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| | #REDIRECT [[Question: Was the fact that the recovery of the Book of Mormon plates occurred on the autumnal equinox somehow significant?]] |
| {{Resource Title|Book of Mormon recovered on autumnal equinox}}
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| {{JosephSmithPortal}}
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| == ==
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| {{Criticism label}}
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| Joseph's meetings with Moroni and the recovery of the Book of Mormon occurred on the autumnal equinox, a date with astrological and magical significance.
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| *Is this evidence of Joseph Smith's preoccupation with "magick?"
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| {{CriticalSources}}
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| == ==
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| {{Conclusion label}}
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| There are many religious traditions (including Judaism) that use the equinoxes as part of their religious calendar. Thus, the presence of a significant "astrological" date may be coincidental ''or'' present for religious, not "magical" reasons. This again highlights the [[Joseph_Smith_and_the_occult#Terminology|problems]] with "magic" as a category.
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| == ==
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| {{Response label}}
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| In this instance, critics presume that their claims about Joseph's preoccupation with magic is an accurate description of his attempt to recover the plates (see [[Logical_fallacies#Begging_the_question|circular reasoning]]). If, however, there are ''other'' explanations for receiving the plates on the evening of 21-22 September 1827, then this cannot be used as evidence for pre-occupation with a "magic world view."
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| The Book of Mormon claims to be a religious text, with a world-view sharing close affinities with Judaism. Interestingly, the plates' recovery occurred on a vital date in the Jewish calendar:
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| :Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year (which had begun at sundown on 21 September 1827). At Rosh ha-Shanah the faithful were commanded to set a day aside as "a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation" ({{b||Leviticus|23|24}}).{{ref|morris.1}}
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| ''Rosh ha-Shanah'' also begins the ''Asseret Yemei Teshuva'' (The Ten Days of Repentance) which precede the holiest day of the Jewish year: ''Yom Kippur'', the day of the atonement. Likewise, the Book of Mormon claimed to come forth to preach repentance, and prepare the way for Christ's second coming.
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| ''Rosh ha-Shanah'' is celebrated by the blowing of the ram's horn (''shofar''), just as Jesus' apocalyptic teachings foretold that the elect would be gathered by angels "with a great sound of a trumpet" ({{b||Matthew|24|31}}). The Revelation of St. John features angels with trumpets as part of the preparation or heralding of Christ's second coming (e.g., {{b||Revelation|8|2,6}}; compare {{s||DC|77|12}}). The Book of Mormon portrays itself squarely within this tradition, heralding and preparing the way for the gathering of the elect and the return of Christ ({{s|1|Nephi|13|34-42}}).
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| In the Jerusalem temple, "at the autumnal equinox the rays of the sun could enter the [holy of holies] because the whole of the edifice faced east."{{ref|chilton.1}} Thus, on a date in which the idea of divine illumination, light, and knowledge streaming into God's earthly temple was so prominent, a new divine revelation of scripture fits at least as well as Quinn's claim that this date has astrological significance for "the introduction of 'broad cultural movements and religious ideas'."{{ref|quinn.2}}
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| Joseph and other members made no claims about 21-22 September being significant for ''any'' reason. He may not have known its significance, in either an astrological or religious context. Critics often assume that Joseph was fabricating his story, and so they must ascribe a significance to this date which Joseph was likely to know—they seize, therefore, on the astrological connection while severing it from its deep religious roots. This is again [[Logical_fallacies#Begging_the_question|question begging]], since it presumes at the outset that Joseph's tale was fraudulent, and that the Book of Mormon had nothing to do with ancient Judaism.
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| =={{Endnotes label}}==
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| #{{note|morris.1}} {{FR-17-1-4}} <!-- Morris, Eye single-->
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| #{{note|chilton.1}}{{Dialogue|vol=29|num=4|start=22|end=23|author=Bruce Chilton|article=Jesus’ Dispute in the Temple and the Origin of the Eucharist}}
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| #{{note|quinn.1}} {{CriticalWork:Quinn:Magic World View|pages=121}}
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| [[de:Joseph_Smith_und_der_Jupiter-Talisman]]
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| [[fr:Joseph Smith/Occultism and magic/Book of Mormon recovered on autumnal equinox]]
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