Pearl of Great Price Commentary - Facsimile 1

The nature of the characters and depictions of the Egyptians are of a 'symbolic picture image' known as a hieroglyph. They are hieroglyphic, meaning picturesque or symbolic in nature. Often such 'images' and even their composed and composite 'pictured scenes' are used and reused to tell various stories of different related events. Such is the nature of any set of 'flannel board characters' which an teacher might use to so illustrate a lesson or story being told. The picture of a man, women or family; a scene or event, may be used to represent any man, woman or family; or any scene or event so related. Say the piture of a farm may be used to represent any particular farm which a story is so telling of. The composed 'standard picture' of the Egyptian sacrifice, such as facsimile number one, may thus be used to depict any such sacrifice to the gods of the Egyptians. While in its more fameous or 'generic' textual setting it is Osiris which is upon the sacrifical couch, when used to represent any and all such actual sacrifices, that figure of Osiris does become specifically representative of that particular person who is at that particular time being so sacrificed unto the Gods. Thus is may be used to represent Abraham. Abraham while yet in Ur became just such a human sacrificial offering. Thus the 'standard' picture of sacrifice does become specifically applied to Abraham upon the lion couch of sacrifice and the spirit symbol of the bird becomes that image representing the intervention of the Spirit of the Lord intervening in the sacrifice of Abraham. In an otherwise applied story, one might use the 'flannel board Egyptian standard representation' of sacrifice in telling that the 'angel of the Lord' is accepting the sacrifice when in fact the sacrifice it so successfully completed.

A FACSIMILE FROM THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM No. 1		In Ur of Chaldees, Abraham was to be offered in sacrifice. The corruption in religion had taken the concept of 'God's Sacrifice' and turned it into human sacrifice. Later when Abraham had sojourned down into Egypt, he records the event using Egyptian motifes like facimile number 1. The Egyptians had preserved much of the covenant ceremonies of the gospel but without the proper priesthood authority. Just as Joseph Smith's purposeful envolvement in Masonary for informative purposes to see preserved ceremonies performed without proper authority, so it was with Abraham in Egypt. Abraham would learn what was preserved in Egypt of the ordinances of salvation. As this was central to Abraham's purpose in the Lord in Egypt, it should not be surprising that the copied papyra record of Abraham, which Joseph Smith translated, contained the 'Book of the Dead' and other such Ceremonial Ordinances of the Egyptians.
Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
EXPLANATION	CARICATURE	COMMENTARY
Fig. 1. The Angel of the Lorda. [When scripture speaks of the 'Angel of the Lord' there are at least two possibilities. It may actually be the Lord himself, or one who has been empowered by the Lord to stand and act in his stead. In this case with Abraham it seems that the Lord God Jehovah did stand as himself. When the Arch-Angel Gabriel came to Zacharias and to Mary as the Angel of the Lord, it was actually Noah in his identity of Gabriel who was standing acting in behalf of the Lord as an Angel from the very presence of our Lord God. As God states in D&C 1:38 " . . . whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."]		Angel of the Lord This symbol of a bird it the Egpytian representation the God Horus. On the one hand Horus can be a general catchall for multiple deities. On the other the most famous was 'Harseisis' or Horus-son-of-Isis, son of Osiris, or Son of God. Thus he becomes a vary fitting image applied to the Angel of the Lord, who is the Son of God. The great variety of who 'Horus' is or is not and how this symbol is applied so variously is a testimony as to the use of a single symbol to represent a vast stream of meaning which might be applied variously to any particular story in any such appropiate manner as the symbol may variously so represent. The 'Widget Eye' of 'all seeing eye' of Horus is particularly applicable to the all seeing eye of God. Also, in that the Egyptian religion is but a corruption taken from the true religion, it may well be that the more contemporary meaning of Horus in Abraham's day did indeed more specifically correlate with the concepts of Jehovah and Jesus Christ, and the Angel of the Lord of the Old Testament. Further the 'double winged' symbol for Horus was associated with Horus as the son and 'heir' of Rah or Re.
Fig. 2. Abraham fastened upon an altar.
Fig. 3. The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice.
Fig. 4. The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh.
Fig. 5. The idolatrous god of Elkenah.
Fig. 6. The idolatrous god of Libnah.
Fig. 7. The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah.
Fig. 8. The idolatrous god of Korash.
Fig. 9. The idolatrous god of Pharaoh.
Fig. 10. Abraham in Egypt.
Fig. 11. Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the Egyptians.
Fig. 12. Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem.