Answer to my Question

Comments: 7

(What do Mormons Believe:

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Articles of Faith
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)

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First, I'm sure all my faithful readers (all 2 or 3 of you) are just dying to know the answer to my question in my previous posting. That being, when was Jesus born?

The hint I gave, plus the one Tristi added (she's on the same wavelength as I) should have led you to the idea that Jesus was not born in the winter (December 25th). Tristi's hint should have led you to thinking "Spring," when lambs are being born. Yes, I truly believe Jesus was born in the springtime, not the winter.

Let me give you some thoughts that should lead you to a similar conclusion.

I heard an interesting talk last Sunday in church given by our Bishop. In it, he spoke of astronomers who were asked to turn the astronomical clock back to the time of His birth. When they did this, they found Jupiter was the closest to the earth that it ever had been. So close, it was extremely bright. When asked what date it was the absolute brightest, they said early April. Could that have been the Star of Bethlehem? He also mentioned the thoughts of some astrologers, who were asked their thoughts. They said Jupiter was in the constellation Ares. That was a sign that s great king had been born. Interesting.

I was also talking to a good friend of mine (I just added his blog to my list of favorites, "Basically Speaking"). He is my daughter's father-in-law, and a very knowledgeable man when it comes to gospel issues. He said to think of the symbolism surrounding Christ's birth. God often uses symbolism, parallelisms, and types to emphasize the importance of special events. For example, Abraham being asked to sacrifice his “only” son, Isaac, was a parallel or type of God the Father having to sacrifice his “only begotten” son, Jesus. So, when Jesus was born, it would be fitting if he were born during some significant event. What is the most significant event in Jewry, especially in the springtime? The Passover. Jesus being born during Passover would be a symbol of His coming sacrifice which was also held during Passover, thirty-three years later. Was he crucified on his birthday? An interesting thought. I’ll explore that idea next.

However, I feel the most authoritative source for when Jesus was born is from the Word of God himself. Our Heavenly Father revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith that Jesus was indeed born in the early spring, even April 6. Looking back through biblical history, that date (also known as Abib 15 in the scriptures) is highly significant. It is believed that is the day Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. It’s the day Adam was expelled from the Garden of Eden. I think there are probably a few other parallel dates of significance but I can’t recall them at this time. If anyone of you can think of them, please feel free to add them. However, the most significant world events that happened on this date are Jesus’ birth, and His crucifixion. Yes, He was crucified on His birthday, another symbolism of his divinity.
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About Paul West

Paul West is a freelance writer and novelist. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Paul claims to be a "Prune Picker," though he now makes his home in Taylorsville, Utah.

You can follower him on Twitter: @PaulWWest

Published: Friday, December 28, 2007

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(What do Mormons Believe:

We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Articles of Faith
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)

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To all my faithful readers (all 2 or 3 of you), I want to wish you a very happy and merry Christmas and a wonderful and prosperous (and should I add, published?) New Year.

Note I did not say "happy holidays," or "seasons greetings," or any other of those politically correct phrases. With the possible exception of Hannaka, which I believe Christians can also celebrate, alongside our Jewish brothers and sisters, Jesus is the reason for the season. So I hope we will all remember the birth of Jesus Christ on this most special and wonderful of holidays.

Speaking of the birth of our Savior, how many of my faithful readers know when Jesus was actually born? Was it in the deep of winter as we now celebrate it? Was it actually on December 25th? I'd like to get your feelings about that. As a clue, think: shepards watching over their flocks by night.
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(What do Mormons Believe:
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
Second Article of Faith
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)

Some fellow writers suggested a few more words to avoid. I'm not sure I agree with all of them, but here are what they suggested:

  • eyes
  • actually
  • just
  • really
  • smiled
  • that
  • wonder
  • believe
  • imagine
  • thought
  • dream
  • seem
  • went
  • so
  • only
  • well
  • like
  • and
  • but
  • then
  • laughed
  • said???
  • had
  • very
  • even
  • some
  • get
  • got
  • started
  • begin
  • began
  • about
  • still
  • down
  • up
  • most "-ing" words
I can see how most of these words can be mis-used, even over-used, but a lot of these are, I believe, essential and cannot be eliminated completely. The trick is to search for these words and see whether the prose would be stronger without them, or by reworking the phrase or sentence containing these words.
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(Since there's been so much talk about what Mormons believe lately, I thought it might be helpful for me to post some of their beliefs so you can judge for yourselves.

We Believe in God the eternal Father, and in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost
Articles of Faith,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)

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My critique group, Writers Pen, at the Authors by Design writers forum, has been trying to get me to see how I overuse some words for a long time. I think I finally got the message and am going through my MS to find some of these words and replace them with more descriptive, or more appropriate words. I'm not sure I have them all. So far the words I'm searching for are the following:
  • Walk
  • Turn
  • look

Can anyone else think of other often over-used words to add to that list?
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