Astrological Cults and Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham

For this blog I would like to explain my opinion as to who the five gods are in Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham. The Book of Abraham is the second book of scripture in the Pearl of Great Price, the fourth book in the scripture cannon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are four books recognized as scripture by the church: the King James Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The Pearl of Great Price consists of necessary doctrinal information for Mormons from each of the seven dispensations of time. The Book of Abraham is from Abraham's dispensation.

The picture posted with this blog is Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham. Egyptologists have identified this as being a scene from the Book of Breathings and critics of the church have claimed this proves that Joseph Smith didn't know what he was talking about when he attributed it to the life of Abraham. However, in later years Hugh Nibley was able to show that similar scenes have since been found that use this very motif in depicting the life of Abraham.

Joseph Smith identified the gods in the picture, which are the Four Sons of Horus, as Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh. Sobek, the crocodile god in the picture, has long been identified with the god of Pharaoh, so I would like to focus on two of the other gods.

I believe that the four gods next to the altar may be astrological, and that this was an astrological cult doing the sacrificing. According to Albert Pike, in the Scottish Rite ritual monitor, Elkamer was the name of the moon god in pre-Islamic Middle Eastern countries. Going back to Abraham's time this name could have originally been Elkenah. "El Kamer," sometimes spelled "Al-Qamar" is a name used for the moon in some dialects even today.

The other god, Korash, bears a similarity to what Albert Pike calls "Korasht" in the Scottish Rite ritual monitor. This is the god of Jupiter that was worshiped the same as Elkamer. Also interesting is the number 4, as in Jupiter's four moons. Some Egyptologists have identified Horus and his four sons with Jupiter and its four moons, so this doesn't sound like much of a stretch. This link has an interesting article on Jupiter worship: http://www.varchive.org/itb/jupiter.htm

Anyway, it makes one wonder if Albert Pike and Joseph Smith could have been exposed to any of the same material, or if these were direct hits and that the people that were going to sacrifice Abraham were practicing an astrological cult.

Book Review: One Eternal Round by Nibley and Rhodes

For my next blog I thought I would write a review of Hugh Nibley's final book "One Eternal Round." I bought the book for $48 at Deseret Book, and did not mind paying that since the book was over 600 pages long and was Nibley's final work on the Book of Abraham that many said would finally silence the critics. So, I went into this book with high expectations. However, I also approached the book knowing that it was an unfinished work that was edited and finished by posthumous author Michael D. Rhodes. That, coupled with Nibley's already difficult writing style that tends to go off on tangents before tying together several topics in what some have termed "parallelomania," I knew I was in for an unusual apologetic work.

The chapters do a good job presenting the evidence, but I found them very lacking in terms of a conclusion. It was obvious Nibley intended on editing this before publishing and that much of the material would have been different had Nibley lived. So, what you basically have is a smattering of evidence promoting Joseph Smith's interpretation of the Book of Abraham, but the reader is left to tie them together to a conclusion. Now, for a breakdown of the chapters:

The first chapter is a 28 page introduction giving the reader some background on the Book of Abraham controversy and the various attacks against it, such as the Tanners. The chapter only skims the surface of the attacks so I strongly recommend reading FAIR-wiki to get the history of this issue, but you are left with a sufficient background to the objections against Joseph Smith's translations.

Chapters 2 through 5 offer a very technical background of Egyptology and Abraham, showing paralells with the Book of Abraham with other ancient works and archaeology. It attempts to show that the Book of Abraham is an ancient document by showing us evidence of similar works throughout history. While interesting, it can be some very tedious reading.

Chapters 6 through 8 interpret the hypocephalus (Facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham) in light of what the Egyptologists say it means and it compares the interpretation with Joseph Smith's. Some of the parallels drawn here will only make sense to those that have read the Book of Abraham and been through the Temple Endowment, and the book is very careful where the temple is concerned to only mention the paralell but not tell you where or if its found in the Endowment. So, if you're preparing for the temple you may want to re-read these chapters after going through the Endowment because you will notice a few "ah-ha" moments when you read the interpretations, particularly the items in Facsimile 2 that are "had only in the temple of the Lord" or "not to be revealed at this time." In this respect, the book takes the risk of losing its audience here, and it doesn't really leave you with a conclusion about the interpretations. So, you will have to do a lot of thinking after reading these chapters to sort out the paralells, since most aren't that apparent.

Chapter 9 provides us with a comparison of the Book of Abraham with other ascension documents throughout history. Nibley has done this well in the past, and its nice to have them all right here in one chapter. These ascension texts do a good job validating both the Book of Abraham and the Book of Moses.

Chapters 10 and 11 go into hermeticism, the foundation of masonic doctrine. Hermeticism was mostly in fashion in the middle ages, but its sources stretch back in time to the ancient Egyptians. The paralells between Mormonism and Hermeticism will become apparent after reading these chapters and Nibley does a good job of presenting the evidence here.

Chapter 12 gives an introduction to the Kabbalah with a discussions of similarities between the Book of Abraham and Sefer Yetzirah, as well as similarities between the Hypocephalus and the Tree of Life. This was probably my favorite chapter since I have learned much about the Kabbalah in the Scottish Rite and this chapter does a good job tying in the Book of Abraham with ancient Judaism. While one could argue that Joseph Smith got the parallels from his own masonic background, it is still fun to consider the ancient parallels. Also, much of this kabbalistic material was not available to Smith during the 1800s and the highest masonic degree he could have received was the Royal Arch, so the probability he could have known many of these concepts is very slim.

Chapters 13 and 14 were in my opinion disappointing. They attempted to tie in a paralell between Sheshanq, the owner of the Hypocephalus, and Alexander the Great and Nimrod. The book itself says that these conclusions can't be proven. I think Nibley's intention here was to open up the way for future research, and I hope something comes out of it.

Chapter 15 was very fascinating and appealed to the math teacher in me. It is called "Geometry" and uses the ancient mathamatical constructions to show relationships in the Hypocephalus, such as the Pythagorean Theorem, Golden Ratio, etc. I think it will open the way to much research on Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book, but only if a person already has a good background on the Book of Abraham issues. I don't think it will convince a person either way. If you are LDS it will confirm your testimony, while if you are non-LDS it may seem the paralells stretch different directions without a conclusion. For someone that is both Mormon and Mason you will definitely find things to confirm the ancient origin of both, and I think in the proper hands this book could help equip the person to argue that what we follow has an ancient origin and wasn't dreamed up in the 1800s. I highly recommend putting this book, Nibley's other works on this topic, and Hidden Treasures of Knowledge by Stephen Morgan together and see what you can come up with for each drawing on Facsimile 2. You will see "One Eternal Round" does its job adding to the plethora of evidence. Will it shut-up the critics permanently? I don't think so, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

Consecration and the Book of Acts

In this post I'd like to go over a passage in Acts that is problematic to many free-grace thinkers, and that is Acts 4:34 to 5:11. This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira, a husband and wife pair that sold their possessions but didn't give the proceeds to the church, so they were both struck dead by the Lord.

It is apparent from verse 34 that Christians at the time were living in a communal living arrangement similar to what early Mormons termed "the Law of Consecration" and were required to give all their possessions to the church, and in return the church would take care of them. The idea being that all belongs to God and we are only stewards of the possessions. Also, there are no poor because everyone has an equal amount as well as an equal work-load.

Ananais and Sapphira in this passage keep a portion of the proceeds for themselves and lay the rest at the apostle's feet, thinking that since nobody knows about it they will go unpunished. Anytime we lie to the Lord or disobey his commandments we miss out on a blessing. In this case, they missed out on their chance to live out a full life. We don't hear anything about them being unsaved, just that they lost their lives for their disobedience.

I have heard various explanations for this passage, some of which try to say that they both had a heart condition and died of natural causes. These are mostly the free-grace thinkers that like to teach that no tithing or consecration is expected of the believer once the Law of Moses was fulfilled, since the atonement of Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. Others have believed that God changed the commandment once the church was established and no longer living as a community. Many have found it a challenge to fit this passage into their theology.

However, consecration (a forerunner to today's tithing) has always been required by God of His followers, even before the Law of Moses, and its clear that after the Law of Moses was fulfilled He still had a requirement. Instead of a 10% tithe the requirement here is 100%. Even today we should be expected to give our 100% in following God.

While God's procedures are currently more lax than they were then, in that we don't see anyone being struck dead on the spot for not paying their tithing, God still requires us to at least be willing to give our all, including our time and talents, as well as a 10% tithe, in building up the Kingdom of God on the Earth. I think this passage is a good justification for having tithing in our day and is a good defense for the Mormon doctrine of Consecration.

Mormons and Masons are familiar with these concepts as we make covenants. Mormons make covenants with God at baptism, confirmation, sacrament, and in the Temple. We agree to follow God and take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Masons also make promises to God during their obligations that bind them to honor their vows to support their lodge and be loyal to its teachings.

Commandments such as these that are mentioned from the Book of Acts are not meant to be drudgery, but are for our benefit. They result in blessings when followed. We see one benefit in verse 34, "Neither was there any among them that lacked..." There are many other intangible spiritual benefits that are greater than anyone can describe when we keep these commandments. Obeying God always results in happiness and more freedom.

What I'm Researching

If anyone has already started reading this blog, I know it's been awhile since I have updated, but I'm working on some research projects right now, which I will post about as soon as they are ready.

Here's a few:
1. The Book of Abraham Facsimile 1 and ancient astrology cults
2. Hermetic philosophy and 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon
3. Scottish Rite 4th degree and the role of secrecy in the mystery religions

I'm working on a lot right now for the Guthrie and Master Craftsman programs so it may take a week or two, but I'm planning to have some interesting posts up in the near future.

Religion and the Problem of Evil

I'm in the middle of developing a new blog entry, but in the mean time I thought I'd post my third master craftsman paper, which pertains to the Rose Croix degrees of the Scottish Rite. The topic is on Albert Pike's view of religion and the problem of evil.

The most interesting thing I learned while doing the reading assignment for this quiz was Albert Pike’s views on religion that are expressed in the book A Bridge to Light by Rex R. Hutchens. We learn that we must be tolerant of all religious views, even when they are different from our own. We also learn that many religions shared views on God and the problem of evil. Albert Pike believed that all creeds held that God’s identity is “immutable and permanent” and that God is “great, good, and wise.” (Page 131 in A Bridge to Light) Since these traits are common to all religions, members of these faiths can stand side-by-side, in Scottish Rite Masonry, worshipping the same God with these common characteristics.

Even the concept of a Messiah is a universal one, and many religions are awaiting the coming of a Messiah-type figure. Therefore, it is not appropriate for a Christian to not be tolerant of another’s religious views. Also, if Jesus Christ is God, then the other religions that are worshipping God are ultimately acknowledging Him anyway, even if expressing their belief of Him using different characteristics. The same universal truths have been expressed differently, appropriately to those who perceive them. Religion follows the same format with God sharing common characteristics. This brings to mind a quote from the Mormon scripture Doctrine and Covenants, “All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself.” (D&C 93:30) We must be tolerant since people have the truth that is appropriate for them.

The problem of evil is also something addressed by Albert Pike, and is an issue that all religions have addressed. That good will eventually triumph over evil is a common trend throughout most religions. The existence of an all-powerful God almost begs the idea that evil must be part of His plan, since nothing can exist unless He allows it. Therefore, many believe that evil is God’s way of testing us. The evil in the world gives us a chance to show our virtues, a chance to improve, and a chance to learn survival of adversity. This is the way God gives us “trial by fire” so that we ultimately come out of the experience better people. This idea hints at the royal secret, or equilibrium, that good and evil are kept in a constant balance.

Kabbalistic Tree of Life and Masonic Traits

I thought I would post my second paper for the Master Craftsman I course for the Scottish Rite, just to give an idea of the types of things you learn in this course. If you are a mason and you have not yet signed up for this I highly recommend it. It really gives you a lot of knowledge that you normally would not get in one course. So, anyway, its a pretty short essay, but here it is:

The most interesting thing I learned while studying for this quiz was the application of the Kabala to Scottish Rite Masonry. The tree of life, which can be thought of as ten emanations from God supported by three pillars, can also be thought of as a visual manifestation of the characteristics of God. In A Bridge to Light by Rex R. Hutchens, he mentions that Albert Pike applies the three pillars of freemasonry, which are wisdom, strength, and beauty, as being the pillars supporting the tree of life. Strength is the pillar on the left and corresponds to the pillar of severity. Wisdom is the pillar on the right and corresponds to the pillar of mercy. The middle pillar is beauty, and results when equilibrium is achieved between the left and right pillars. Man is in the emanation of the malkuth at the bottom of the pillar of beauty, receiving the nine emanations from God. Albert Pike equates the other nine sephiroth as the nine Masonic virtues, divided into two inverted triangles, with the top triangle being right-side-up. The bottom triangle is Independence, which results when truthfulness and endurance are in equilibrium. The middle triangle is equity, which results when justice and mercy are in equilibrium. The top triangle is attainment, which results when silence and devotion are in equilibrium. Silence, justice, and truthfulness correspond to the sephiroth on the strength, or severity pillar. Devotion, mercy, and endurance correspond to the sephiroth on the wisdom, or mercy pillar. Independence, equity, and attainment are on the middle pillar, or pillar of beauty, which results when equilibrium occurs. Beyond the top sephiroth is the Ainsoph, or inexpressible source of all things, the Deity from who all things emanate.

This is interesting because it expresses the teachings of Scottish Rite Masonry in a systematic way, showing how man can be perfected and develop the divine characteristics within himself. It also sets the foundation on which all of the Scottish Rite degrees are based. These degrees teach duties that develop these traits in the candidate.

Symbolism of the Sun in Masonry

I thought for tonight's blog I would address the accusation of many antis that masons are sun worshippers. After all, the sun is dominant throughout Freemasonry, including the rituals, on some aprons, and has even made its way to some company logos, movies, and even on some LDS temples. Movement in the masonic lodge is patterned after the sun's movements. Many conspiracy theorists claim this proves masonry worships Baal, a sun god mentioned in the Old Testament.

On the Tree of Life as shown in the picture, the center of the Tree of Life is known as "Tipareth" or "The Nail" and is said by Kabbalists to be symbolic of the sun, whose glyph is a point within a circle. Masonry makes use of the symbolism of the Kabbalah to teach moral lessons, but not necessarily for the purpose of worship. The middle pillar of the Kabbalah is an important concept in masonry. It represents equilibrium, when everything is in perfect balance. The concept of justice and mercy is fundamental here. A thorough study of 2 Nephi 2 in the Book of Mormon will illustrate this concept. There is no good without evil, there must be an opposition in all things. Also, God's justice must always be in perfect equilibrium with His mercy. We can illustrate this perfect balance astrologically by the sun at meridian height, which is in between its rising and setting.

To illustrate how such a fallacy as sun worship can happen, we can look at a quote from Albert Pike's Legenda II: the Enigma of the Sphinx. Pike says, "The symbols of the wise have in all ages become the idols of the vulgar." We see in Freemasonry that prayer is made to the Great Architect of the Universe, not to the sun. Some have tried to layer the Baal legend on masonry by saying it is believed that the spirit of Baal went to the sun when he died, and that the sunrise is Baal's birth and the sunset is his death. If some believe that, I think this perfectly illustrates what Albert Pike was trying to say here. Masonry is learning through symbols, not worship of symbols. Also, the concept of death and resurrection is found in many religions, including Christianity. Many masonic concepts are Judeo-Christian in origin, and only expressing a belief in a Supreme Being is required for membership. This hardly proves allegiance to a sun god. We need to be careful to recognize the difference between the "signifier" and the "signified."