{"id":113315,"date":"2025-10-18T12:27:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T18:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=113315"},"modified":"2025-10-18T12:27:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T18:27:53","slug":"ancient-egyptian-cosmology-illustrated-in-soil-core-samples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/10\/ancient-egyptian-cosmology-illustrated-in-soil-core-samples.html","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Egyptian Cosmology Illustrated in Soil Core Samples"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45696\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45696\" style=\"width: 509px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/01\/1403034258.jpeg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45696\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/01\/1403034258.jpeg\" alt='\"Lengthening Our Stride\"' width=\"509\" height=\"768\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45696\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A cover illustration, from Amazon.com<br>This is probably my favorite image of President Spencer W. Kimball.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is a remarkable story: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/faith\/2025\/10\/16\/dallin-oaks-inspiration-41-years-ago-hinckley-kimball\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cA prophet\u2019s flash of inspiration 41 years ago started President Oaks on the path to this moment:\u00a0On April 4, 1984, a call woke President Hinckley at home at 2:30 a.m. It changed the course of President Oaks\u2019 life\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And this 3.5-minute video is worth watching: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/faith\/2025\/10\/17\/photos-inside-burned-latter-day-saint-church-in-michigan\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201c\u2018God\u2019s hand, untouched.\u2019 A photographer finds light in the darkness of a burned Latter-day Saint church:\u00a0Stephanie VanWagoner was asked by police to photograph the aftermath of the Grand Blanc fire. She was struck by what the flames had spared\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Y9u might enjoy this article, as well: <a href=\"https:\/\/byustudies.byu.edu\/article\/the-joseph-smith-papers-and-my-christian-discipleship\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cThe Joseph Smith Papers and My Christian Discipleship,\u201d<\/a> written by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spencerwmcbride.com\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Spencer W. McBride<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_85864\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85864\" style=\"width: 596px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/06\/Sacrament-Meeting-cropped.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-85864\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/06\/Sacrament-Meeting-cropped.jpg\" alt=\"Saints singing\" width=\"596\" height=\"335\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-85864\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Latter-day Saint congregation in 2012 \u00a0(LDS Media Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The times they are a-changin\u2019. \u00a0Or, anyway, so it currently seems:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Deseret News<\/em>:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/politics\/2025\/10\/16\/transgender-identification-correlated-with-increase-in-mental-health-study\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cNew study finds a sharp drop in transgender identification among college students:\u00a0The study also looked at the overall mental health of students\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>CNN Business<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/interactive\/2025\/10\/business\/women-leaving-workforce-unemployment-vis\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cNearly half a million women have left their jobs so far this year. Here\u2019s why, in their own words\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>UnHerd<\/em>:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unherd.com\/2025\/10\/why-god-came-back\/?edition=us\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cWhy God came back: <span class=\"standfirst\">Faith supports education, family, and growth\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Barna<\/em>:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barna.com\/trends\/church-attendance-women-men\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cNew Research on Church Attendance: Decline of Women or the Rise of Men\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Comment Magazine<\/em>:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/comment.org\/revival-among-the-techies\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cRevival Among the Techies:\u00a0Is the Spirit on the move in Silicon Valley?\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_105119\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105119\" style=\"width: 597px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2024\/05\/Political_Map_of_Africa.svg_.png\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-105119\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2024\/05\/Political_Map_of_Africa.svg_.png\" alt=\"mklkmflmklsmls\" width=\"597\" height=\"724\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-105119\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Political map of Africa (public domain, Central Intelligence Agency). \u00a0Lesotho is wholly enclosed within the Republic of South Africa near the southern tip of the continent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I know that there have been a number of fundraisers lately, appealing to the charitable inclinations of Latter-day Saints. \u00a0There have been sad but powerful reasons for them. \u00a0So I\u2019m hesitant to suggest that you pay attention to yet another \u2014 the more so, I admit with some embarrassment, because my own Interpreter Foundation depends upon the generous donations of supporters (as well as the wonderful contributions of a small host of volunteers) to fulfill its mission and because I\u2019ll be focusing more and more on Interpreter\u2019s needs here as the year draws to its close. \u00a0I worry about possible donor fatigue. \u00a0Interpreter can\u2019t function without supporting donations and, candidly, we need to generate a fair amount of those during the remainder of 2025. \u00a0But here is a case where I think we ought to step up: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-for-orphaned-children-in-lesotho\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cSupport for Minor Children in Lesotho Africa\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>You may be aware of this desperately sad story from 21 June 2025:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news-africa.churchofjesuschrist.org\/article\/tragic-accident-involving-church-members-in-the-kingdom-of-lesotho\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cTragic Accident Involving Church Members in the Kingdom of Lesotho:\u00a0Church and Government Leaders Work Together to Offer Help and Support\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news-africa.churchofjesuschrist.org\/article\/lesotho-memorial-young-women-accident\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cMemorial Held for Victims of Tragic Accident in Lesotho: The identities of the members and friends of the Church who lost their lives have been released; a funeral is set for Saturday, July 19\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news-africa.churchofjesuschrist.org\/article\/primary-and-relief-society-leaders-minister-to-the-grieving-in-lesotho\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cPrimary and Relief Society Leaders Minister to the Grieving in Lesotho: President Nelson also passes on a message of love\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The tragedy was powerfully discussed by both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2025\/10\/45christofferson?lang=eng\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Elder (now President) D. Todd Christofferson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/general-conference\/2025\/10\/54godoy?lang=eng\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Elder Carlos A. Godoy<\/a> in the recent October general conference.<\/p>\n<p>Just for the record, my wife and I have made a small contribution to this GoFundMe fundraiser. \u00a0I hadn\u2019t seen it until recently, but I wouldn\u2019t encourage others to donate to it if I myself didn\u2019t have at least some skin in the game.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88100\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88100\" style=\"width: 427px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/Kj%C3%B8snesfjorden-1.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88100\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/Kj%C3%B8snesfjorden-1.jpg\" alt=\"Kj\u00f8snesfjord in the evening\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88100\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kj\u00f8snesfjorden i J\u00f8lster (Wikimedia Commons public domain image) \u00a0My grandmother grew up here, on a farm that still exists on the water\u2019s edge in the lower lefthand corner of this photograph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>My grandmother emigrated to the United States \u2014 first to Minnesota and eventually to North Dakota \u2014 when she was in her late teens. \u00a0There had been no room for her (or for any of the other children beyond the firstborn son) on their small Norwegian family farm, which sat scenically but humbly between a sheer rock wall and the shore of a mountain lake \u2014 with no possibility of expansion and no realistic possibility of sustainable subdivision \u2014 at the foot of the largest glacier in Europe. \u00a0She never saw Norway or her parents again. \u00a0In her later years, almost all of her children having settled in California, she and my grandfather, who was born to <em>Danish<\/em> parents, moved to Los Angeles County, which is where I came to know her for the few years that our lives overlapped. \u00a0(She died when I was only five.) \u00a0She was a Lutheran, by the way, and never joined the <a href='https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/library\/mormonism' target='_blank'>Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, given my family history, this article naturally caught my attention: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org\/article\/across-the-atlantic-again-celebrating-200-years-of-norwegian-emigration-to-america\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cAcross the Atlantic Again: Celebrating 200 Years of Norwegian Emigration to America:\u00a0\u2018It was more than just a ship sailing in. This is part of my history, part of my ancestry. There\u2019s a spiritual connection there.\u2019\u201d<\/a> \u00a0I honor my grandmother for her courage. \u00a0I look forward, someday, to getting to know her better.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_42413\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-42413\" style=\"width: 597px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/05\/800px-Karnak_Temple_entrance.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-42413\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/05\/800px-Karnak_Temple_entrance.jpg\" alt=\"Karnak entrance by night\" width=\"597\" height=\"396\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-42413\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An avenue of sphinxes leads to the main entrance of the great Temple of Karnak, in Upper Egypt. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I found this fascinating: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/ancient-cultures\/ancient-egypt\/the-origins-of-egypts-karnak-temple\/?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&amp;utm_medium=BHDA_Daily_Newsletter_NY&amp;utm_campaign=E253O9D0\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cThe Origins of Egypt\u2019s Karnak Temple: Sacred complex may have been built on island symbolizing creation.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For obvious reasons and probably beginning with the work of the great Hugh Nibley, Latter-day Saint scholars have been exceptionally interested in and productive of studies of ancient temples and temple ideology. \u00a0One of the things that we have come to realize is that temples around the world are very commonly associated with creation stories. \u00a0It turns out that both the Islamic Ka\u2018ba in Mecca (which has definite temple connections) and the temples of Jerusalem, as well as the temples of Egypt, stand on the first piece of solid ground \u2014 the primordial hillock \u2014 to have emerged from the waters of chaos. \u00a0And now we have reason to believe that the great Egyptian temple of Karnak, perhaps the largest temple or even religious complex ever built, was \u2014 despite its current appearance, where it sits on the east bank of the River Nile \u2014 once stood on an island surrounded by two streams of the river. \u00a0It\u2019s very clear to the casual visitor even now that the Nile once flowed directly in front of the first pylon of the temple; wharves and a dry channel are plainly apparent. \u00a0It\u2019s exciting to have physical evidence for what we know were Egyptian cosmological ideas.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45454\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45454\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/01\/Sandy-Sunset-photo.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45454\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/01\/Sandy-Sunset-photo.jpg\" alt=\"The new Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45454\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Hale Centre Theatre, in Sandy, Utah, is (as I\u2019ve often said before and will certainly say again, barring unforeseen catastrophe) a local, state, and regional treasure. \u00a0(Photo from the Hale Centre Theatre website)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>We\u2019re heading off fairly soon to see <em><a href=\"https:\/\/hct.org\/Online\/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=MusicalComedyMurders&amp;BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940<\/a><\/em> at the Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy. \u00a0It\u2019s allegedly very, very funny.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 This is a remarkable story: \u00a0\u201cA prophet\u2019s flash of inspiration 41 years ago started President Oaks on the path to this moment:\u00a0On April 4, 1984, a call woke President Hinckley at home at 2:30 a.m. It changed the course of President Oaks\u2019 life\u201d And this 3.5-minute video is worth watching: \u00a0\u201c\u2018God\u2019s hand, untouched.\u2019 A [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":17891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3802,951,3082,3058,3049,641],"class_list":["post-113315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-creation","tag-egypt","tag-karnak","tag-luxor","tag-nile","tag-temple"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ancient Egyptian Cosmology Illustrated in Soil Core Samples<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&nbsp; 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