Henry Caswall and the Book of Abraham

The Reverend Henry Caswall was an Anglican clergyman who visited Nauvoo in mid-April, 1842.  He was associated with the small Kemper College, near St. Louis, Missouri, where he actually spent most of his time officiating for Sunday services. Caswall was one of the more influential anti-Mormon writers of the 19th century, primarily because of his Greek Psalter episode with the Prophet Joseph Smith.1  During his three days visit in Nauvoo, he personally witnessed the papyri kept in a chest of drawers in the Prophet's office, and the mummies that Lucy Mack Smith maintained in her home. While in Joseph's office Caswall viewed "glazed slides, like picture frames, containing sheets of papyrus, with Egyptian inscriptions and hieroglyphics." These sheets of papyrus included Facsimile 1. In another drawer, Caswall may have seen Facsimile 2.

Caswall's account of this incident is recorded in his book, The City of the Mormons, and was summarized in his next book, The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century. The relevant portions from both books relating to the papyri and mummies are included below.

The City of the Mormons

The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century

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1 Regarding the Greek Psalter incident, see the following: Unknown, "Reward of Merit," Times and Seasons 4/23 (Oct 15, 1843):364-365; John Taylor, Three Nights' Public Discussion (Liverpool, England, 1850), 5, 7-8; Craig L. Foster, "Henry Caswall: Anti-Mormon Extraordinaire," BYU Studies 35/4 (1995-1996):144-159; Hugh Nibley, Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass, ed. David J. Whittaker (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 19 Vols.; Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company, and Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies [FARMS], Brigham Young University, 1991), 23-24, 304-402