Herod the Great died in 4 BC. He directed the massacre of the children. Jesus, then, had to be born before Herod died, which would put Jesus' birth year at 5 or 6 BC. The wording in the D&C is just a fancy way of stating the year 1830, which was somewhat common during that era and does not mean that Jesus was born 1,830 year before.
Dane BoundsDecember 22, 2018
Jeffrey R. Chadwick's paper "Dating the Birth of Jesus Christ" published in BYU Studies 49, no. 4 (2010), pages 4-38 contains an endnote (note 12) which takes issue with D&C 20:1's implied dating of Christ's birth. His whole paper is worth reading.
John E. KammeyerDecember 14, 2018
The Book of Mormon strongly hints that the birth came at Passover. “If I understand correctly,” Passover was observed in the open in those days, with scripture reading as the lambs cooked. As sundown the cooking pits were opened, and as the sun hit the horizon, the people shouted “the Lord has smitten the Egyptians!” It would have been the first full moon of Spring, and they would have immediately seen that it was not dark outside. Upon seeing this, the text notes that “many of the wicked fell down as if they were dead.”
And, by the way, it was a very real “Passover” for the righteous, as they were spared from death.
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Kent BucknerJanuary 14, 2019
Herod the Great died in 4 BC. He directed the massacre of the children. Jesus, then, had to be born before Herod died, which would put Jesus' birth year at 5 or 6 BC. The wording in the D&C is just a fancy way of stating the year 1830, which was somewhat common during that era and does not mean that Jesus was born 1,830 year before.
Dane BoundsDecember 22, 2018
Jeffrey R. Chadwick's paper "Dating the Birth of Jesus Christ" published in BYU Studies 49, no. 4 (2010), pages 4-38 contains an endnote (note 12) which takes issue with D&C 20:1's implied dating of Christ's birth. His whole paper is worth reading.
John E. KammeyerDecember 14, 2018
The Book of Mormon strongly hints that the birth came at Passover. “If I understand correctly,” Passover was observed in the open in those days, with scripture reading as the lambs cooked. As sundown the cooking pits were opened, and as the sun hit the horizon, the people shouted “the Lord has smitten the Egyptians!” It would have been the first full moon of Spring, and they would have immediately seen that it was not dark outside. Upon seeing this, the text notes that “many of the wicked fell down as if they were dead.” And, by the way, it was a very real “Passover” for the righteous, as they were spared from death.
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