In the

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

scripture the

Book of Abraham The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints p ...

, Pharaoh is the

proper name A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...

of the first king of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. According to the story, all Egyptians descended from him . He was the eldest son of Egyptus, who was the daughter of

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

and Egyptus. Pharaoh was a descendant of the Canaanites , a race of people who according to Latter Day Saint theology had been cursed with

black skin Dark skin is a type of human skin color that is rich in melanin pigments. People with very dark skin are often referred to as "black people", although this usage can be ambiguous in some countries where it is also used to specifically refer to d ...

( Moses 7:8). Leaders of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

(LDS Church) have taught that he inherited the curse of Cain through his grandmother, Egyptus, so that the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

might have representation upon the earth.

Anachronism

The use of the name ''Pharaoh'' is considered anachronistic during Abraham's time by virtually all scholars, including LDS Scholars. Most LDS Scholars who adhere to the historicity of the Book of Abraham point to a Jewish redactor who replaced original words with wording that would have been more understandable to his day.

Notes

{{reflist Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism) Ham (son of Noah) Mormonism and race Book of Abraham Criticism of Mormonism