Gospel topic
April 6th: Accurate Date of the Savior's Birth
Tagged content
-
Quote
The time of the Messiah’s birth is a subject upon which specialists in theology and history, and those who are designated in literature “the learned,” fail to agree. Numerous lines of investigation have been followed, only to reach divergent conclusions, both as to the year and as to the month and day within the year at which the “Christian era” in reality began. The establishment of the birth of Christ as an event marking a time from which chronological data should be calculated, was first effected about 532 A.D. by Dionysius Exiguus; and as a basis for the reckoning of time this method has come to be known as the Dionysian system, and takes for its fundamental datum A.U.C. 753, that is to say 753 years after the founding of Rome, as the year of our Lord’s birth. So far as there exists any consensus of opinion among later scholars who have investigated the subject, it is to the effect that the Dionysian calculation is wrong, in that it places the birth of Christ between three and four years too late; and that therefore our Lord was born in the third or fourth year before the beginning of what is designated by the scholars of Oxford and Cambridge, “the Common Account called Anno Domini.” Without attempting to analyze the mass of calculation data relating to this subject, we accept the Dionysian basis as correct with respect to the year, which is to say that we believe Christ to have been born in the year known to us as B.C. 1, and, as shall be shown, in an early month of that year. In support of this belief we cite the inspired record known as the “Revelation on Church Government, given through Joseph the Prophet, in April, 1830,” which opens with these words: “The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the flesh.” Another evidence of the correctness of our commonly accepted chronology is furnished by the Book of Mormon record. Therein we read that “in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,” the word of the Lord came to Lehi at Jerusalem, directing him to take his family and depart into the wilderness. In the early stages of their journey toward the sea, Lehi prophesied, as had been shown him of the Lord, concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews. Furthermore, he predicted the eventual return of the people of Judah from their exile in Babylon, and the birth of the Messiah, which latter event he definitely declared would take place six hundred years from the time he and his people had left Jerusalem. This specification of time was repeated by later prophecy; and the signs of the actual fulfillment are recorded as having been realized “six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.”j These scriptures fix the time of the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign as six hundred years before the birth of Christ. According to the commonly accepted reckoning, Zedekiah was made king in the year 597 B.C. This shows a discrepancy of about three years between the commonly accepted date of Zedekiah’s inauguration as king and that given in the Book of Mormon statement; and, as already seen, there is a difference of between three and four years between the Dionysian reckoning and the nearest approach to an agreement among scholars concerning the beginning of the current era. Book of Mormon chronology therefore sustains the correctness of the common or Dionysian system. As to the season of the year in which Christ was born, there is among the learned as great a diversity of opinion as that relating to the year itself. It is claimed by many Biblical scholars that December 25th, the day celebrated in Christendom as Christmas, cannot be the correct date. We believe April 6th to be the birthday of Jesus Christ as indicated in a revelation of the present dispensation already cited, in which that day is made without qualification the completion of the one thousand eight hundred and thirtieth year since the coming of the Lord in the flesh. This acceptance is admittedly based on faith in modern revelation, and in no wise is set forth as the result of chronological research or analysis. We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, April 6, B.C. 1.
Elder James E. Talmage
.
-
Quote
The Day of the Lord
President Charles W. Nibley
.
-
Quote
Fri., 28 Sep., 1962
President David O. McKay
.
-
Quote
The name Jesus Christ and what it represents has been plowed deep into the history of the world, never to be uprooted. Christ was born on the sixth of April. Being one of the sons of God and His Only Begotten, his birth is of supreme importance.
President Spencer W. Kimball
.
-
Quote
My brothers and sisters, today we not only celebrate the Sesquicentennial of the organization of the Church, but also the greatest event in human history since the birth of Christ on this day 1,980 years ago.
President Spencer W. Kimball
.
-
Quote
It is April 6th
Elder Richard G. Scott
.
-
Quote
While we now know through revelation the time of the Savior’s birth, we observe the 25th of December with the rest of the Christian world. Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley [2005], 1:409
President Gordon B. Hinckley
.
-
Quote
Today is April 6
Elder David A. Bednar
.
-
Quote
: We live in an extraordinary time. Never has the gospel been preached so widely. Never have so many missionaries been called, so many people introduced to the restored gospel and baptized, so many nations opened to hear the message of the restoration and so many temples built throughout the earth. During his mortal ministry, Jesus said to His disciples, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them." Similarly, our day can be described as the scriptures say as a time when a marvelous work and a wonder is spreading throughout the world. The work of the restoration is yet far from complete. It is still ongoing and it will continue to expand among mortals until the Savior returns to reign personally on this earth. President Russell M. Nelson shared this powerful vision of the days ahead. You may remember this, "So many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful." In the years to come, we will commemorate the bicentennial of the restoration. Interestingly, in 2030, we will also commemorate the beginning of the Savior's mortal ministry some 2,000 years ago. This convergence will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As Elder Gary E. Stevenson has taught in the next decade, "We will experience seminal events that will result in extraordinary opportunities to serve, to unite with members and friends, and to introduce The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to more people than ever before." My invitation to you who are gathered here in this great auditorium is simple. Be prepared. You are the children of the restoration. Yours is the generation called to help lead this work forward. You are among those the Lord has chosen for this remarkable time. You will carry the light of restoration into the next hundred years. And you'll do it with faith and with joyful determination. I invite you to prepare your hearts, to prepare your minds, and familiarize yourselves with the events and the truth of the restoration. Begin now to consider how you will participate in these exciting celebrations, how you will contribute in meaningful ways. I also invite you to become more active witnesses of the restoration, owning, expressing, and sharing your beliefs in ways that are personal and visible. We have great confidence in you. With your faith, your creativity, and your devotion, you will help move this work forward in ways we have never seen before.
Elder Gérald Caussé
.