000|pp=28–41}}</ref><ref>{{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=26}}.</ref> The doctrine of the second estate is explicitly named only in this book.<ref>{{cite web |title=Second Estate |url=http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Second_Estate |publisher=[[Brigham Young University]] |access-date=August 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923144738/http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Second_Estate |archive-date=2016-09-23}}</ref> The purpose of earthly life, therefore, is for humans to prepare for a meeting with God; the Church, citing {{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=26}}, notes: "All who accept and obey the saving principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ will receive eternal life, the greatest gift of God, and will have 'glory added upon their heads for ever and ever'."<ref name=studyguide/><ref name="ldst&h">{{cite web|date=July 2014|title=Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419061435/https://churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng|archive-date=April 19, 2021|access-date=May 25, 2021|website=Gospel Topics Essays|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]}}</ref>

Also notable is the Book of Abraham's description of a plurality of gods, and that "the gods"{{#tag:ref|The identities of the gods themselves are unspecified in the Book itself, but the LDS Church teaches that [[God the Father]] ([[Elohim]]), [[Jesus Christ]] ([[Jehovah]]), [[Adam]] ([[Michael (archangel)|Michael]]), and "many of the great and noble ones" ({{sourcetext|source=Pearl of Great Price|book=Abraham|chapter=3|verse=22}}) participated in the [[Genesis creation narrative|creation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual Chapter 7: The Creation |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrines-of-the-gospel-student-manual/chapter-7-the-creation?lang=eng |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |access-date=August 4, 2016 }}</ref>|group="nb"}} created the Earth, not ''[[creatio ex nihilo|ex nihilo]]'', but rather from pre-existing, eternal matter.<ref name=ldst&h/><ref name=ritner42/> This shift away from [[monotheism]] and towards [[henotheism]] occurred {{circa|1838–39}}, when Smith was imprisoned in the Liberty Jail in [[Clay County, Missouri]] (this was after the majority of the Book of Abraham had been supposedly translated, but prior to its publication).<ref name=ritner313340>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|pp=31–33, 40}}.</ref> Smith noted that there would be "a time come in the {{sic}} which nothing shall be with held {{sic}} whither {{sic}} there be one god or many gods they {{sic}} shall be manifest all thrones and dominions, principalities and powers shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have indured {{sic}} valiently {{sic}} for the gospel of Jesus Christ" and that all will be revealed "according to that which was ordained in the midst of the councyl {{sic}} of the eternal God of all other Gods before this world was."<ref name=ritner4041>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|pp=40–41}}.</ref>

===Facsimiles===
{{Main|Breathing Permit of Hôr#Fragment A|Joseph Smith Hypocephalus|Breathing Permit of Hôr#Closing Vignette (Facsimile #3)}}
Three images ([[facsimiles]] of [[vignetting|vignettes]] on the papyri) and Joseph Smith's explanations of them were printed in the 1842 issues of the ''Times and Seasons''.<ref name=ritner3233>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|pp=32–33}}</ref> These three illustrations were prepared by Smith and an engraver named Reuben Hedlock.<ref name=ritner55>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=55}}</ref> The facsimiles and their respective explanations were later included with the text of the Pearl of Great Price in a re-engraved format.<ref name=ritner61>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=61}}</ref> According to Smith's explanations, Facsimile No.{{nbsp}}1 portrays Abraham fastened to an altar, with the idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to sacrifice him.<ref name=ritner306>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=306}}</ref> Facsimile No.{{nbsp}}2 contains representations of celestial objects, including the heavens and earth, fifteen other planets or stars, the sun and moon, the number 1,000 and God revealing the grand key-words of the holy priesthood.<ref name=ritner326>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=326}}.</ref> Facsimile No.{{nbsp}}3 portrays Abraham in the court of [[Pharaoh]] "reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy".<ref name=ritner310>{{Harvnb|Ritner|2013|p=310}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" widths="180px">
Image:Abraham Facsimile 1.png|Facsimile No. 1 from the Book of Abraham
Image:Abraham Facsimile 2.png|Facsimile No. 2 from the Book of Abraham
Image:Abraham Facsimile 3.png|Facsimile No. 3 from the Book of Abraham
</gallery>