Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri – John Gee – 3 Stars

Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri – John Gee – 3 Stars

Title: A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri

Author: John Gee

Publisher: Foundation of Ancient Research and Mormonism or F.A.R.M.S. (Originally); Neal A Maxwell Institute (Currently)

Year: Softcover 2000

Rating:  3 Stars

Price and Purchasing Options: This book has been out of print for a while.  You can find eBook versions on Deseret Book, and I believe the full text is available on the Neal A Maxwell Institute website (somewhere).  You can occasionally find a cheap copy on eBay and if you are lucky you’ll see it at Deseret Industries.  When you see cheap copies I would pick them up.  It’s a neat little book.

Review: This book is short, sweet, and to the point; and I believe accurate as well.

With the discovery of parts of the Joseph Smith Papyri, and their connections and similarities with sections of the Egyptian Book of the Dead; there have been many questions regarding the Papyri that Joseph had.  This text is intended to shed light on what we know and assume about the actual Papyri.  I enjoyed how it doesn’t address translation process (as it related to the Book of Abraham), but addressed the physical object itself. 

This includes how they were found, and described in various places; what we know happened to them between different periods of time; what we know and what we just assume (which is always an overlooked, and important part of many conversations); and what we have now.

One of my favorite thought provoking moments, is the consideration of what we have compared to what was described.  For instance, after the death of Joseph, Emma spread chunks of the papyri out at various times for various reasons (sometimes to pay bills with) – as was necessary.  For the most part they were “lost” and then assumed to be back in the Chicago Museum in the early 1900’s – and then eventually burned in the subsequent Chicago fire.  Again, assumed to be lost forever, it was a surprise that the museum a few decades later seemed to have “found” them and a popular phot of Bruce R being handed the “remaining” pieces can be found in many PoGP manuals.  The interesting point that John Gee brings up, is the difference between what was given to the church and what Oliver Cowdery described.  Oliver said that the sections where the Book of Abraham come from were “perfectly preserved with black and red ink throughout” – and yet what we have are not perfectly preserved with no red ink throughout.  I just thought that was interesting… not strong conclusion, just interesting.

This is also a small book – and very easy to read; making the content approachable for students at all stages in the gospel study.  It is a safe discussion – and will not address everything and answer all questions in regards to the Book of Abraham, but it will cover the actual papyri and helps give a proper and appropriate foundation for any other discussion. 

When people ask about the Book of Abraham, I first ask (rather than looking online) if they have read this book, in order to give them a proper place to start from in asking all of the other questions. 

I highly recommend this book – and I do think it should be in every library.  However, it will not bring you closer to Christ (so not a 5 Star book), and I don’t think everyone needs to read it, because some people just don’t care.  For those reasons I dropped it into the 3 Star category – if you are interested than this is the book for you!  If you are not interested – then move on.

Suggestions:  Regardless of whether you are going to need the book or not – if you see it in print for cheap, you should pick it up.

I hope you have enjoyed this review, and I encourage you to follow this blog as I update more reviews in the coming days, weeks, months, etc.  Please feel free to also follow my YouTube page – however, I enjoy writing more than being on camera!

Review #29

Tags: Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, Joseph Smith (topic), Church History, John Gee, 3 Stars, LDS Book Review, Ryan Daley