Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Fall Of Lucifer, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Similar to what is depicted in other books of Latter-day Saint scripture (for example Moses 4:1–4), the Book of Abraham’s depiction of the premortal council includes a brief mention of the fall of Lucifer. As readers encounter at the end of chapter 3 of the Book of Abraham, Lucifer’s fall from the divine council was an act of rebellion because he was not selected to carry out God’s plan of salvation.

Creation From Chaos, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Traditional Christianity teaches that God created the universe ex nihilo, or “out of nothing.” As explained by one scholar, “the most widely accepted theistic explanation of initial creation is the theory that God created the universe from absolutely nothing. . . . Most major theologians in Christian history—for example, Irenaeus, Augustine, Catherine of Sienna, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, Karl Barth, and Paul Tilich—believed that God initially created the universe from absolutely nothing. . . . Many influential Christians throughout history have affirmed the theory.”

Chiasmus In The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is “a two-part [literary] structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, [that is,] where the first term recurs last, and the last first.” Most Latter-day Saints who know about chiasmus have probably heard about its presence in the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Chiasmus, however, also appears in the Book of Abraham. For instance, the opening verses of the Book of Abraham contains a chiasm highlighting Abraham’s right to priesthood.

The Ancient Egyptian View Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Some might ask how likely it would have been for the ancient Egyptians to have known anything about the biblical figure Abraham. In fact, evidence survives today indicating that stories about Abraham were known to the ancient Egyptians as early as the time of the composition of the Joseph Smith Papyri (ca. 330–30 BC).

A Semitic View Of The Facsimiles, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Latter-day Saint scholars and interested laypersons have offered a number of different approaches to interpreting the facsimiles and the validity of Joseph Smith’s interpretations. One such scholar, Kevin L. Barney, has articulated an insightful theory for interpreting the facsimiles that is worth careful consideration.

The Purpose And Function Of The Egyptian Hypocephalus, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham is a type of document called a hypocephalus. “The term ‘hypocephalus’ refers to a piece of Late Period and Ptolemaic [ca. 664–30 BC] funerary equipment. It is specifically, an amuletic disc, made of cartonnage, bronze, textile, and more rarely, papyrus, or even wood, emulating a solar disc.” The name was coined by modern Egyptologists beginning with Jean-François Champollion and comes from Greek, meaning literally “under the head.” Spell 162 of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead specifies that these amulets were to be placed hr tp of the mummy, which has been …

One Day To A Cubit, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

One of the more puzzling comments in the Book of Abraham comes from the explanation given in figure 1 of Facsimile 2, which speaks of “the measurement according to celestial time [of Kolob], which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit.” Latter-day Saint commentators on this passage have largely been at a loss to explain what this might mean. (A cubit, after all, is a unit for measuring length, not time.) Others have attempted to make sense of this by suggesting that “as one of Kolob’s days is a unit of celestial time, so the cubit is the unit …

The Hathor Cow, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Figure 5 in Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham, a figure of an upside-down cow, is identified by Joseph Smith with this elaborate explanation.

The Four Sons Of Horus, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Figure 6 of Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham was interpreted straightforwardly by Joseph Smith as “represent[ing] this earth in its four quarters.” Based on contemporary nineteenth-century usage of this biblical idiom (Rev. 20:8), Joseph Smith evidently meant the figures represent the four cardinal points (north, east, south, and west). This interpretation finds ready support from the ancient Egyptians.

God Sitting Upon His Throne, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Figure 7 in Facsimile 2 is identified as follows: “Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove.” Appearing in several other ancient Egyptian hypocephali, the sitting personage in figure 7 has been described by one Egyptologist as “a polymorphic god sitting on his throne” with “his back [in] bird-form, while one of his arms is raised like that of [the gods] Min or [Amun] and hold[ing] forth a flagellum.” Standing next to him is a “falcon-or …

Facsimile 3: Judgment Scene Of Presentation Scene?, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham has been identified in the past as “a constantly recurring scene in Egyptian literature, best known from the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead. It represents the judgment of the dead before the throne of Osiris.” Based on comparable iconography from other Egyptian funerary texts, this understanding of Facsimile 3 has been prevalent among Egyptologists. “The formal judgment of the dead contained in BD spell 125 . . . involves the deceased supplicant making a ‘negative confession’ asserting his or her faultless behavior on earth in the presence of forty-two …

Isis The Pharaoh, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

The explanation given for Facsimile 3 identifies figure 2 as “King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.” One potential way to identify this figure by Egyptological methods would be to read “the characters [hieroglyphs] above his head.” Unfortunately, the original illustration or vignette from the papyrus is not extant, and so we are forced to decipher the glyphs as they are reproduced in Facsimile 3 by their engraver Reuben Hedlock. While Hedlock appears to have done a fairly commendable job accurately reproducing the facsimiles (at least based on a comparison of Facsimile 1 with the …

Conclusion, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

As the preceding has shown, the Book of Abraham is an inexhaustible source of exploration and critical investigation, and the work of scholarly examination into this book shows no signs of slowing. On the contrary, we see multiple welcoming avenues for additional study. The net result of this review, in the meantime, has been the (re)discovery of numerous points of convergence between the Book of Abraham and the ancient world and theological and narrative aspects of the book that invite more sustained investigation. We hope that our guide has been helpful in orienting readers on these and related matters pertaining …

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Good Government Begins With Self-Government, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye

BYU Studies

For nearly a thousand years (from around 960 to 1905 CE), becoming a government official in imperial China required passing a battery of multiday, multisubject, anonymously graded written exams requiring decades of intensive preparation. Eighteenth-century European politi- cal thinkers, including Voltaire, admired China’s system for using meritocratic criteria, as opposed to aristocratic birth, to select government officials. The exams tested not only scholars’ abilities in history, philosophy, government, and literature, but also—in theory at least—their personal cultivation of moral virtues such as benevolence and integrity. Good government required goodness.

Fellow Travelers, Brothers And Sisters, Children Of God, Dieter F. Uchtdorf

BYU Studies

For a long time, my wife, Harriet, and I felt a need to visit Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp and site of the brutal murders of millions during World War II. So when we were in Eastern Europe a few

years ago, we made a point of making a pilgrimage to the site. One cannot visit such a place without coming away from it changed. We walked along the same paths that so many others had walked. One could almost see weary mothers holding the hands of terrified children; the hobbling steps of the elderly and the infirm; the despair …

Pursuing Mosiah’S And Madison’S Commonsense Principle In Today’S Divided Politics, Keith Allred

BYU Studies

It is hard not to despair over the dysfunction in American politics today. The chaos created by the partisan rancor is continually before us. Angry tweets, bitter protests, and personal attacks are increasingly the norm, while civil discourse about sound policy is rare. No republic ever effectively managed its challenges this way.

“To Moderate And Unify” The Role That Latter-Day Saint Citizen-Rhetors Can Play In Healing American Political Discourse, Kristine Hansen

BYU Studies

In the April 1997 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring stated, “When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention.” Repetition, he asserted, means the Lord’s servants are “warning the people, telling them the way to safety.” In both the October 2020 and the April 2021 general conferences, President Dallin H. Oaks stressed the importance of the rule of law and the best ways to participate as citizens in political processes. Although he focused on the United States, President Oaks reassured his global audience that the principles he …

The American Political Animal, Susan Elizabeth Howe

BYU Studies

Which one animates you? Which do you harbor? The bald eagle with its intense vision and predatory eye? Or Benjamin Franklin’s choice, the wild turkey?

"The Least Of These", Tinesha Zandamela

BYU Studies

While imprisoned in Birmingham, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote of the struggle for civil rights: “I am cognizant of the interrelated- ness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

On Being A Disciple Of Hope, Jessica Robinson Preece

BYU Studies

I am a political scientist, which means that I study patterns in politics. Most of the patterns in politics that I study are patterns of sexism. I work to accurately measure and carefully describe patterns of sexism in how political parties recruit candidates, how voters vote, how we deliberate with each other, or how Congress operates. Some of my work even identifies sexism in the methods other political scientists have used to study these topics in the past. On top of that, as a professor, I spend a significant part of my workday introducing these and other patterns of sexism …

The Saints And The State: The Mormon Troubles In Illinois, James Simeone, Brent M. Rogers, Reviewer

BYU Studies

The history of the Latter-day Saint experience in Nauvoo, Illinois, still has a great deal to teach us. It is not just the simplistic story of religious persecution and expulsion that is often rehearsed. In seven dense chapters, James Simeone, professor of political science at Illinois Wesleyan University, unveils a complex political milieu to explain the tension that led to the 1846 departure of the Saints from Illinois—and ultimately the United States. Relying on political theory and philosophy and his deep knowledge of politics in frontier Illinois, Simeone unpacks the paradox of a developing democracy, which he defines as the …

Epistolary Mcgahern, Eamon Maher

Articles

No abstract provided.

Goethe’S Faust And The Philosophy Of Money, Thimo Heisenberg

Philosophy Faculty Research and Scholarship

Philosophers today do not think of Goethe’s Faust as an important contribution to the philosophy of money. But to discount the work in this way is a mistake, I argue. Underneath Faust’s lyrical form, Goethe develops a comprehensive view of money that came to be an important influence on left-wing (Karl Marx) and right-wing (Oswald Spengler) discussions of money. Centrally, Goethe argues that modern economic practices have transformed money obsession (long conceived of primarily as an individual vice) into a structural problem: social structures are now set up to systematically require individuals to engage in quasi-obsessive behaviors towards …

Fichte And Hegel On Free Time, Thimo Heisenberg

Philosophy Faculty Research and Scholarship

To us today, it seems intuitive that an ideal society would secure for its citizens some time for leisure that is, some time to do “whatever they want” after having attended to their various responsibilities and natural needs. But, in this essay, I argue that—in 19th century social philosophy—the status of leisure (Muße) in an ideal society was actually surprisingly controversial: whereas J.G. Fichte makes a strong case for leisure as part of an ideal society (going even so far as considering it its central good), G.W.F. Hegel implicitly argues against this idea. For him, leisure is …

Review Of José Luis Nogales Baena, Editor. Obras Completas De Juan Manuel Torres: Tomo 1., Enrique Sacerio-Gari

Spanish Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Review Of 'John M. Janzen. Health In A Fragile State: Science, Sorcery, And Spirit In The Lower Congo. Madison: University Of Wisconsin Press, 2019. Xviii + 262 Pp. $21.95. Paper. Isbn: 978-0299325046.', Kalala J. Ngalamulume

History Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Beyond Resistance: Therapeutic Itinerary In Saint-Louis-Du-Senegal Between Indigenous And Scientific Medicine, 1820–1920, Kalala J. Ngalamulume

History Faculty Research and Scholarship

Drawing on oral traditions and archival materials, this article examines the validity of claims made by the French colonial physicians and administrators that the African patients’ mistrust of and resistance to biomedicine had to do with their superstition, apathy, and ignorance, as well as with the pressure exercised upon them by healers, marabouts, and midwives. It argues that the African patients’ therapeutic choices were rational and were informed by their cultural history.

Sarah Winchester: Silicon Valley Developer, Homay King

History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Review Of 'Painting In Stone: Architecture And The Poetics Of Marble From Antiquity To The Enlightenment', Dale Kinney

History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.