Introduction to Book of Abraham Documents

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Introduction to Book of Abraham Documents

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Summary: Students of the Book of Abraham face a difficult task. The issues surrounding it are complex. The first area that all students of it must master is the body of documents that conversation surrounds. This page introduces readers to those documents such that they can be fluent in their discussion regarding the Book of Abraham

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The Book of Breathings of Hor (JSP I, X-XI)

The Joseph Smith Papers: JSP I and XI (Web Page)

Learning about the papyri—where they came from and what they contain—should be the first place to start. The first bits of papyri that should be understood are JSP I, X, and XI. They are so-named because they are pieces #1, #10, and #11 in a set of pieces of papyri now in possession of the Church. "JSP" is simply an acronym for "Joseph Smith Papyri." Ten of these pieces were recovered by the Church in 1967. We have written an article about how those ten pieces were brought from Egypt into the Church's possession.

JSP I, X, and XI form what is known as a "Book of Breathings." Copies of this document belonged primarily to priests in Egyptian temples. They were buried with these books so that they could have safe passage through underworld to their eternal rest.

JSP XI is the fragment that critics believe Joseph Smith translated to what today is known as the Book of Abraham. In another article, we have provided solid evidence that Joseph Smith did not translate this fragment.

The Earliest Publications of the Book of Abraham in the Times and Seasons

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