A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri

This was a fine book on the Joseph Smith papyri that I would recommend to anyone who wants to know more about some of the new scholarship coming out of FARMS about the Joseph Smith Papyri. In this short book, Dr. Gee offers some good background to the Joseph Smith Papyri and also some pretty sound evidences for an authentic ancient text. He supplies some insights to the Joseph Smith Papyri that most other scholars overlook. One of the insights he provides is the fact that despite what critics and Egyptologists say, there is little evidence to show that the missing piece on facsimile 1 is a bird with it's wings pointing down. He shows that the fingers of the image of Abraham are pointing in a direction that no effigy of Horus would. That is, upwards and parallel. He provides the most common examples of effigies of Horus, and all of them have their wings pointing downward. Dr. Gee also shows the testimony of many men who attested to the fact that Joseph could not have "simply been filling in the blanks" as men such as Larsen contend. These accounts attest to the fact that indeed the papyri were not missing any parts to them and were in near perfect condition. And Dr. Gee provides how Hor - who was the owner of the papyri - was a high priest and the son of the Governor of Thebes, so he of all people would have understood and had access to the account of Abraham on the papyri. These are just a few of the new insights that Dr. Gee brings to the Book of Abraham and the Joseph Smith Papyri. I would recommend this book to students of both topics and to those who want a quick read on the Joseph Smith papyri. Highly recommended. I also recommend the fantastic book "Traditions about the early life of Abraham" which was co-edited by Dr. Gee.

John Gee's short tome on the Book of Abraham is a must in any LDS library, as it gives, albeit, a short description of the issues at hand, such as the Book of Breathings, the facsimiles, and so forth. The only short-coming of the book is that Gee could have gone into much greater detail, such as a more detailed discussion of the issues of the facsimiles such critics as Thompson, the Tanners and Larson have raied in their articles and books. Notwithstanding, this is the place to start to get an idea of the evidences and criticisms of the Book of Abraham.

John Gee received his PhD in Egyptology at Yale University. As an Egyptologist and long-time believer in the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, he is perhaps the best qualified scholar to discuss the history and meaning of the Book of Abraham. He is co-author with John A. Tvedtnes and Brian Hauglid of another book entitled Traditions About the Early Life of Abraham, which is a must-read for those interested in digging beneath the surface.

This is a must-read for anybody who wants to converse intelligently about questions relating to the authorship and historical authenticity of the Book of Abraham.