Author Description

A unique nugget of Latter-day Saint scripture is Facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham. It is a picture-scripture called a hypocephalus and it is overflowing with symbolic meaning. Joseph Smith gave partial explanations of the figures and then wrote: "The above translation is given as far as we have any right to give at the present time." Joseph knew there was more to discover! The original owners knew the original message. These owners, Abrahamic-believers from Ptolemaic-era, Thebes, Egypt, intentionally obscured the meaning of their symbols to keep their mysteries pristine and hidden. Yet the message was always clear to those who knew the mysteries. This book, Joseph's Hypocephalus, allows the student to read the message of Facsimile 2 once again. The message of Facsimile 2 is the message of the Path of Souls. It describes the path a dead man takes on his postmortem journey to Heaven. Egyptologists have equated this path with the path of the sun. This is incorrect! Joseph's Hypocephalus explains why. The message painted on the hypocephalus is also enshrined in rituals and etched in the night's sky. Hugh Nibley said the hypocephalus was only one volume in an ancient sacred library of sacred devices that all had the same purpose. This book, Joseph's Hypocephalus notes additional volumes. Orphics, Hermetic, and early Christian Gnostic groups all had remarkable volumes in this library. One odd volume added to Nibley's library is from pre-Columbus Native Americans. It comes in the form of shell gorgets. A gorget-hypocephalus connection seems absurd. Yet, the traditions behind the shell gorgets outline the Path of Souls in remarkable detail and those details align so intricately with Facsimile 2 that the two must be considered the same type of document. What is wonderful about Native American traditions is the relatively recent nature of their records. Allowing for a more intimate understanding of their traditions. A f