July 3, 1835, a man by the name of Michael H. Chandler came to
Kirtland, Ohio, to exhibit four Egyptian mummies, together with some
two or more rolls of papyrus, covered with hieroglyphic figures and
devices. They had been obtained from one of the catacombs of Egypt,
(near a place where once stood the renowned city of Thebes) by the
celebrated Antonio Sebolo, in the year 1831. Joseph Smith, upon
examining the rolls of papyrus, discovered that one of them contained
the writings of Abraham and another the writings of Joseph who was sold
into Egypt. The whole collection was bought by the Saints, and Joseph
subsequently translated the writings of Abraham which, together with
a number of illustration, were published in the _Times and Seasons_,
at Nauvoo, Ill., {101} in 1843, and which we now have in the little
excellent work called the Pearl of Great Price, under the caption
of the Book of Abraham. This book, besides giving a history of the
creation of the earth and man, also introduces a new doctrine in
regard to astronomy. It tells of a planet called Kolob, near which is
the throne of God, and around which everything in the great universe
revolves in regular order. At that time the generally accepted theory
among astronomers was that, with the exception of the few planets
(among which is our own earth) which sweep regularly around the sun,
all the heavenly bodies called stars, were fixed or stationary, and
that the sun, furnishing light and warmth for our earth, besides being
the centre of gravitation for our solar system, was the nearest fixed
or stationary star. Hence, when Joseph Smith, in the astronomy of
Abraham, introduced the doctrine that there was a grand centre set
far beyond the limits of our own solar system, he was derided by not
a few, who ascribed the idea to his ignorance, in not having even a
superficial knowledge of the principles of astronomy. But the theories
of men change as the Lord gives them more light and intelligence, and
today the doctrine advanced in the Book of Abraham is a generally
accepted one among astronomers. In proof of this I will introduce the
following extract of a letter from Lieutenant M. F. Maury, of the
United States Navy, a man acknowledged on all sides as one of the most
eminent scientific men living, dated, Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, 1855.
"It is a curious fact that the revelations of science have led
astronomers of our day to the discovery that the sun is not the
dead center of motion around which comets sweep and planets whirl;
but that it, with its splendid retinue of worlds and satellites,
is revolving through the realms of space, at the rate of millions
of miles in a year, and in obedience to some influence situated
precisely in the direction of the star Alcyon, one of the Pleiades.
We do not know how far off in the immensities of space that center
of revolving cycles and epicycles may be; nor have our oldest
observers or nicest instruments been able to tell us how far off in
the skies that beautiful cluster of stars is hung, whose influences
man can never bind. In this question alone, and the answer to it
are involved both the recognition and exposition of the whole
theory of gravitation." (Family Bible, published by Henry S.
Goodspeed & Co., New York, page 18.)
Here is another proof that Joseph was a prophet and an inspired man,
and that the Book of Abraham is true.