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Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs were centered around a variety of complex rituals that were influenced by many aspects of Egyptian culture. Religion was a major contributor, since it was an important social practice that bound all Egyptians together. For instance, many of the Egyptian gods played roles in guiding the souls of the dead through the afterlife. With the evolution of writing, religious ideals were recorded and quickly spread throughout the Egyptian community. The solidification and commencement of these doctrines were formed in the creation of afterlife texts which illustrated and explained what the dead would need to know in order to complete the journey safely.
The Cavern deities of the underworld were ancient Egyptian minor deities charged with punishing the damned souls by beheading and devouring them.
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The Book of Joseph is an untranslated text identified by Joseph Smith after analyzing Egyptian papyri that came into his possession in 1835. Joseph Smith taught that the text contains the writings of the ancient biblical patriarch Joseph. From the same papyri collection, Smith produced the first part of the Book of Abraham, but was killed before any known part of the Book of Joseph was translated.
References
- ↑ Coulter, Charles (2000). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. McFarland & Company. p. 5.
- ↑ Morris, John (1880). Ancient Egypt. p. 180.
- ↑ "The Judges of the Dead | Thelemistas". www.thelemistas.org. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
- ↑ "Papyrus of Ani; Egyptian Book of the Dead [Budge]". www.africa.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
