BOM Alma 7

Today’s reading, Alma 7, features the prophecy that the Savior will be “born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers” (7:10).

Generations of anti-Mormons have made merry over this obvious error; anybody familiar with Christmas carols knows that Jesus was born in the “little town of Bethlehem,” not in Jerusalem.

Which pretty obviously means that Joseph Smith knew it, too.

Here’s a little paper that William Hamblin, John Gee, and I wrote on that topic quite a number of years ago:

http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=961&index=1

On a more positive note:  I especially treasure the explanation of Christ’s incarnation given in this chapter, of how being human taught him to understand our earthly, mortal, fallen condition:

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.  And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.  (7:11-12)

Even the Lord himself couldn’t truly know what it was like to be us by learning it in mere theory, by, in effect, reading it in a book.  This is experiential knowledge, not reducible to even a very great number of propositions.  It has to be felt, tasted, lived, at first hand.