Book of Abraham Manuscript, 8–circa 15 March 1842 [Abraham 3:18–26]
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Book of Abraham Manuscript, 8–circa 15 March 1842 [Abraham 3:18–26]
Source Note
Source Note
Book of Abraham, [, Hancock Co., IL, 8–ca. 15 Mar. 1842]; handwriting of ; two pages (likely seventeen pages missing); Book of Abraham Manuscripts, CHL.
Single leaf measuring 11½ × 7½ inches (29 × 19 cm). The leaf is ruled with thirty-five blue lines. Inscribed on both sides, the leaf is paginated with “7” and “8”. The location of pages 1–6 of the manuscript is unknown. The text runs through the end of page 8, where the narrative is interrupted abruptly, indicating that the manuscript likely contained additional material that is now also missing. The paper was folded twice horizontally. Holes from a staple in the upper left corner of this page indicate that this sheet was later stored with the earlier -era Book of Abraham manuscript, which has similar staple holes. Unlike other Egyptian-language and Book of Abraham documents, the pages of this manuscript are not labeled with letters of the alphabet, which indicates that this document was not stored with the related documents that were marked in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. That this item is not found on the 1956 microfilm roll of the Book of Abraham and Egyptian-language materials held in the Historian’s Office indicates that it was still stored separately at that time. The document is present with the other Book of Abraham and Egyptian-language documents in a microfilm made in 1971.
Footnotes
- [1]
- [2]
Genealogical Society filming of “Egyptian Alphabet,” 14 Sept. 1956, Egyptian Documents Film, CHL.
Egyptian Documents Film, 14 Sept. 1956. Microfilm. CHL.
- [3]
Historian’s Office filming of “Book of Abraham Manuscripts,” 15 July 1971, Book of Abraham Manuscripts, CHL.
Book of Abraham Manuscripts, ca. 1835–1838, ca. 1841–1843. CHL.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
A single leaf in the handwriting of is all that remains of the -era manuscript of the second portion of the Book of Abraham. There are several indications that this leaf was part of a larger manuscript that is no longer extant. First, this leaf is paginated with the numbers 7 and 8, indicating that preceding pages existed at one time but are now missing. The abrupt interruption of the narrative on page 8 also indicates that additional material was inscribed but is similarly missing. Also, the second installment of the Book of Abraham, published in the issue of the Times and Seasons dated 15 March 1842, contains the text on this leaf as part of a larger text. That this text was inscribed in Nauvoo, Illinois, and not earlier in , Ohio, is evident from an 8 March 1842 entry in JS’s journal, which states that JS “commenced Translating from the Book of Abraham, for the 10 No of the Times and seasons.” The following day, JS “continued translating & revising” with the “Re[c]order,” . Few differences exist between the surviving portion of this manuscript and the published version. The handwriting on the manuscript appears rushed, suggesting that this document is part of the original manuscript dictated by JS to Richards. Following the dictation, it appears that this manuscript was marked up for publication.
Judging from the text of the Book of Abraham published in the Times and Seasons, the first six pages of this manuscript contained approximately 1,083 words, or about 181 words per page; the leaf presented here has a similar word count (163 words per page). The version in the Times and Seasons contains 1,952 words that appear after the text contained on this leaf, meaning the manuscript likely contained about eleven additional pages, making a total of about nineteen pages for the entire -era Book of Abraham manuscript. It is unknown when or how this leaf was separated from the remainder of the manuscript.
Footnotes
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- [2]
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JS, Journal, 9 Mar. 1842. Richards had been appointed as the recorder for the Nauvoo temple in December 1841. (JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841.)
- [4]
The total word count of the Book of Abraham text in the 15 March 1842 issue is 3,352. The average, per-page word count of the material covering the first eight pages (1,400 words) is 175.
they shall exist after, for they are immortal. of Gnolaum, or Eternal. <P. 21.> <or—> Now the Lord said unto me, these 2 facts <do exist, that there are 2 spirits> one being more inte[l]lig[e]nt than th[e] other, do exist there shall be another more inteligent then <than> they: I am the Lord thy God <I am more intelegnt than they all.> The Lord thy God set sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the Pri[e]st of Elkenah. he who <I> dwelleth in the midst of them all; I, now, therefore, have come down unto thee, to declare unto thee the works, which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I ruleth in the heavens above, & in the earth beneath, in <all> wisdom & p[r]udenc[e], over all th[e] inteligences thine eyes have seen fr[o]m the beginni[n]g; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelejences [intelligences] thou hast Seen. <P. 22> Now the Lord had shewn unto me, [p. 7]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
- [1]
TEXT: Richards began to write “mortal” on the line above but then crossed out the “m” and wrote it one line below.
- [2]
TEXT: This insertion and the similar insertion later on this page correspond to the paragraph numbering in the published version in the Times and Seasons.
- [3]
TEXT: This insertion continues to the next line.
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