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 few first-hand records of beautiful secret initiation rites into holy orders of Indian priesthoods are extant. The best example is the Osage Songs of the Wa-xo'-be, recorded with the full blessing of the Osage priesthood. What is uncovered is breathtaking.
The Path of Souls is also found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Utilizing Margaret Barker's Temple Theology, Joseph's Hypocephalus highlights the Path of Souls as a fundamental part of the ancient Hebrew religion. Adherents to pathway beliefs were scattered by Jewish kings. Some of these people reappeared centuries later as the first Christians. Others ended up in America and others in Egypt. All tell the story of the Path of Souls.
The Path of Souls, which Facsimile 2 describes, is the esoteric essence of revealed religion. It is the secret of the magi, the shaman, and the prophet. Holding up the Path of Souls as a lantern to the words of the ancient scripture produces new images and gives an augmented sense of what the scriptures are really all about. Reading the scriptures in the light of this prism is delightfully insightful.
