Thursday, December 4, 2008

LDS scholar comes to realization that sometime between 34 A.D. and 1820, Jesus’s beard turned from brown to white

A painting of Jesus Christ (circa 29 A.D.). The Jesus of 1820 (inset) has noticeably whiter hair, leading scholars to theorize about why such a change may have occurred.


SOLDIERS’ SUMMIT, UT- John Abernathy, a retired professor of sociology who worked at Brigham Young University for over 30 years, has discovered that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, experienced "considerable" changes to his hair color in the 1,800 years following his ascension.

Comparing portraits of Jesus from 29 A.D. and 1820 A.D., Abernathy has deduced that "while Christ’s hair length doesn’t seem to have been affected, it’s clear that the hair color has whitened dramatically."

"What Joseph Smith saw in the Sacred Grove was an aged Jesus, beginning to look much more like his father," Abernathy said. "And I can only assume that in his 1836 vision (in the Kirtland, Ohio temple), Jesus’ hair only got whiter."

Abernathy has devoted the last six months to the topic and has come up with some possible explanations for the stunning transformation.

"You’ve got to remember that soon after Jesus returned to Heaven, there was a Great Apostasy on earth," he said. "During that time, he had to deal with the Dark Ages, countless wars, the founding of France, and a world decreasing in knowledge of the true gospel."

When asked why that would have turned Jesus’ hair white, Abernathy explained that "it’s simple science. Stress will cause hair to whiten."

He added that Jesus has created many worlds, and that "perhaps the stress he suffered regarding the wickedness of the earth only contributed fractionally compared to those other planets."

Abernathy, set to publish his thesis in the next edition of the BYU Farms newsletter, assures members of the church that "this shouldn’t be a cause of worry. He’s still all-powerful and all-knowing. A little white hair isn’t going to change that."

However, Abernathy does have concerns over the larger implications of these findings.

"It would be unfortunate if this world continued to contribute to the hair-whitening stress of Jesus. We can’t control what other planets do, but we have an obligation to do our part in keeping Jesus look youthful."

No comments :