THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

ITS AUTHENTICITY ESTABLISHED AS A DIVINE AND ANCIENT RECORD

WITH COPIOUS REFERENCES TO ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORITIES

BY ELDER GEO. REYNOLDS.

1879 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

CHAPTER VIII.

ABRAHAM AS A PYRAMID BUILDER.--PHILITION.--THE USES OF THE PYRAMIDS.--THE COFFER A BAPTISMAL FONT.-- SYMBOLISM IN BAPTISM FRO THE DEAD.--THE SACRED CUBIT.--"ONE DAY TO A CUBIT."--ALCYONE.--THE SUN'S DISTANCE.--PYRAMID REFERENCES TO ASTRONOMICAL TRUTHS.--SUMMARY OF PYRAMID REFERENCES.

T'HE next task which we have assigned ourselves, is to show from the ancient pyramid of Cheops that the true system of astronomy, as taught by God to Abraham, was known to those who raised this mighty structure. To do this we desire to draw attention and consider separately three points.

1st. The historical reasons we have for believing that Abraham superintended the erection of this pyramid.

2d. The reasons why this vast structure was built, and the uses for which it was designed.

3d. The direct evidences from the dimensions, form, etc., of the pyramid of Cheops, that tend to prove that its builders were acquainted with the laws that govern the starry worlds.

The Pharaoh, or king of Egypt, who is generally regarded as the builder of the first pyramid, is known to secular history by the name of Cheops. To him and his actions in closing the idolatrous temples of Egypt, we have referred in a previous chapter, as well as to the statement of Herodotus, that the Egyptians so detested his memory that they would not even mention his name. Hence he states, "they commonly call the pyramids after Philition, (1 ) a shepherd, who at that time fed his flocks about the place." Remarking upon the above statement, Mr. Proctor, the celebrated astronomer, writes: "The mention of the shepherd Philition, who fed his flocks about the place where the great Pyramid was built, is a singular feature of Herodotus' narrative. It reads like some strange misinterpretation of the story related to him by the Egyptian priests. It is obvious if the word Philition did not represent a people, but a person, this person must have been very eminent and distinguished--a shepherd king--not a mere shepherd. Rawlinson suggests that Philitis was probably a shepherd prince from Palestine, perhaps of Philistine descent. Prof. Smyth comes to the conclusion that some She-mite prince, 'a contemporary of, but rather older than the patriarch Abraham,' visited Egypt at this time and obtained such influence over the mind of Cheops as to persuade him to erect the pyramid. According to Smyth, the prince was no other than Melchizedek, king of Salem, and the influence he exerted was supernatural. * * * It seems tolerably clear that certain shepherd chiefs who came into Egypt during Cheops' reign were connected in some way with the designing of the great pyramid. It is clear also that they were men of a different religion from the Egyptians, and persauded Cheops to abandon the religion of his people."

If Josephus be correct, Professor Smyth's deductions regarding Melchizedek are wrong, for the former says that the Egyptians were taught astronomy by Abraham; without Melchizedek followed Abraham into Egypt instead of preceding him, which, though possible, we have no account of in any of the sacred writings.

Mr. Proctor further writes: "In the first place, the history of the pyramids shows that the erection of the first great pyramid was in all probability either suggested to Cheops by wise men who visited Egypt from the east, or else some important information conveyed to him by such visitors caused him to conceive the idea of building the pyramid. In either case we may suppose, as the history indeed suggests, that these learned men, whoever they may have been, remained in Egypt to superintend the erection of the structure. * * * The astronomical peculiarities which form so significant a portion of the great pyramid were probably provided for entirely under the direction of the shepherd chiefs who had exerted so strange an influence upon the mind of king Cheops. * * * It is certain in any case that they (the shepherd chiefs) were opposed to idolatry; and we have thus some means of inferring who they were or whence they came. We know that one particular branch of one particular race in the east was characterized by a most marked hatred of idolatry in all its forms. * * * And the Bible record shows that members of this Chaldean family visited Egypt from time to time. They were shepherds too, which accords with the account of Herodotus. * * * But having formed the opinion on grounds sufficiently assured, that the strangers who visited Egypt and superintended the building of the great pyramid were kinsmen of the patriarch Abraham, it is not very difficult to decide what was the subject respecting which they had such exact information. They or their parents had come from the land of the Chaldeans, and they were doubtless learned in all the wisdom of their Chaldean kinsmen. They were masters, in fact, of the astronomy of their day, a science for which the Chaldeans had shown, from the earliest ages, the most remarkable aptitude. * * * It is highly probable that the astronomical knowledge of the Chaldeans in the days of Terah and Abraham was much more accurate than that possessed by the Greeks in the time of Hipparchus." Mr. Proctor ultimately comes to the conclusion that "the stranger called Philition by Herodotus, may, for aught that appears, have been Abraham himself." It is a matter of secondary moment, in this consideration, whether Abraham himself or some other divinely inspired man, was the actual) architect of the great pyramid; it is sufficient to know, which it itself testifies, that whoever that builder was, he was acquainted with the same grand astronomical truths that the Book of Abraham states the Lord revealed to that patriarch, and which, at the time Joseph Smith translated the papyrus, were unknown to modern scientists.

Our next inquiries are, with regard to the causes or reasons that led to the erection of the pyramids, and to the purposes for which they were used.

Various theories have been advanced on these points. Some have supposed that these vast structures were associated with the religious rites of the ancient Egyptians; others have suggested that they combined the purposes of tombs and temples; again, that they were astronomical observatories; also that they had primarily astrological import. It has also been argued that they were defences against the sands of the great desert, or places of refuge during the excessive overflows of the Nile; the idea has also been advanced that they were granaries, somewhat after the manner of those erected under the direction of Joseph, the Israelite. A very little reflection will manifest that some of the suggestions are entirely untenable. Take for instance the notion that they were granaries. If so, what a vast waste of material, how entirely does their structure and form unsuit them for such a purpose. As wise a people as their builders must have been would scarcely have constructed a mountain of masonry, with two or three relatively small rooms therein, for such a purpose. There is some show of reason for believing that some of them were tombs and temples combined, but this will not hold good with regard to the pyramid of Cheops. Nothing found therein has given the least ground-work for the supposition that it was used for sepulchral purposes. In what is called the king's chamber was found an empty stone chest or coffer, without a lid; but in form, ornament and material it is entirely different to the usual sarcophagus used by the ancient Egyptians for the reception of the embalmed dead.

Two of the reasons advanced above, as applied to the pyramids of Cheops, are worthy of our consideration.

1st. That it was an astronomical observatory.

2d. That it was associated with the religion of the ancient Egyptians.

The reasons for believing it to have been built as an observatory are cogent and numerous. There can be no doubt that in many respects it was intended by its builders to typify astronomical truths; evidence in proof of which will be hereafter adduced. It has been suggested that the granite coffer found in what is now called the king's chamber (simply that it may have a distinctive name) was filled, in whole or in part, as circumstances required, with water, and that the face of the heavens was reflected therein, through the slanting passages that pointed directly to the polar star. That this coffer was used as a receptacle for water is highly probable, from the fact that a well tapping the waters of the Nile is found in the pyramid. (2 ) In this inner chamber, surrounded by this vast mass of masonry, removed as far as possible from the atmospheric and electric perturbations existing on the earth's surface, it is argued that using the water in the coffer as a mirror, the most accurate observations could be taken that were then possible. This idea we deem untenable, as it appears to us that the inclines and angles in the passages would render such reflection next to impossible. According to certain Arabian historians "there were placed in the great pyramid divers celestial spheres and stars, and what they severally operate in their aspects, and the perfumes which are to be used to them, and the books which treat of these matters."

The evidences that it was an edifice erected for sacred purposes are not so strong as those that can be brought forward in favor of its astronomical uses. We incline to the opinion that it combined both purposes; but we are scarcely willing to admit that if it was a temple, it was erected by a believer in the faith that looked upon Osiris and associate deities as the true Gods. The style of this vast structure and the temples erected by the followers of that faith are the antipodes of each other. The perfect purity of the pyramid from every idolatrous ornament and reference as well as of all attempts to glorify the wealth, might or wisdom of its human builders, makes it differ entirely, generically and radically from all ordinary Egyptian temples, pictured from top to bottom with the praises of their false gods. Besides, it is asserted, as before shown that the man who built this pyramid shut up the temples, a very inconsistent act, if he were a worshiper at their shrines. We hold the opinion that if this pyramid was used for religious purposes at all, it was in connection with the doctrines taught by Abraham, and if the Lord permitted the patriarch to preach to the Egyptians that principle of the Gospel known to us as baptism for the dead, we can well imagine the use to which the coffer in the king's chamber was applied. Indeed, the idea that the coffer was a baptismal font has been suggested by more than one Gentile writer, (3 ) but if it were used especially in the ordinances for the salvation of those who had passed from this sphere of action the symbolism would be almost perfect; for we have here a font enshrined in the heart of an artificial mountain, that could be reached only through a straight, stony gate and by a long, narrow and mysterious passage. How accurately these typify the valley of the shadow of death, and the grave, and how perfect the imagery of going into the heart of this solid mountain to act for those who had been laid away in the sepulchre. There is one thing that greatly strengthens the idea that if its uses were religious, they were Abrahamic. It is that this very coffer is of the exact capacity of the ark of the covenant of Moses' day, also that an originally marked oft portion of the chamber in which the coffer stands is of the exact capacity of the brazen sea, or baptismal font, in Solomon's Temple. Surely there is something more than a mere coincidence in this.

We next desire to draw attention to some of the important truths relating to the earth and the heavens, revealed by God to Abraham (as stated in part in his book), of which the generality of mankind of that and every succeeding age have remained in ignorance, even to the day in which we live, but with which the builders of the great pyramid were evidently acquainted. Amongst these and kindred truths, as manifested in the construction of this vast artificial mountain, we may mention the law of planetary and solar motion, the distance of the earth from its centre--the sun, the exact size, shape and density of our terraquous globe, the precise length of its solar orbit, as also the value of the sacred cubit as the unit of measurement. Writing on this subject, in a recent number of the Juvenile Instructor, Elder Joseph L. Barfoot (Beth) remarks: "There has been a great deal of guess-work heretofore about the use of the great pyramid at Geezah. The prevailing opinion was that it had been intended for a tomb for one of the ancient kings of Egypt, Discoveries have recently been made which have led to the inference that it had far more important uses, in fact that it was an observatory, built upon mathematical principles, and designed to perpetuate, through all succeeding time, a correct knowledge of the heavens and the earth. * * * It is found that the measure by which the proportions of the great pyramid were determined is an exact proportional to the axis of the earth itself. This is a very important thing, for it is thus in harmony with natural standards of measure, such as used by Deity. This pyramid standard measure is called the sacred cubit, as it is found that the standard divinely recognized through Moses was the same as that of the pyramid. The sacred cubit was the pyramid cubit."

Now then, with this fact before our eyes, let us turn to the Book of Abraham. The explanation of Fig. 1, of the circular disc, reads thus: "Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement, according to celestial time; which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years, according to the measurement of this earth, which is-called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh."

If we understand the above aright it means that with the Gods the unit of the measurement of time is one of the days of Kolob, or one thousand of our years, "which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit," or, that as one of Kolob's days is the unit of celestial time, so the cubit is the unit of celestial measurement, by which the size of the worlds are measured when the foundations thereof are laid; by which the distances of the suns and planets are regulated, and all the creations of the Holy Ones controlled. That this cubit, which was the unit of measurement of holy things on this earth--the ark of the tabernacle, the temple, etc., was also the unit of measurement when this earth was created, is further proven by the following extract from Elder Barfoot's writings: "The sacred cubit is in length rather more than twenty-five (25.025) inches of English measure. It is one ten-millionth part of the radius of the axis of the earth at the poles;" that is, it is 10,000,000 sacred cubits from the centre of the earth to either the north or south pole, or 20,000,000 through the earth from pole to pole. Brother Barfoot continues: "No higher or more reliable standard of extreme precision could be given to man than the measure of the polar radius, for all other terrestrial and celestial things relating to the earth are in proportion to this natural standard. So important are the discoveries made recently by means of the sacred cubit that men are surprised to think that the uses of the great pyramid have been so long concealed." To this remark of our esteemed brother we answer, the Lord had not turned the key; and here we pause for a moment to ask, and ask of all the world, how could Joseph Smith have possibly become acquainted with this great truth if God had not revealed it unto him. This one truth alone of which all the world was ignorant, of itself, in its revelation by him, proves him to have been a prophet of the Most High God.

We now turn to some of the peculiarities of the great pyramid, to which passing reference has before been made, gleaning our information from the writings of Petrie, Osborn, Smyth, Mackay, and others. We would observe, however, that our space prevents us from giving any but the more prominent references.

1st. For parts cosmocally and symbolically significant, the metric standard of the great pyramid is the sacred cubit, exactly one ten-millionth of the earth's polar radius, the only natural standard of both unique and extreme precision; a standard of divine origination, primeval, and preserved in the least disturbed line of Abraham's family (the Arabs) to the present day. (Mr. Wm. Petrie.)

Does not this testimony almost word for word confirm the statements of the Book of Abraham?

2d. The direction of the strait entrance passage, inclining at 26 20' into the north side of the pyramid, was such that at the reputed date of its establishment (4 ) this direction was that of the primeval pole star, then at its lower culmination, while Alcyone (5 ) (the centre of, or governing planet which controls our solar system) then near the celestial equator, was at its upper culmination, or on the same meridian at midnight of the autumnal equinox. This definite combination cannot recur for 25,898 years; it marked the date of the pyramid, and of the year of the Pleiades," a commencement of a natural chronologic era, traditions of which have remained in most times and countries, or to put it in another shape, "the meridian of the primeval pole star became rigidly stationary on Alcyone at the date of the great pyramid, after which it commenced to retrograde."

3d. A thousand billion times the pyramid's weight, carefully computed, is the mass of the whole earth, namely, six thousand and fifty trillions of British tons.

4th. The annual circuit of the earth--that is, one year, is represented by the length of the base circuit of the pyramid, and each day of twenty-four hours by four cubits. Or each day of our year is represented by one cubit on each of the four sides of the pyramid, each side representing in its whole length one year of this earth. Or one day to a cubit as stated in the Book of Abraham. Can any one explain to us why this pyramid were so built that one cubit should represent one day exactly, if Abraham did not teach this to them? and if he did, then we have called the pyramids to bear witness to the truth of his book, which they most assuredly do, and at the same time to the truth of its translation by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Napoleon Bonaparte, when he gathered his armies in Egypt, pointing to the pyramids, told his legions that forty centuries looked down upon them. We have also called these mighty monuments of the past to bear record to the unity of revealed truth. Admit the above to be facts, and how is it possible to deny that Joseph Smith received his wisdom from a divine source, and consequently was a prophet of God.

Mr. Mackay, writing (1870) on facts in astronomy, states that the great pyramid has been "investigated and explored as no other monument, ancient and modern, ever was; and the indefatigable explorers have been rewarded with an abundant harvest of the most brilliant discoveries. One of these, discovered by Mr. Petrie, is the clear indication that the architect of this pyramid knew the mean distance of the sun from the earth with an exactitude to which modern science never approached till within the last seven years. * * * The best lineal and angular measurements have been combined by W. Petrie, who shows therefrom that the original height of the great pyramid, from the pavement to its base, was 486.25 British feet; this multiplied by the ninth power of ten--i.e., 1,000,000,000 gives a result of 92,093,000 British miles, for the mean distance of the sun. The latest collective result of science reckons the probable truth to be between 91,970,000, and 92,150,000; while the great pyramid gives 92,093,000 miles, (6 ) being completely within these minimum uncertainties of science." This, by other references, has been proven to have been no accident, but intended by the builders, as it constitutes but a small part of the evidence discovered in this direction.

Here, then, we have evidence that the ancient Egyptians had a knowledge of the true distance from the sun. That they obtained this knowledge only by divine light is evidenced by the abortive attempts of other ancient investigators to determine this question. For instance, in the days of Herodotus, (B. C. 500,) it was thought that the sun was distant only some eight or ten miles; fifty years later it was estimated by Anaxagoras at 1800; 150 years later, 5,300,000 was the computed distance; 1900 years later, Kepler calculated the distance at 26,400,000 miles; in A. D. 1750 the supposed distance was increased to 81,650,000, and so, from the dawn of creation until now, uninspired men have been groping after this truth, and even to-day they are not entirely satisfied that the exact measurement has been obtained.

It is unnecessary, for our present purpose, to enter into all the details of the varied geometrical, metrical, mechanical, geographical, astronomical and cosmical references found in the great pyramid, all of which, it is vigorously asserted, have been tested and proven correct by the very best scientific ability; nor will space permit us to follow a rapidly-increasing class of writers who find in its lines, angles and markings a prophetic history of the world; but we should scarcely feel satisfied if we did not summarize a few of its leading characteristics. "We find," (7 ) to use the language of Dr. J. A. Seiss, of Philadelphia," a perfect geometric figure, so framed that the four sides of its base bear the same proportion to its vertical height as the circumference of a circle to its radius; that each of its base lines measures the even ten-millionth part of the semi-axis of the earth just as many times as there are days in the year; that its height multiplied by the ninth power of ten gives the mean distance between the earth and its great centre of light; that its unit of length is the even five hundredth millionth part of the polar diameter of the globe we inhabit; that its two diagonals of base measure in inches the precise number of years in the great processional cycle; that its bulk of masonry is an even proportion of the weight of the earth itself, and that its setting and shaping are squared and oriented (8 ) with microscopic accuracy." Regarding the coffer in the king's chamber he continues: "We perceive in it a most accurately-shaped standard of measures and proportions, its sides and bottom cubically identical with its internal space, the length of its two sides to its height as a circle to its diameter, its exterior volume just twice the dimension of its bottom, and its whole measure just the fiftieth part of the chamber in which it was put when the edifice was built," for it could not have been gotten into the chamber after the building was finished, by reason of the size and angles of the entrance passages. Now, then, let us add to these facts a statement by the same author, and we think our position regarding the veracity of the portion of the Book of Abraham we have lastly been commenting upon is amply vindicated. "Everywhere do we encounter the traditions of Abraham's skill in the knowledge of the heavens, how he argued from his observation of the heavenly orbs, and how he occupied himself in Egypt teaching the priests of Heliopolis in the lore of the skies. Doubtless this was not the naked science of astronomy as the schools conceive of it, but as respected the theological and Messianic truths symbolized in these celestial hieroglyphics, in which, as in the more literal promises, he rejoiced to see Christ's day, and saw it and was glad. (John, viii, 56.)" Which testimony of the Savior's is in direct accord with the statements of the Book of Abraham; nor need we be surprised thereat, when revelation, ancient and modern, states that Enoch, and indeed other antediluvian patriarchs, saw not only "Christ's day," but the world's history, even to the winding up scene.

Admitting that the shape of the pyramid, in connection with its other references, has a prophetic import, it becomes a remarkable fact that this stupendous four-sided monument, in this particular phase of its construction, typifies the number of days, according to the reckoning of the Lord and of Kolob, between the fall of man and the incarnation of our Savior (4000 years), and the time between the date of its own construction and the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ in the last days (also 4000 years), Two of the most important events then in the future of the world's history, and known in the economy of God, the first as the ushering in of "the dispensation of the fulness of time," the second as the ushering in of "the dispensation of the fulness of times."

(1 ) It is worthy of note that the root of the name Philition or Philitis signifies a lover of truth, a most appropriate name for Abraham.

(2 ) The assertion that this well connected with the Nile, is denied by Prof. Smyth and other explorers.

(3 ) Bryant, Faber, Goodsir and others.

(4 ) B. C. 2170, or exactly 4000 years before 1830, the date of the organization of the Church of Jesus Cfhrist in this dispensation.

(5 ) "The Pleiades are the seven stars, called cemah, which means an axle, that on or around which something turns. Now, a few years ago, Prof. Madler, the German astronomer, was awarded a gold medal by the scientific societies of Europe. And why? Because he was the first to advance the hypothesis of the existence of a central body in the stellar universe, about which all in our system revolved. He fixed, as that preponderating mass, upon the Pleiades, and upon the brightest star in the group, namely, Alcyone, as the very centre. Yet from Job we learn this scientific fact, and Prof. Madler had no special claim for such a discovery, nor had he any right to such a medal, unless he was a lineal descendant and heir of Job."--Dr. Wild, of New York.

(6 ) The most recent scientific estimate of the sun's distance from the earth actually places it within 270 miles of the exact pyramid figures.

(7 ) Miracle in Stone.

(8 ) Oriented--situated with respect to the four cardinal points.

THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

ITS AUTHENTICITY ESTABLISHED AS A DIVINE AND ANCIENT RECORD

WITH COPIOUS REFERENCES TO ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORITIES

BY ELDER GEO. REYNOLDS.

1879 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

CHAPTER VII.

THE MEANS BY WHICH ABRAHAM WAS TAUGHT ASTRONOMY.--THE ABRAHAMIC SYSTEM OF ASTRONOMY.--FROM THE EARTH TO KOLOB.--THE SYSTEM PROVEN TRUE BY RECENT RESEARCH.--TESTIMONY OR VARIOUS AUTHORS.--ALCYONE.--MR. PETRIE'S TESTIMONY.--ADMISSIONS THAT THE ANCIENTS WERE TAUGHT SCIENTIFIC TRUTHS BY DIVINE REVELATION.

A BRAHAM tells us that there were three ways by which he received his knowledge of astronomy.

1st. Through the records handed down to him from the antediluvian patriarchs.

2d. By the use of the Urim and Thummim, which he received from the Lord in Ur of Chaldea.

3d. By direct communication with the Almighty, who, face to face, and with His own voice, explained to him the laws that govern His countless creations.

The system of astronomy revealed by God to Abraham is so vast, so grand, so comprehensive, that no uninspired man ever searched out its depths or ascended its heights. Occasionally a patient searcher after truth caught a faint glimmer of its glory, but that was all. But they none learned as Abraham learned, nor did the profoundest astronomers of forty years ago have aught but the most meagre and vain conception of the truths given to the world by Joseph Smith in his inspired translation of Abraham's record. Indeed, the truths there set forth are, today, scarcely recognized by the more conservative schools of astronomy, it is only the more daring minds that accept them, even in part.

The great truths told by Abraham regarding the starry hosts of heaven are recorded thus: "I saw the stars that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones that were near it; and the Lord said unto me, These are the governing ones: 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 of that upon which thou standest. And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolution thereof, that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the reckoning of Kolob."

In other words these great, governing planets control all others in their revolutions, or are the centres around which the others revolve. As the moon revolves around the earth, and the earth with the other primary and secondary planets belonging to this solar system revolve around the sun, so has the sun a centre around which it, with all its earths and moons, revolves, while this grand centre has a governing planet also, a sun or world around which it, with its attendant systems of suns and worlds, revolves, and so on until we come to Kolob, the "nearest to the celestial or the residence of God," which is the grand centre which governs all the suns and systems of suns "which belong to the same order" as our earth and those that move with it.

Still further than this the Book of Abraham teaches us:

1st. That Kolob is the greatest of all the stars seen by that patriarch.

That it is so because it is nearest to the celestial, or residence of God.

That it is nigh unto the throne of God.

That it governs all the planets which belong to the same order as this earth.

That it is after the reckoning of the Lord's time.

That it is after the manner of the Lord according to its times and seasons and the revolutions thereof.

That one revolution is a day unto the Lord.

That one day, in Kolob, is equal to a thousand years, according to the measurement of this earth.

That Kolob signifies first creation.

That it is the first in government, and last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time; which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit.

2d. That Oliblish stands next to Kolob.

That it is the next grand governing creation.

That it is equal to Kolob in its revolution and in its measurement of time.

That it holds the key of power as pertaining to other planets.

3d. That Enish-go-on-dosh is also a governing planet, which was said, by the ancient Egyptians, to be the sun, and to borrow (receive) its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash.

4th. That Kae-e-vanrash is the grand key, or governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also the moon (Floeese), the earth and the sun in their annual revolutions. That Kae-e-vanrash receives its power through Kli-flos-is-es or Hah-ko-kau-beam.

5th. Kli-flos-is-es and

6th. Hah-ko-kau-beam receive their light from the revolutions of Kolob.

To summarize: That this solar system is governed by Kae-e-vanrash, which is governed by Kli-flos-is-es or Hah-ko-kau-beam, which are governed by Kolob. Whether Oliblish belongs to the same order of systems as this earth, or simply holds the keys of power-pertaining to other planets, is not so apparent.

When Joseph Smith enunciated the sublime truths above noticed no such thoughts were prevalent amongst the students of astronomy. The Herschels had some inkling of the facts, but their ideas were crude and undeveloped. It was not until the Book of Abraham had been published in America, and if we mistake not in England also, that Sir Wm. G. Hamilton, of the Dublin University, advanced the idea that our solar system had a centre around which the sun and all its attendant planets moved. To-day the scholars in the most radical school of astronomy will only admit that our system has a centre, and that the probabilities are that that centre has a centre also round which it and all its satellites move. Further than this they cannot go. However, the little they do admit, confirms the mighty truths revealed to Abraham of old and Joseph of today. On the other hand, the followers of the more conservative schools will simply acknowledge that our solar system has a proper motion of its own, independent of its relative or apparent motions with regard to other stars. They admit that "relative to the general mass of stars, our sun is moving in the direction of the constellation of Hercules." They have come to this conclusion, because they find that the stars in that part of the heavens are continually growing brighter, (thus showing they are coming nearer,) whilst those in exactly the opposite direction are as continually growing more dim. They have also discovered that "there are in the heavens several cases of widely extended groups of stars, having a common proper motion entirely different from that of She stars around and among them. Such groups they say "must form connected systems," (1 ) or in other words, are all controlled by one and the same governing planet. It is also admitted that "the stars in all parts of the heavens move in all directions with all sorts of velocities; (2 ) but they claim that the distances of the stars from the earth are so immense, and so short a period of time has elapsed since they first began to notice these movements, that they cannot with certainty say whether they are moving in circles or straight lines, it is only by analogy that they reason that they are moving around a centre. So little are some of these observers willing to admit, that Prof. Newcomb simply allows that "as our sun is merely one of the stars, and rather a small one too, it may have a proper motion as well as other stars." The Smithsonian report for 1871, speaking of Herschel, says: "The world can afford to wait. Astronomy advances. It may be, in the distant future, that the mysterious centre around which our sun and his worlds revolve, may be detected and afford a solution for other mysteries as well as these. The greatest astronomer is equipped for no more than a Sabbath-day's journey." Another writer remarks, "Madler attempted to show, from an examination of the proper motions of the stars, that the whole stellar universe was revolving around Alcyone, of the Pleiades (or 'seven stars') as a centre--a theory, the grandeur of which led to its wide diffusion in popular writing." Mr. Wm. Petrie, of London, writing with regard to this same star says: "Alcyone, a primeval name of the star, means the centre, and has quite recently been discovered to be really the centre around which even our whole solar system, amongst others, revolves."

Short as is this last quotation, it testifies to three things confirmatory of the divine inspiration that gave to the world the Book of Abraham.

1st. That this solar system has a central or governing sun or planet.

2d. That this fact was known to the ancients, who gave to this particular star the name of the centre.

3d. That in modern times this truth has only been "quite recently discovered." That is to say; Joseph Smith could not have learned it from living men or modern books, but only through the revelations of God.

And here let us observe that the word planet, as given by Joseph Smith to the suns, in common parlance called fixed stars, is scientifically correct, as a planet is a world that moves or wanders through space, and the common nomenclature of fixed stars is untruthful and scientifically incorrect, as none are absolutely at a standstill or fixed immovably in one place.

Elder Joseph L. Barfoot affords us the following additional particulars with regard to the revolution of the solar system around Alcyone. He states: "The entire march of our sun and its system around its centre is 25,868 years. (The period of the precession of the equinoxes.) I believe this to be the period of the solar orbit, and that there is some relation to this period and the sacred cubit (25.025) which may yet be discovered. The change of 50.1" per annum in the appearance of the stars as seen from the earth results from the orbital motion around Kolob or some other large body. This would be a degree in seventy-two years. Of course the orbit would be immense; the Lord evidently gave the Prophet Joseph an insight into the order of this grand eternal round, which I think is really pictured in the Hypocephalus.

"The earth rotates on its axis, and moves in its orbit by the power imparted to its mass by the solar forces; the deflective force from the line of the sun's motion, produced by the sun's rotation on its axis, and its progression around the centre of momentum of the system to which it belongs. And, since neither the earth, nor any other body of matter, has power without motion, so, in the sun's great power, we have evidence of its great progressive motion. The rotation of the sun of more than 6,500 feet per second would demand a velocity of progression of over 26,000 feet per second. Herschel, by observation, was led to conclude that 'the sun somehow moved towards Hercules with the velocity of the earth, or 100,000 feet per second,' and to infer that the sun actually describes 'a great orbit around some undiscriminated centre.' Sir R. Phillips analogically estimated the size of this orbit, and announced that with equal centripetal and centrifugal force, it would require an orbit of 162,885 millions of miles, performed in exactly 25,868 years, the period of the precession of the equinoxes.

"And as the earth and the other planets of this system rotate by reason of the central solar motion, and turn on their axis by being deflected from a right line in their respective orbits, Philips has shown that the sun and all other planets rotate, as a result of the operation of the same law of motion, and the fact that its satellites move in elliptical (egg-shaped, to be exact) orbits shows that the solar centre is advancing.

"That this earth is part of a system that suffers no permanent change, is seen in the unvarying order of the eclipses, which return in periods of eighteen years and eleven days, if there are four leap years, and in eighteen years and ten days, if there are five leap years in the period. And although astronomy does not yet recognize the different orders of planets alluded to in the Book of Abraham, the teachings of science are all tending to show that there are great governing, central forces and periodic cycles."

Having thus shown that present research and investigation are proving the astronomical truths first given to this generation by that unlearned but heaven-inspired man, the Prophet Joseph Smith, we have next to show that the Egyptians were familiar with them, and that they learned them through the teachings of Abraham. To have done this some fifteen or twenty years ago would have been next to an impossibility; but to-day, through the researches of various talented and earnest men, it can be demonstrated with comparative ease.

But before we attempt to prove that Abraham was actually the instrument used of God to instruct the Egyptians in the mysteries of the starry worlds, we will present a few extracts, from various writers, to manifest that even the scientific world is beginning to admit that the Egyptians obtained their knowledge of astronomy through divine agency or revelation, as it was entirely out of their power in those early postdiluvian days to make such stupendous advances in this science with the instruments and learning then at their disposal, without they received such aid from records, etc., of antediluvian times.

Rev. Mr. Mackay, referring to some of the astronomical truths known to the ancient inhabitants of the land of the Pharaohs, states that he believes they were "revealed to man, ages and generations before science had any existence," and strange to say, the truths to which this gentleman refers have a direct relation to those contained in the Book of Abraham. Mr. Wm. Osborn, in a sketch of the history of ancient Egypt, remarks: "According to Moses, moreover, the age that produced by far the most remarkable of those monuments (the pyramids) was one in which the Almighty had frequent and familiar intercourse with man, as in the case of the patriarchs, Abraham, Melchizedek and Job; while the monument itself evinces innumerable evidences of a knowledge and wisdom to which unaided humanity has nowhere ever attained."

Rev. Mr. Goodsir, from the demonstration of facts akin to the foregoing, remarks: "The conclusion that some men in primeval times were taught by God, for important religious and moral purposes, scientific truths which modern men of science are only now discovering, is maintained on the strength of two lines of evidence--first, the freedom of scripture rightly interpreted from scientific error, and from the religious and moral errors witnessed among the pagans as the result of ignorance and errors in science: and second, the possession by primeval man of such scientific knowledge as we are only now reaching, as demonstrated by the great pyramid. Certain things render it extremely probable that this knowledge was imparted to the Ethnics (the gentiles) (who employed it in constructing the great pyramid) by servants of God, whom He had taught; and though ultimately corrupted and obscured by the pagans, still it is highly probable that, evincing its truth even from the midst of enveloping error, this scientific knowledge continued to stimulate the Egyptian, and afterwards the Greek, mind to scientific inquiry. * * * For as there is the clearest evidence that a revelation of religious truth existed in primeval times, and continued to benefit men, even when it became more or less corrupted, so is there as clear evidence that men were primevally instructed in the most important cosmologic and scientific truths. * * * The extreme probability is that a true scientific conception of the Kosmos in general would be at first conveyed to man directly by God, to guard his intelligent and highly-favored child from nature worship."

That God did use Abraham, as stated in his book, to convey astronomical knowledge to the Egyptians, is, we think, fully demonstrated by the following: Josephus (book 1, chapter viii,) states that Abraham "communicated to them (the Egyptians) arithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy, for before Abraham came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts of learning, for that science came by the Chaldeans into Egypt, and from them to the Greeks also."

This is very strong corroborative testimony, but modern research actually claims to have discovered the year in which Abraham did this. The British text book already referred to, entitled "Facts and Dates," published in 1870 by the well-known firm of Wm. Blackwood & Sons, of Edinburgh (we are particular in giving details, to show that it proceeds from a reliable and highly respectable firm), in its history of ancient Egypt, gives the following:

"B.C. 1980. Abraham teaches the king of Egypt the true chronology, after which the inscriptions bear the name of the year and month."

So far as the actual year is concerned, we deem it a matter of minor importance, so that the fact is acknowledged, and the truth of modern revelation vindicated.

(1 ) " Popular Astronomy, 1878," by 'Professor 8. Newcomb, of the United States Naval Observatory.

(2 ) Ibid.

THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

ITS AUTHENTICITY ESTABLISHED AS A DIVINE AND ANCIENT RECORD

WITH COPIOUS REFERENCES TO ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORITIES

BY ELDER GEO. REYNOLDS.

1879 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

CHAPTER VI.

THE CHRONLOGY OF THE ANCIENTS.--A KEY TO ITS MYSTERIES.--THE ANTEDILUVIAN MONARCHS.--JOSEPHUS AND CHINESE CHRONOLOGY.--ABRAHAM ON PHARAOH'S THRONE.--HE MAKES A TREATY ENDING A ONE HUNDREAD YEARS WAR.--CHEOPS.

IN the seventh paragraph of the Book of Abraham we find the following: "Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal, Pharaoh being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the priesthood." The next paragraph is as follows: "Now Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry; but I shall endeavor, hereafter, to delineate the chronology, running back from myself to the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands, which I hold unto this present time."

We desire to draw attention to several ideas advanced in the above quotations.

1st. That the early Egyptians were acquainted with events that occurred before the flood.

2d. That the antediluvian patriarchs reigned in the midst of their descendants as kings.

3d. That this form of government was the prevailing one, in the days immediately succeeding the deluge.

4th. That the Egyptians established in their midst an imitation or bogus priesthood, that rapidly carried the people into idolatry.

5th. That Abraham, and probably many others, possessed records running back to the beginning of time.

Modern research has amply vindicated the statements of Abraham's record with regard to the condition of society amongst the early dwellers on the banks of the Nile. Listen to what Mr. Osborn states on this subject, and, though in different wording, note how fully he bears out the patriarch's assertions. Mr. O. remarks in his "Religions of the "World," that "Egyptian remains prove clearly that, while to all appearance the first settlers in Egypt carried along with them some germinal forms of very malignant religious error, they carried with them, in addition to the mere ancestral or genealogical and historical knowledge, a most deep experimental knowledge and conviction of the reality of divine being and agency, and a knowledge also of that form in which, from the time of the Fall, the revelation of the most important elements of religion appears to have been imparted to mankind."

We shall not attempt to establish the ideas from the Book of Abraham, above noticed, in the order in which they are placed, but before leaving this branch of the subject, we believe that we shall be able to adduce sufficient evidence to convince all who are willing to learn the truth, that Abraham's statements as given by the Prophet Joseph are historically correct.

The fact of Abraham coming in possession of certain genealogical records may seem somewhat incredible to those who have not studied the subject. Many are too apt to consider the people of those early ages as but one step removed from barbarians, being, if we sense their idea correctly, very much on a par with the modern Tartar or Bedouin Arab; and the thought of such a people possessing a literature seems to be inconceivable to the minds of many otherwise intelligent people. But have such ever noticed that the Bible, in one of its very first chapters, actually speaks of "the book of generations of Adam," (Genesis v. 1,) and it is from that book apparently that Moses' genealogical record of the antediluvians was transcribed. In confirmation of the existence of such a book, Josephus states that those who lived before the flood "noted down, with great accuracy, both the births and deaths of illustrious men," (Josephus, book 1, chap. 3,) which record would undoubtedly be preserved among the royal archives, and as such, being deemed of the utmost value as giving the genealogy of the kings, be saved by Noah in the ark, he, according to Abraham and Josephus, also being the reigning sovereign at the time of the deluge. Josephus specifically states that "that calamity happened in the six hundredth year of Noah's government." (Josephus, book 1, chap. 3.) In fact Josephus gives a list of the antediluvian monarchs, or patriarchs, as they are termed in the Bible, but the fact that he recognized them as the sovereigns of the antediluvian world is very strong corroborative testimony of the statement of Abraham that Adam and Noah reigned as kings over their fellow men. The following is Josephus' statement with regard to this matter: (Josephus, book 1, chap. 3.)

"Seth was born when Adam was in his 230th year, who lived 930 years. Seth begat Enoch in his 205th year, who, when he lived 912 years, delivered the government to Canaan, his son, whom he had at his 119th year. He lived 905 years. Canaan, when he had lived 910 years, had his son Mahalaleel, who was born in his 170th year. This Mahalaleel, having lived 895 years, died, leaving his son Jared, whom he begat when he was at his 165th year. He lived 962 years and then his son Enoch succeeded him, who was born when his father was 162 years old. Now he, when he had lived 365 years, departed and went to God, whence it is that they have not written down his death. Now Methuselah, the son of Enoch, who was born to him when he was 165 years old, had Lamech for his son, when he was 187 years of age, to whom he delivered the government when he had retained it 969 years. Now Lamech, when he had governed 777 years, appointed Noah, his son, to be the ruler of the people, who was born to Lamech when he was 182 years old, and retained the government 950 years."

We here draw attention to a somewhat remarkable coincidence. It is that the length of the reigns of these patriarchs, as given by Josephus, agrees, with one exception, we believe, with the length of their lives according to Bible chronology, but what makes this feature more remarkable is that Josephus does exactly the same thing as the Chinese do in their antediluvian chronology. "The Chinese account speaks of ten dynasties of superior beings, who ruled in their country 1,000 years each before the sky fell on the earth (i.e. the flood). It is not hard to see that this is only a different and a singular manner of relating the same facts. * * * Moses informs us that each of these ten generations did extend near a thousand years, but he let us know that a son and his father walked much of their earthly race together. The journey of each was long, but it was a simultaneous travel." (1 )

Now, we think that the statement of Abraham turns a key by which a flood of light is thrown on the early history of the first nations that came into being after the flood, for instance, the Egyptian, the Chaldean, and the Chinese. Scientists and religionists have been wrangling for scores of years with regard to the chronology of these nations, both parties, as a rule, seeming to take it for granted that these chronological records should stop at the flood, presumably for the reason that all mankind but one family of eight were then destroyed. As there is incontrovertible evidence that the ancients were acquainted with facts and events relating to the earth and the heavens long anterior to the generally accepted date of the deluge, skeptics have loudly expressed their doubts as to the flood having occurred at all. But when we take into consideration the fact that those who were saved were the royal family--the king and queen, with their three sons and the princesses, their wives--and that this king (Noah) ruled after as well as before the flood, it remains no longer a wonder how these nations traced their existence to years long anterior to that dire calamity. To them it was a terrible disaster in the history of their nation, nothing more; there was no break in the royal descent, the same king reigned before and after it took place, the same dynasty remained in power, his son succeeded to the throne; the royal records were preserved, and the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and the Chinese alike with natural national pride all claimed the sovereigns who ruled from Adam to Noah as the kings of their peculiar nation. Their records were like three converging lines, centering at Noah, and from him continuing backward in one and the same straight line to Adam. To illustrate: let us suppose a case. We will imagine that a vast desolation sweeps over the empire of Germany. The king and the three princes, with their families, alone are saved from its fatal horrors. By and by, these three princes establish thrones of their own, say, one in Prussia, one in Pomerania, and one in Hanover. Would the national historians of future ages, when these three kingdoms had become great and populous, stop in their respective national histories at the date that this overwhelming catastrophe occurred? Would it not be much more reasonable to conclude that they would accumulate the histories of this and former epochs and continue their accounts through this calamity to the earliest days their records would reach. We think so, and in this way we discover an easy and reasonable solution to the difficulties that beset Chinese and Egyptian chronology, and are able to account for the interminable lists of kings that grace their annals. In fact, so far as Egypt is concerned, it had no consecutive chronology. This truth is now admitted by the most learned in that branch of science. But they undoubtedly carried their records, in a jumbled up way, back beyond the flood, (probably obtaining some information thereon from the records in the possession of Abraham,) and in postdiluvian days they, in vanity, inserted the names of scores of princes who reigned contemporaneously in various parts of the Valley of the Nile. Admit these two facts, and the solution is found to the mysteries of Egyptian chronology, what they had of it. Again, why should we permit the descendants of Shem, as in the case of the Hebrews, to monopolize their antediluvian progenitors. These men were the fathers of all mankind, and all had equal right to claim them as their own.

Considerable ridicule has been needlessly expended on the statement that the sitting figure in Plate III, of the Book of Abraham, represents that patriarch "sitting upon Pharaoh's throne by the politeness of the king." It has been scoffed at as an idea entirely too silly to be met with calm argument. To imagine that the great and mighty ruler of Egypt would invite an "Arab Sheik," at best a shepherd prince, to sit upon his throne, was altogether too absurd for a moment's serious consideration; such extraordinary condescension would shame a Chesterfield. But we all know that it is often as easy to ridicule as it is difficult to disprove; so we will let the scoffer jest, whilst we bring forward our "strong reasons" for believing this, as well as all other portions of Abraham's divinely inspired record. Josephus writes (Antiquities, book 1, chap, viii,) that when Pharaoh discovered that the woman, Sarah, whom he desired to take into his household, was the wife of Abraham, he made, as an excuse for his action, that believing her to be the patriarch's sister he wished to marry her, from his desire to be related to so distinguished a personage as Abraham. This could not be irony; Pharaoh was not in a condition to be ironical with his guest. It must have been an excuse that bore upon its face the probability of truth, and one that would be accepted as genuine by the powerful visitor from Canaan. Had it been otherwise, it would have been adding insult to injury, and instead of Abraham remaining in Egypt to become a teacher to its people, we should probably learn that in anger he returned to his own land. Then, accepting Pharaoh's own statement to be true, is it difficult to believe that he who wished to be so nearly allied to Abraham, would, in the fulness of Eastern politeness, think it any too great a condescension to ask him to sit upon his throne, whilst he explained to him and to his court the wonders of the numberless creations of God?

Nor is this all; we have yet other testimony of how powerful a man was Abraham amongst the children of the Nile. Our readers will probably recollect that we have already drawn attention to a statement of Josephus, that at the time the patriarch visited Egypt, the people of that country despised each other's sacred rites, and were very angry one with another on that account; further, that Abraham proved to them that their various reasonings were vain and void of truth. Modern research has shown that Abraham did more than this. It appears that somewhat more than one hundred years before Abraham's advent into Egypt, one of its monarchs--Mencheres--attempted to establish the worship of Osiris over all Egypt. As a result, a great religious war ensued, which continued for a century. The history of the country at this time becomes involved and obscure in the highest degree, but one fact is absolutely certain, and that is, that this civil war was fierce, long continued and with varying success. A late British historical text book states that in the year 1984 B. C. (according to the best chronology, which is, however, far from satisfactory) (2 ) Abraham visited and aided Achthoes (Pharaoh) in forming a treaty with his rival to terminate the religious war. Then, if it be true that Abraham was so great a power in his day that by his aid a civil war of one hundred years' duration was brought to an amicable close, is there anything incongruous in the idea that he, by politeness, sat upon the throne of the ruler to whom he had been of so great service?

About this time, as near as can be told, a great change was effected in the religion of the Egyptians, which we ascribe to the preaching, in their midst, of the Gospel, by the Father of the Faithful. It appears from Herodotus, that according to the story of the idolatrous Egyptian priests of his day, that when Cheops ascended the throne he "closed the temples of the false gods, and prohibited their sacrifices" (3 ) Cheops is said to have reigned fifty years, and was succeeded by his brother Chepren, who also kept the temples closed. In the succeeding reign the temples were again opened, and the people returned to their old modes of worship. So hated were these two sovereigns by the heathen dwellers by the Nile, of later years, that Herodotus states that they would not even mention their names, Mr. John Taylor, author of "The Great Pyramid; why was it built and who built it?" from various evidences brought to his notice, infers that these kings "might have been pre-eminently good, or were at all events of different religious faith" from those who told the story to Herodotus. Putting the various facts before stated together, that Abraham taught holy principles to the Egyptians, that his teachings so wrought upon them that they brought to a close a civil war of one hundred years' duration, and that near this time the idolatrous temples were closed, all forming parts of one harmonious whole, we are irresistibly drawn to the conclusion that these changes were brought about by the proclamation of the Gospel; more especially are we led thereto by the hatred shown to the kings who accepted this message and carried out these reforms, by the worshipers of Osiris in succeeding generations. It so much resembles the course pursued by others in like circumstances in other lands and at other times. Cheops is usually credited with being the builder of the great pyramid, and to that mighty structure we shall by and by appeal for testimony to prove that whoever its builders were, they were acqainted with the sublime system of astronomy revealed by Jehovah to Abraham, with instructions to teach it to the Egyptians.

(1 ) Nelson's "Infidelity, its Cause and Cure."

(2 ) Facts and Dates by Rev. A. Mackay, Edinburgh, 1870.

(3 )Hartcourt's Doctrines of the Deluge.

THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM

ITS AUTHENTICITY ESTABLISHED AS A DIVINE AND ANCIENT RECORD

WITH COPIOUS REFERENCES TO ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORITIES

BY ELDER GEO. REYNOLDS.

1879 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

CHAPTER V.

THE ANCIENT PAGAN MYSTERIES.--THEIR HISTORY AND INTENT.--THE CIRCULAR PLATE IN THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM.--ITS PUPORT AND USE.

WE now turn to another interesting feature of this phase of the subject.

In the explanation given by the Prophet Joseph of the disc or circular cut accompanying the Book of Abraham, he states: "Fig. 3 is made to represent God sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority, with a crown of eternal light upon his head, representing, also, the grand key words of the holy priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchisedek, Abraham, and all to whom the priesthood was revealed." Fig. 7 also contains "the grand key words of the Priesthood." God having delivered these powers of the heavenly kingdom to "all to whom the priesthood was revealed," until Abraham's day, it would be but natural to suppose that as men gradually departed from the truth they would still endeavor to retain these sacred trusts in their midst; and however much they might depart from the purity of the faith proclaimed and practised by the ancient patriarchs they would still strive to perpetuate the knowledge these "keys" conveyed, that they might have a claim on the blessings of the world to come. It is so natural to humanity to claim the blessings of God's word long after they have ceased to regard its obligations.

The fact of these things appearing in the Book of Abraham, written in hieroglyphics, renders it very supposable that at one time the import of these revelations was comprehended by those among the Egyptians who received the teachings of Abraham; and so far as Jewish tradition is concerned, it is full of references to these matters, though these latter, perhaps, more directly centre in the rites of the temples at Jerusalem. It is our province to show that the recollection of these things was sought to be perpetuated amongst the heathen--originating, as usual, in Egypt long after the greater portion of that which was pure and holy in the principles with which these things had been associated, by the ministers of the word of Jehovah, was lost sight of in the teachings and practices of these gentile nations. To do this we must call attention to the so-called secret "mysteries" of the ancients, which, to us, seem clearly, in their origin, to have been attempts to imitate the administrations of the holy priesthood, in the sacred rites appertoining to the fulness of the Gospel. In the investigation of this point we are greatly indebted to M. Faber's researches into the "Mysteries of the Cabiri," and to other authors who have enlarged upon his researches.

According to one of the gentlemen above referred to, "some of these mysteries were expressly instituted, as there is good reason to believe, to preserve in remembrance the remains of pure primeval faith and worship." Another states, "every ancient people possessed its mysteries, which had for their object to uphold the religious truths that animate the hope of immortality, or in which were observed rites intended to explain and enforce the conduct suitable to those who cherished and wished to realize that hope." What took place in the administration of these mysteries is very difficult for the inquirer to discover, for they were "conducted in secret, and those who were permitted to take part in them were solemnly obliged not to divulge what they had seen and learned," the word mystery itself being derived from a Greek word signifying to "shut the lips." However, from what can be learned it is believed that the initiated were "powerfully appealed to by scenic or other modes of representing the condition of the good and bad." According to a writer in the American Cyclopaedia, "they consisted, in general, of rites of purification and expiation, of sacrifices and processions, of ecstatic or orgiastic songs and dances, of nocturnal festivals fit to impress the imagination, and of spectacles designed to excite the most diverse emotions, terror and trust, and sorrow and joy, hope and despair. The celebration was chiefly by symbolical acts and spectacles, yet sacred mystical words, formulas, fragments of liturgies or hymns were also employed. There were likewise certain objects with which occult meanings, that were imparted to the initiated, were associated, or which were used in the various ceremonies in the ascending scale of initiation. The sacred phrases, concerning which silence was imposed, were themselves symbolical legends, and probably not statements of speculative truths." St. Croix, on this subjects, writes: "The germ of the mysteries is lustration," (or purification by water) "and expiation. The doctrines taught were the necessity of repentance and confession, the immortality of the soul, and a future state of rewards and punishments." The Sr. De Sacy adds, "certain rites and symbols were secret, and these it was sacrilege to reveal." Baur states, "the fundamental idea of the mysteries is that of a god who suffers and dies and afterwards triumphs over death, and has a glorious resurrection.'' Regarding the Persian mysteries of Mythras, it has been written: "The initiation was protracted and severe. The neophyte was baptized, anointed on the forehead and received bread and wine; a crown was placed on his head."

With regard to the preparation needed from those who asked admission to these rites the very remarkable statement is made: "It is quite undoubted respecting them, that as a necessary condition to admission, and as an important part of initiation, two things were imperatively necessary, namely a confession of sins, a promise of amendment of life, followed by baptism in some form more or less complete." Faber states "baptism continued to be handed down in all the mysteries," whilst another writer affirms that "continence, fasting and lustrations" were necessary pre-requisites before the applicant could enter the sacred doors. It is also a fact worthy of consideration that in a list of forty-five sacred Greek words gathered by M. Faber, there is scarcely one which does not resemble the Hebrew term for the same or a similar object.

As the ages roll round these mysteries degenerated into the most licentious orgies, where excesses of a disgraceful character were so shamelessly practiced that in some cases they fell under the ban of the law, though presumedly a portion of the worship of the gods. As an example of this we will take the mysteries of Dionysus. These were originally celebrated by women alone, in the temple of Dionysus. They were presided over by the wife of the Archon king (Basilissa), assisted by fourteen priestesses, to whom she took an oath that she was pure and unpolluted, and with whom she offered mystic sacrifices for the welfare of the city. When these mysteries were introduced into Rome, they speedily degenerated into shameful immoralities; men, as well as women were initiated; and such were the crimes and excesses committed that they were at length suppressed by a senatus consult, B. 0. 186 (Livy, xxxix, 8 to 18).

It has been urged as an argument against the veracity of the translation by the Prophet Joseph Smith, of the circular cut or disc, but why, we cannot comprehend, that numerous copies of it exist, scattered among the museums of Europe. These copies have been found buried with mummies in the same way as the one that fell into the Prophet's hands. Instead of being an argument against the truthfulness of the translation given by Joseph Smith, we consider it a very strong one in its favor. For this reason, Egyptiologists acknowledge that some peculiar potency was ascribed to it by the ancient Egyptians, but their ideas are very vague as to in what that power consisted. It was customary with the ancient inhabitants of Egypt, to enshroud their dead in hieroglyphic wrappings, on which various facts relating to the life of the deceased were narrated. This writing was addressed to Osiris, the chief lord of Amend, the land of the departed, and amongst other things it stated that the acts of the Osir, the deceased, had been scrutinized by the seven inquisitors appointed to investigate the lives of men, and that he was found worthy to pass by those who guarded the gates of the eternal worlds, and partake of the blessings of the saved. Accompanying the mummy is also often found this sacred disc, or hypociphilas, as the learned term it, which, if we mistake not, was usually placed under or near the head of the mummy. The translations given by the professedly learned convey no idea why this was so placed, but the revelation through our martyred Prophet, that it contains the key words of the holy priesthood, at once makes the reason plain. The Egyptians buried this disc containing these sacred words with their dead, for very much the same reason that the Saints bury their dead in the robes of the holy priesthood. No doubt the true meaning of these key words was soon lost from amongst the Egyptians, but they knew enough to understand something of their value, and as ages rolled on, their apostate priesthood doubtlessly invented some myth to take their place. That these priests did claim to hold such keys, is clearly shown in a photograph in the Deseret Museum, of the walls of the Temple at Karnac, on which the gods are represented, each holding a key in his hand.