Dating Christ's Birth. Section 20:1.

Sunday we had a bit of a discussion on dating Christ's birth and whether or not to take Section 20 verse 1 literally. Or if "one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh" is flowery nineteenth-century speak. 

Elder James E. Talmage considered it literal (Jesus the Christ). For Talmage Jesus was born the 6th of April 1 B.C. This strain of thought has become something gospel-like to many Latter-day Saints. A few prophets have repeated Talmage's date of April 6th, yet none have yet proclaimed it with certainty. Other apostles including Hyrum M. Smith (Doctrine and Covenants Commentary), J. Rueben Clark (Our Lord of the Gospels), and Bruce R. McConkie (The Mortal Messiah) considered it less certain or wrong. Elder McConkie stated, "We do not believe it is possible with the present state of our knowledge--including that which is known both in and out of the Church--to state with finality when the natal day of the Lord Jesus actually occurred." (1:349)

Most New Testament scholars would argue that the year of Christ's birth was between 3ish and 5ish B.C. (Clearly, my "ish" denotes the certainty.) Three BYU Religion Department professors have taken this up in the last few years. You can read Jeffrey Chadwick's argument here. And Lincoln Blummel and Thomas Wayment's cogent response to Chadwick including their own argument here. Both are important to the discussion. See what you think.      

Returning to the day of the birth...This entry from Joseph's history is a good point of comparison (JSP, History, 1838-1856, vol. A-1): 6 April 1833 “The day was spent in a very agreeable manner, in giving and receiving knowledge which appertained to this last kingdom—it being just 1800 years since the Savior laid down his life that men might have everlasting life, and only three years since the Church had come out of the wilderness, preparatory for the last dispensation.” They don't seem to regard it literally. As the new introduction for section 20 states, they started working on it in 1829 and it was worked on over time. The final version was not finished until 10 April 1830 and the beginning was added by John Whitmer. For me, all this points to 20:1 as figurative language. We just don't know.