page_title: Joseph Smith Papyri
section_title: Contents
hierarchical_section_title: Joseph Smith Papyri / Contents
context_page_description: The Joseph Smith Papyri are Egyptian funerary papyrus fragments from ancient Thebes dated between 300 to 100 BC which, along with four mummies, were once owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith said that the papyrus contained the records of the ancient patriarchs Abraham and Joseph. In 1842, Smith published what he said was the first part of the translation of the Book of Abraham. The Book of Joseph is not known to have been translated by Smith.
  After Smith's death, they passed through several hands and were presumed to have reached a museum in Chicago and been destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Not all fragments were destroyed however, and some fragments were eventually acquired in 1947 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum knew the importance of the papyri to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in 1966, reached out to the church to notify them of their collection. The LDS Church acquired the fragments in 1967. The re-discovery of the papyri sparked renewed interest and scholarship. Due to the importance of the papyri to the Latter Day Saint movement, they have been heavily studied and debated.
context_section_description: There were four mummies, two rolls and various other fragments of papyri purchased by Joseph Smith and his associates.  Eyewitness accounts conflict on the gender of the mummies, indicating it was difficult to tell. Oliver Cowdery wrote,
  ...in connection with two of the bodies, were something rolled up with the same kind of linnen, saturated with the same bitumen, which, when examined, proved to be two rolls of papyrus, previously mentioned.  I may add that two or three other small pieces of papyrus, with astronomical calculations, epitaphs, etc were found with others of the Mummies.
  According to Cowdery, these two scrolls contained "...the writings of Abraham and Joseph.
  William W. Phelps, Joseph Smith's scribe in 1835, wrote in a letter to his wife: 
  The last of June four Egyptian mummies were brought here; there were two papyrus rolls, besides some other ancient Egyptian writings with them. As no one could translate these writings, they were presented to President Smith. He soon knew what they were and said they, the 'rolls of papyrus,' contained the sacred record kept of Joseph in Pharaoh's Court in Egypt, and the teachings of Father Abraham.
  Because the collection was later sold, divided and parts were lost in the great Chicago Fire, it is unknown what the exact contents were.  However, based on what is still in existence, we know that there were at least 5 separate funerary documents as shown in the following table:
caption: Reconstructed papyri from existing and known fragments
exif: {}