The Book of Abraham: A Remarkable Book

Keywords

Book of Abraham, Pearl of Great Price, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Abstract

Among the invaluable records the Lord promised would be restored in the latter days (see 1 Ne. 13:39; D&C 9:2), the book of Abraham, given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, is a unique and priceless gem in our treasury of revealed scripture.

Truly, it is a most remarkable book—an authentic ancient record that immediately plunges us back into a specific time and place in the Near East, and yet, at the same time, opens to us the wide expanse of the physical universe. It is so dynamic that it can reveal the historical and cultural origins of ancient Egyptian civilization (see Abr. 1:21–28), and yet, in the turn of a phrase, teach us profound truths about eternity. The great power of the book is sometimes overlooked precisely because its five chapters offer tantalizing tidbits about subjects that may seem mysterious or forbidding—Egypt and the universe. But the book of Abraham is a powerful, Christ-centered text that has as its main themes the eternal nature of the Abrahamic covenant, the preeminence of Jesus Christ as represented even in the vast scheme of planets and stars, and the role of Jesus Christ in the three great events of the plan of salvation—the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified that Jesus Christ was at the center of these pivotal episodes in salvation history:

Original Publication Citation

“The Book of Abraham: A Most Remarkable Book,” in The Ensign Vol. 27, No. 3 (March 1997), pp.16-23.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1997-3

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6279

Publisher

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Language

English

College

Religious Education

Department

Ancient Scripture

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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