10:9) but hadn't a clue about the famous town of Christ's birth is so improbable as to be ludicrous. To suggest that Joseph Smith knew the precise location of Jesus' baptism by John ("in Bethabara, beyond Jordan" ( 1 Ne. Peterson pointed out the absurdity of this argument: but continues to pop up now and again.īYU professor Daniel C. This is an old criticism that has been dealt with at least as far back as 1842. This is an old criticism that has been dealt with at least as far back as 1842 Bethlehem is located in Palestinian territory about five miles away from Jerusalem.
The photo was taken from Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. While a forger would likely overlook this detail and include Bethlehem as the commonly-understood birthplace of Jesus, the ancient authors of the Book of Mormon use an authentic term to describe the Savior's birthplace-thereby providing another point of authenticity for the Book of Mormon.Ī picture of Bethlehem taken from Jerusalem in 2006. Even locals considered Hebron, twenty five miles from Bethlehem, to be in the "land of Jerusalem." This is, in reality, another literary evidence for the Book of Mormon. The town of Bethlehem is in the "land of Jerusalem." In fact, Bethlehem is only 5 miles south of Jerusalem: definitely "in the land," especially from the perspective of Alma, a continent away.
They claim that this is a mistake, and evidence that Joseph Smith forged the Book of Mormon. Some have noted that Alma 7:10 says that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." Yet, every schoolchild knows that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem? The town of Bethlehem is in the "land of Jerusalem" since it is only five miles away