Abraham 1

1. Adam and Eve and the Fall (4000  B.C.), Enoch (3000 B.C.), Noah and the Flood (2400  B.C.), and the tower of Babel (2200  B.C.) preceded Abraham’s time. Abraham, who was born in about 2000  B.C., was the father of Isaac and the grandfather of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.

2.On 3 July 1835 a man named Michael Chandler brought  4 Egyptian mummies and several papyrus scrolls of ancient Egyptian writings to Kirtland. The mummies and papyri had been discovered in Egypt several years earlier by Antonio Lebolo. Kirtland was one of many stops in the eastern United States for Chandler’s mummy exhibition. Chandler was offering the mummies and rolls of papyrus for sale and, at the urging of the Joseph, several members of the Church donated money to purchase them. In a statement dated 5 July 1835, Joseph Smith, declaring the importance of these ancient Egyptian writings, recorded: “I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham. … Truly we can say, the Lord is beginning to reveal the abundance of peace and truth” (History of the Church,2:236).

3. Joseph never communicated his method of translating these records. As with all other scriptures, a testimony of the truthfulness of these writings is primarily a matter of faith. The greatest evidence of the truthfulness of the book of Abraham is not found in an analysis of physical evidence nor historical background, but in prayerful consideration of its content and power.

4. Why did Joseph say he translated the writings of Abraham when the manuscripts do not date to Abraham's time? In 1966 eleven fragments of papyri once possessed by the Prophet Joseph Smith were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They were given to the Church and have been analyzed by scholars who date them between about 100  B.C.and A.D.  100. A common objection to the authenticity of the book of Abraham is that the manuscripts are not old enough to have been written by Abraham, who lived almost two thousand years before Christ. Joseph Smith never claimed that the papyri were autographic (written by Abraham himself), nor that they dated from the time of Abraham. It is common to refer to an author’s works as “his” writings, whether he penned them himself, dictated them to others, or others copied his writings later.

5. The Book of Abraham was originally published a few excerpts at a time in Times and Seasons, a Church publication, beginning in March 1842 at Nauvoo, Illinois . Joseph Smith indicated that he would publish more of the book of Abraham later, but he was martyred before he was able to do so. Concerning the potential length of the completed translation, Oliver Cowdery once said that “volumes” would be necessary to contain it (Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 236).

In addition to hieroglyphic writings, the manuscript also contained Egyptian drawings. On 23 February 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith asked Reuben Hedlock, a professional wood engraver and member of the Church, to prepare woodcuts of three of those drawings so they could be printed. Hedlock finished the engravings in one week, and Joseph Smith published the copies (facsimiles) along with the book of Abraham. Joseph Smith’s explanations of the drawings accompany the facsimiles.

6. After the death of Joseph Smith, the four mummies and the papyri became the property of Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith. At Lucy’s death in 1856, Emma Smith, sold the collection to Mr. A. Combs. Several theories have been offered regarding what happened subsequently to the mummies and the papyri. It appears that at least 2 of the mummies were burned in the great Chicago fire of 1871. In the early spring of 1966, Dr. Aziz S. Atiya, a University of Utah professor, discovered several fragments of the book of Abraham papyri while doing research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. These fragments were presented to the Church by the director of the museum on 27 November 1967. The current whereabouts of the other mummies and the other portions of the papyri are unknown (H. Donl Peterson,” in Studies in Scripture, Volume Two, 183–85).

7. The book of Abraham reveals truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that were previously unknown to Church members of Joseph Smith’s day. It also casts a bright light upon difficult passages found in other scriptural texts.

8. Abraham 1:1- Ur,is generally identified with modern Mugheir in present-day Iraq. About 150 miles from the Persian Gulf and 875 miles from Egypt. Although the peoples of Chaldea and Egypt were separated geographically, it appears that in the days of Abraham they shared religious beliefs and practices. “At this time Egyptian influence was felt throughout the Fertile Crescent [a geographic region that extends in a curve from Egypt north into Mesopotamia, then east and south again toward the Persian Gulf]. Much of the advanced learning of the people of the Nile was exported abroad, including some of their religious customs” (Abraham, Friend of God [1979], 42–43).

9. Abraham 1:1, 5, 12. Because of the people’s wickedness, Abraham’s life was endangered by his continued residence in the land of Chaldea-There are two possible sites on the map where Ur may have been located.- See Bible map 9

10. Abraham 1:2.  “Remember that Abraham sought for his appointment to the priesthood. He did not wait for God to come to him; he sought diligently through prayer and obedient living to learn the will of God. “As we follow Abraham’s example, we will grow from grace to grace, we will find greater happiness and peace and rest, we will find favor with God and with man. As we follow his example, we will confirm upon ourselves and our families joy and fulfillment in this life and for all eternity” (SWKimball,  Ensign, June 1975). “The true disciple has an inborn questioning to know, personally, all that God is willing to teach us. Nephi could have accepted gladly the vision of his father, Lehi. But Nephi ‘desired to know the things that [his] father had seen.’ (1 Nephi 11:1.) Abraham sought, even though he had a father who had turned from the faith, ‘for greater happiness and peace’ and ‘for mine appointment unto the Priesthood.’ Abraham described himself as desiring ‘great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness’ (questing for the word of Christ. Divine discontent in the form of promptings can move us to feast because we know that by feasting we can increase our knowledge, effectiveness, and joy” (NAMaxwell, Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, 119)  D&C 84:33–38; 132:20–24, 28–31).

“The order of priesthood spoken of in the scriptures is sometimes referred to as the patriarchal order because it came down from father to son. …“Abraham, a righteous servant of God, desiring as he said, ‘to be a greater follower of righteousness,’ sought for these same blessings. Speaking of the order of the priesthood, he said: ‘It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time … even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, our first father, through the fathers unto me.’ (Abr. 1:2–3.)” (ETBenson,  Ensign, Aug. 1985)

11.Abraham 1:2–4 - In ancient times the Melchizedek Priesthood was passed from father to son. Abraham was a rightful heir of the Melchizedek Priesthood, but because his father was not worthy, Abraham sought the priesthood from other priesthood holders. D&C 84:14–16; 107:40–52- "Abraham says to Melchizedek, I believe all that thou hast taught me concerning the priesthood and the coming of the Son of Man; so Melchizedek ordained Abraham and sent him away. Abraham rejoiced, saying, Now I have a priesthood” (Joseph Smith HC 5:555).

12. Abraham 1:4–6. -  “We all know something of the courage it takes for one to stand in opposition to united custom, and general belief. None of us likes to be ridiculed. Few are able to withstand popular opinion even when they know it is wrong, and it is difficult to comprehend the magnificent courage displayed by Abraham in his profound obedience to Jehovah, in the midst of his surroundings. His moral courage, his implicit faith in God, his boldness in raising his voice in opposition to the prevailing wickedness, is almost beyond comparison” (JFSmith, The Way to Perfection, 86)

13. Abraham 1:5–7, 12, 15-17; 1 Nephi 1:20; Alma 38:5; Joshua 24:2). “The family of Abraham had turned from righteousness and had become idolators. Abraham therefore, himself a follower of God’s truth, preached righteousness to them but without avail. For his insistence upon the worship of the only true and Living God, he was persecuted and his life sought. So intense was the hatred of the idolators that it was only by the intervention of the Lord that he was saved from being offered up as a sacrifice to the idols of the people,” (JAWidtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 398)

14.  Abraham 1:11- Along with three exceptionally faithful young men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,  Neal A. Maxwell discussed these three virtuous young women as “marvelous models on enduring uncertainty and on trusting God”: “Matching those three young men are three young women whose names we do not have. They are mentioned in the book of Abraham, remarkable young women about whom I am anxious to know more. They were actually sacrificed upon the altar because ‘they would not bow down to worship [an idol] of wood or stone. ' Some day the faithful will get to meet them” (“Not My Will, But Thine” [1988], 119–20).

15. Abraham 1:12–20- “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life. “… It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they, in like manner, offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him. …“… From the days of righteous Abel to the present time, the knowledge that men have that they are accepted in the sight of God is obtained by offering sacrifice. … “… Those, then, who make the sacrifice, will have the testimony that their course is pleasing in the sight of God; and those who have this testimony will have faith to lay hold on eternal life, and will be enabled, through faith, to endure unto the end, and receive the crown that is laid up for them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who do not make the sacrifice cannot enjoy this faith, because men are dependent upon this sacrifice in order to obtain this faith: therefore, they cannot lay hold upon eternal life, because the revelations of God do not guarantee unto them the authority so to do, and without this guarantee faith could not exist” (Lectures on Faith, 68–70).

16. Abraham 1:16–19; Genesis 12:1–3; Hebrews 11:8-The Lord called Abraham to receive the priesthood  (D&C 84:14-16) and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in a “strange land”- Genesis 19:15–17; 1 Nephi 2:1–4; 2 Nephi 5:1–7; Omni 1:12–13; Moses 6:15–17.

17. Abraham 1:20 - Abraham’s brief account obviously does not tell the whole story.

18. Abraham 1:20–27. "After the immersion of the earth in the waters of Noah came a day of new beginning. As in Adam’s day, the faithful lived under a theocratic system, and as in the days before the flood, those who chose to live after the manner of the world set up their own governments and their own ways of worship. The seed of Shem, Ham, and Japheth began to populate the earth, and it so continued for more than four hundred years, when Abraham, who received theocratic power from Melchizedek, went down into Egypt. There he found a descendant of Ham, reigning as Pharaoh, whose government was patterned after the patriarchal governments of old, but which was devoid of priesthood and revelation, and hence, as far as worship is concerned—a worship prescribed, mandated, and commanded by pharaoh—had turned to idolatry.’ (BRMcConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 660).

19.  Abraham 1:25. “Egypt was not the only nation, in these early times, which attempted to imitate the patriarchal order of government. We have seen in Abraham’s record that this was the order of government in the reign of Adam, and down to the time of Noah. “Naturally that form of government would be perpetuated in large degree by all tribes as they began to spread over the face of the earth. As men multiplied they organized first in the family group, then into tribes and eventually into nations. The greater powers would naturally occupy the most favored spots. Stronger tribes would overcome the weaker and force them to join the national government, or else they would be subdued and treated as slaves, or placed under tribute. As the patriarchal order was handed down from father to son so also would the political authority be perpetuated with the same claims to authority. We know that in ancient times in Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Babylon, Persia, and among all the petty nations of the Mesopotamia and Palestine, the monarch was succeeded by his posterity in hereditary right” (JFSmith, The Progress of Man, 3rd ed. [1944], 100–101.)

20. Abraham 1:24–27. At times in the past, the power and authority to act in the name of the Lord was bestowed upon only a few worthy males and withheld from all others. In the days of Moses’ leadership of the children of Israel, for example, only the tribe of Levi had the privilege to hold the priesthood . Our day is the “long-promised day … when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood.” On 8 June 1978, the First Presidency announced:  (Official Declaration 2).

 The crown and throne are symbols of Pharaoh’s authority and power as the king of Egypt. In Facsimile 3, figure 1 in the book of Abraham, Abraham is portrayed as crowned and seated on a throne. Note that the explanation states Abraham’s crown represents the priesthood

21. Abraham 1:28, 31- Abraham possessed sacred records that showed that he, not the pharaohs, held the right of the priesthood.  (Abraham 1:3–4).

22. The conflict in premortal life when Lucifer rebelled against Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (D&C 29:36–38; 76:25–33; Moses 4:1–4).

23.The confrontation on this earth between the church of the devil and the true Church of Jesus Christ (see 1 Nephi 14:7–17).

24. The Church’s true claims to the rights of the priesthood today (Joseph Smith—History 1:68–72; D&C 27:12–13; 42:11; 84:33–35; Articles of Faith 1:5).

22. Abraham 1:26- Blessings Pharaoh received and did not receive? How could he eventually receive the priesthood? ( D&C 138:32–35, 58–59). Why does it take more than righteous behavior to officiate in the priesthood? (Hebrews 5:4; D&C 42:11; 138:30).