"About the first of July 1835 there came a man having four Egyptian Mummies exhibiting them for curiosities, which was a wonder indeed!" — John Whitmer¹

In 1835, a traveling antiquities show arrived in Kirtland with four Egyptian mummies and several ancient papyrus scrolls. The showman, Michael Chandler, approached Joseph to see if he wanted to buy the mummies, but Joseph was most interested in the scrolls. Chandler would only sell the mummies and the scrolls together, and Joseph raised $2,400 from friends to purchase the set.²

1. John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847

2. Saints, Volume 1, 20, 219-220