On his way from Alexandria to Paris, Sebolo put in at Trieste, and, after ten days' illness, died. This was in the year 1832. Previous to his decease, he made a will of his whole collection of mummies to Mr. Michael H. Chandler (then in Philadelphia, Pa.), his nephew, whom he supposed to be in Ireland. Accordingly the mummies were sent to Dublin, and Mr. Chandler's friends ordered them to New York, where they were received at the custom house in the winter or spring of 1833. In April of the same year, Mr. Chandler paid the duties, and took possession of his treasures.[[19]] Up to this time they had not been taken out of the coffins, nor the coffins opened. On opening the coffins, Mr. Chandler discovered that in connection with two of the bodies, was something rolled up with the same kind of linen, saturated with the same bitumen, which when examined, proved to be two rolls of papyrus, filled with hieroglyphics and characters or letters somewhat like the present form of the Hebrew. All the hieroglyphics were beautifully written with black and a small part with red ink or paint. Two or three other small pieces of papyrus with astronomical calculations, epitaphs, etc., were found with the other mummies. Mr. Chandler traveled with his mummies exhibiting them and the rolls of papyrus in the principal cities of the eastern states, and in July, 1835, arrived at Kirtland, where the ability of Joseph Smith to translate ancient languages by a divine gift being known, Mr. Chandler submitted to him some of the characters, which the prophet translated.
A few days later some of the Saints in Kirtland purchased the mummies and rolls of papyrus of Mr. Chandler; and the Prophet Joseph with W. W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery acting as scribes commenced the translation of the rolls, when to their joy they found that one of them contained the writings of Abraham, and the other of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt by his brethren.[[20]]
As soon as it was announced that the prophet had come into possession of another ancient record in the manner above described, it was rumored about that he pretended to be in possession of the bodies of Abraham, Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, Joseph who was sold into Egypt, etc. These false rumors the prophet corrected by saying of the mummies which had so strangely come into his possession—"Who these ancient inhabitants of Egypt were, I do not at present say. Abraham was buried on his own possession in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohah, the Hittite, which is before Mamre, which he purchased of the sons of Heth. Abimelech lived in the same country, and for aught we know died there; and the children of Israel carried Joseph's bones from Egypt, when they went out under Moses; consequently they could not have been found in Egypt in the nineteenth century."[[21]] Then follows the account of the finding of the record as already recited in preceding paragraphs.
Some parts of the "Book of Abraham" the prophet translated and published, but if he translated the writings of Joseph they have not been published. From the fragments of the writings of Abraham thus brought to light the prophet learned the construction of the universe that I have set down in these pages. Abraham received his knowledge of the wonderful works of God as seen in the planetary and stellar worlds by revelation from God through the Urim and Thummim, an instrument by means of which God revealed knowledge to the ancient patriarchs and prophets.[[22]] One of the principal passages in the writings of Abraham which teaches the principles of astronomy is as follows:
"And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees; and I saw the stars that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and the Lord said unto me, these are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me. * * * I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order of that upon thou standest. And the Lord said unto me, by Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof, that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the reckoning of Kolob."[[23]]
In this passage will be found the germ of that system of the construction and movement of planetary systems that make up the universe, set forth in the teachings of Joseph Smith. Here it may be seen that there are many great stars—the "governing ones," near together, and from among them rises one pre-eminent in greatness—Kolob—which governs all the rest that are of the same order as that to which our solar system belongs.
From other fragments translated from the writings of Abraham on the roll of papyrus we learn that a star called by the Egyptians "Oliblish" stands next to Kolob—that it is the next grand, governing creation; that it is equal to Kolob in its revolutions and in the measurement of time; that it holds the keys of power as pertaining to other planets.[[24]]
Another governing star in this Abrahamic system is Enish-go-on-dosh, "said by the ancient Egyptians to be the sun, and to borrow [receive] its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash. * * * Kae-e-vanrash is the grand key or governing power which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also the moon (Floeese), the earth and the sun in their annual revolutions. * * * Kae-e-vanrash receives its power through Kli-flos-is-es or Hah-ko-kau-beam. Kli-flos-is-es and Hah-ko-kau-beam receive their light from the revolutions of Kolob."[[25]] From the foregoing it appears that our solar system, the governing planet of which—the sun—is known in this Abrahamic system as Enish-go-on-dosh, is governed by, or has for a centre around which it revolves a star known as Kae-e-vanrash. Kae-e-vanrash is governed by or has for a centre around which it revolves, together with its attendant systems of worlds, Kli-flos-is-es or Hah-ko-kau-beam; and these two stars with their attendant systems are governed by or revolve around Kolob, the great centre of that part of the universe to which our planetary system belongs.
Of course these names of governing stars are of but little importance to us at present because of our inability to identify them with those "fixed" stars known to us under other names; but this Abrahamic system of the construction of the universe and movement of planetary systems, revealed to the world by Joseph Smith certainly presents the grandest ideas of the scale on which the universe is constructed, and the power and majesty of the laws by which it is governed. It is true that Kant, Lambert and Madler somewhat approached the Abrahamic system in their speculations, but what they advanced as conjecture, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught as divine truth, as revelation.
It is over half a century since the Abrahamic system was first announced by the prophet; and it is interesting to note the fact that though the heavens have been constantly searched by powerful telescopes during that time, nothing has yet been discovered which at all conflicts with it. On the contrary, as we have seen, much has been learned which tends to confirm it. What God has revealed on this most important and interesting branch of knowledge far outstrips what scientists have learned or speculative philosophers have conjectured; and with confidence those who accept that revelation may watch the slow but important discoveries of astronomers which will yet demonstrate the truth of that system which God has revealed.