I want to say to you, read the book, the Pearl of Great Price, and read the Book of Abraham. The Pearl of Great Price I hold to be one of the most intelligent, one of the most religious books that the world has ever had; but more than that, to me the Pearl of Great Price is true in its name. It contains an ideal of life that is higher and grander and more glorious than I think is found in the pages of any other book unless it be the Holy Bible. It behooves us to read these things, understand them: and I thank God when they are attacked, because it brings to me, after a study and thought, back to the fact that what God has given He has given, and He has nothing to retract." - Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report (April 1913), 74

"...it must be evident to all who seriously consider the matter, that if the Book of Abraham as given to us by Joseph Smith be true, it must have been translated by a greater than human power." - George Reynolds, The Book of Abraham: Its Authenticity Established as a Divine and Ancient Record (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1879), 4

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Mummies of Nauvoo

As published in the December 1973 issue of the New Era, Solomon Hale, a nephew to the Prophet Joseph Smith, used to show his friends the mummies while in Nauvoo. The article isn't particularly informative, but it does provide some history regarding the mummies location and the culture and atmosphere surrounding the presence of the mummies that existed at that time and place.


Saturday, October 3, 2015

A Girl's Letters From Nauvoo - Charlotte Haven - 1843

This letter was written by Charlotte Haven to her mother on February 19, 1843, but wasn't published until 1890 (Charlotte Haven, "A Girl's Letters From Nauvoo," Overland Monthly 16/96 (December 1890):622-624). Charlotte was born in 1819 and was 23 or 24 years old at the time of her visit to Nauvoo. She was from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her comments are fairly critical of Joseph and the saints, for example, dubbing all residents of Nauvoo as "fanatics" (ibid, 616). Thus her characterization of her visit and her experiences are colored with some heavy skepticism; nonetheless, her remarks provide some valuable historical information.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Joseph Smith Papyri Display

Daniel Smith attended the Joseph Smith Papyri display in Salt Lake City held in March 2013. Check out his blog post to see some great pictures from the display:


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Facsimile Reproductions

Daniel Smith has created the best reproductions of the Book of Abraham facsimiles (and other hypocephali) that I've ever seen. Check them out here: