The truth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is inexorably tied to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Either it is truly the historical document it claims to be, in which case neither Joseph Smith nor anyone else in the 19th century or today could have written it, or it is a fake and will inevitably be revealed by progress in scientific knowledge and the Church will be shown to be a false church. For some fifty years now, evidence in favour of the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon continues to turn up, to the point that anyone seeking to question the Book of Mormon (and the Church) cannot – if they are intellectually honest – ignore it. The following article examines one such element.
THE TIME OF JESUS’ DEATH
By Idumea???
Translated by Gerald D. Woodard
Original French text at www.idumea.org
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon tells us of what happened in the New World during and after the crucifixion of Christ.
“And it came to pass that when the thundering, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quaking of the earth did cease – for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours… - and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.” (3 Nephi 8:19).
“And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land..." (3 Nephi 10:9).
Thus, according to the Book of Mormon, Christ died in the morning (3 hours of agony on the cross + 3 X 24 hours = morning). But what does the bible say about this?
The Bible
“It was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." (Luke 23:44-46).
According to the Bible, Christ was crucified in the sixth hour and died in the ninth. The Jewish day only starts at sunrise (six in the morning). As such, the sixth hour is equal to our noon, and the ninth hour would be 3:00 p.m., i.e. early afternoon, not morning.
Is there a contradiction between the Book of Mormon and the Bible?
Central America is exactly 112° to the west of Jerusalem, which is equal to a negative time difference of 7 hours and 30 minutes. As such, when it is noon in Jerusalem, it is 4:30 in Central America, and when it is 3:00 p.m. in Jerusalem it is 7:30 in Central America or, in other words, it is actually morning.
Thus, once again, what at first seems to be an error in the Book of Mormon is shown, with a bit more research, to be further evidence of its authenticity.
