Out walking, we picked up a ward newsletter off the road.

The bishop is very much looking forward to April 6, the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

I checked with a knowledgeable priesthood holder, and he confirmed that that is the official date. Not exactly sure how they figured that out, or that it matters, but hey, April 6 is the date.

So there you go. Celebrate the Birth on Good Friday this year.

I haven't been able to find any clear references to this folk belief - which is held by all LDS unless they are asked about it.

I'm sorry I don't have a reference but I believe this goes back to Joseph Smith - as I recall the church was founded on April 6 and JS stated it was also Christ's birthday.

This date comes from Talmage

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700094707/What-was-the-real-date-of-Jesus-birth.html

utter bovine scat.

I recall back in 1981 when I was at Ricks in a class (Dating, Courtship and Marriage) where the instructor asked us to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus on April 6.

I stayed silent



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2012 11:51AM by wowbagger.

The belief comes from a literal reading of D&C 20:1, which says that April 6, 1830, is one thousand eight hundred and thirty years from the coming of the Savior in the flesh.

Historically Jesus was supposed to be born in the spring not the winter. Christmas or the winter solstice is reported to have been the date the Christians used to celebrate Jesus's birth so they would not be singled out.

The pagan holiday celebrated on Dec 25 reflects the rebirth of the sun. The longest night of the year is Dec 22 and it takes 3 days for there to be a visible change in the duration of night. So, to celebrate the return or rebirth or birth of the sun (get it - son?) the early Christians used Dec 25. Nothing new. Many ancient cultures used that date. The christian cult just joined the crowd.

much easier to get the conversions when ya make the new religion seem like the old!

Uh, no. The words for 'sun' and 'son' are not anywhere near the same in Greek, Latin, Aramaic or Hebrew. The fact that they are similar in English means absolutely nothing SINCE ENGLISH HAD NOT YET DEVELOPED.

LOL, yeah. My sister could never figure out why I never forgot her wedding anniversary, of April 6th. That's why.

I've always wondered, which is the correct date for Jesus' death and why would that date change every year?

At the heart of the matter lies a very simple explanation. The early church fathers wished to keep the observance of Easter in correlation to the Jewish Passover. Because the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ happened after the Passover, they wanted Easter to always be celebrated subsequent to the Passover. And, since the Jewish holiday calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles, each feast day is movable, with dates shifting from year to year. Now, from here the explanation grows more complicated.

plagiarized from About.com!! :)
also more to the point:

So, in Western Christianity, Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the Paschal Full Moon.

The Paschal Full Moon can vary as much as two days from the date of the actual full moon, with dates ranging from March 21 to April 18. As a result, Easter dates can range from March 22 through April 25 in Western Christianity.

also plagiarized from same source...:)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2012 05:55PM by bignevermo.