Figure 2 ~ Amun-Ra~ An Egyptian Endowment



Amun-Ra

Egyptologists describe Figure 2 of Facsimile 2 as Amun-Ra, the King of Egyptian Gods.  Ra would probably be most identifiable to Jews and Christians with Elohim in Hebrew.  In the pagan religion of Egypt, the characteristics of Elohim, as taught to Pharaoh by Abraham, were divided and only some of them given by men to the manmade god, Ra, god of the sun.
Amun-Ra is actually a blend of two Egyptian deities: Amun who began in ancient Egypt as a local deity in Thebes, and Ra, the sun god.  As Amun-Ra or Amun-Re (both spellings are correct) was considered to be the king of all the gods and the central deity in the Egyptian pantheon of the gods. 

Animalistic Representation of Amun

The two gods became fused after what the Egyptians refer to as the Rebellion at Thebes after which the Hyskos were expelled from Egypt.  (We call this same event the Exodus of Israel.)  In later dynasties, Amun-Ra was worshipped outside Egypt as well.  The early Greeks worshipped him as Zeus-Ammon and later, Zeus.  The Romans worshipped him as Jupiter.

Egyptologist interpret the standing figure in Figure 2 as Amun-Ra.  The figure has a double ram's head with undulating horns and wears the double crown, symbolic of Amun, god of creation. On his shoulders are jackal heads representative of his role as Wepwawet, the one who leads the souls of the dead through the realm of the dead. In his left hand is the staff of Wepwawet [1] and to the right is an offering stand. According to the Egyptian creation story, Amun spoke his own name and brought forth the land of Egypt from the primordial sea.

Here are some scriptural quotes describing the One True God in these roles as creator; through the Fall of Adam, death was brought into the world; but the key role of the creator was as Savior to lead us back to our Heavenly Home:

From Genesis, Chapter 1; note that God "said" it before he did it.  It seems as if the word from his mouth commanded all matter to obey and then God waited to make sure He was obeyed before going forward with the creation:

• And God said, Let there be light and there was light And God saw the light, that it was good. (vs.3,4)
• And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters (v.6)
• And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so (v.
• And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed . . (v 12)
• And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and days and years (v. 14)
• And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly. . . and the fowl that may fly above the earth (v. 20)

All of this because God "said" or called it into being.  Who was that God?  From John, Chapter 1, verses 1-5:

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
• The same was in the beginning with God.
• All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 
• In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 
• And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Word is capitalized because it is one of the many names by which Jesus Christ was known.  In Early English, word meant Spirit, so this was Jesus Christ in his Spiritual pre-earth form of Jehovah, the Creator.

 

In reference to the temple ordinance called the endowment, President Brigham Young said the following: Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels (DBY, 416).

 

In ancient Egypt it was believed that the gods had a secret name. Knowledge of this name gave others power over them.

Again, John wrote in the book we know of as Revelations the following:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Rev. 2: 17)

Michael D. Rhodes, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University identified the hieroglyphs to the left as:

"The name of this Mighty God." in hieroglyphs

Dr. Rhodes holds degrees in ancient Greek and is an Egyptologist.  He writes and speaks regularly on the subject of the Pearl of Great Price Book of Abraham in general and on the interpretation of the facsimiles specifically.  His above interpretation of these symbols identifies or represents the name of god without actually writing in, similar to the use of YHWH in Hebrew texts for Jehovah.

Joseph Smith stated that this figure: Stands next to Kolob . . . which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial (place were God resides;) holding the key of power also pertaining to other planets; as revealed from God to Abraham as he offered sacrifice upon and alter, which he had built unto the Lord.

As I look at the figures on the god's shoulders, I don't see the jackals of Anubis; I see keys.  In Revelation 1:18, John had a vision of the resurrected Jesus Christ, Who said to John:  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.  I believe these keys to be priesthood keys.  Our Savior holds the keys to the universal resurrection and salvation.  He also holds the keys of repentance and exaltation.

These matters are so deep that I easily get caught up in them.  I don't want to close my study even to go to sleep at night.  It all makes so much sense to me that it is a challenge to write it in words.  There are no words that do it justice.  Some things you just know but cannot say exactly how you know.  I think that is why every person must pay the price of prayerful study to gain an understanding and continually nurture and grow the testimony.  The Ancient Egyptians had so many of the pieces about God and the Plan of Salvation, fragmented and without priesthood authority as they were, it is not surprising that LDS scholar Hugh Nibley called the religious rites in the Book of the Dead An Egyptian Endowment.
[1] Wepwawet was an early Egyptian war deity.  Over time, the connection to war, and thus to death, led to Wepwawet also being seen as one who opened the ways to, and through the realm of the dead for the spirits of the dead. Through this, and the similarity of the jackal to the wolf, Wepwawet became associated with Anubis.  Consequently, Wepwawet often is confused with Anubis.

© Gebara Education, 2016