O Little Town of... Jerusalem? Evidence the Book of Mormon was Right all along!

Critics have mocked Alma 7:10 for nearly 200 years: the Book of Mormon says Christ would be born “at Jerusalem,” even though the New Testament says Bethlehem. But once you dig into ancient geography, manuscripts, and archaeology, the criticism gets a lot less confident—and the evidence gets surprisingly strong. 

In this episode of Informed Saints, we break down what “Jerusalem” can mean in an ancient context, why the Book of Mormon repeatedly refers to the “land of Jerusalem,” and how sources like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Amarna Letters, and a 7th-century BC Bethlehem bulla (“Bethlehem for the king”) point to Bethlehem functioning within Jerusalem’s broader district/administrative world—especially in Lehi’s time. 

We also zoom out and ask an important question: what does modern scholarship even say about the Bethlehem tradition, and why do some scholars propose alternatives (including Jerusalem)? Most of all, we keep the focus where Alma puts it: Christ’s mission, Atonement, and Resurrection—not just a pin on a map. 

Here are some additional resources:

• Matt Roper, “Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms—Chapter 6: Old World Jounreys by Land and Sea,” Interpreter 65 (2025), items 172 and 173; https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/anachronisms-accidental-evidence-in-book-of-mormon-criticisms-chapter-6-old-world-journeys-by-land-and-sea ​
• Scripture Central. “Why Does the Book of Mormon Talk about a ‘Land of Jerusalem’? (1 Nephi 3:9),” KnoWhy 495 (December 20, 2018); https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/why-does-the-book-of-mormon-talk-about-a-land-of-jerusalem ​
• Neal Rappleye, “Why Did Alma Say Christ Would Be Born in Jerusalem? Surprising Evidence of the Book of Mormon,” LDS Living, December 21, 2017; https://www.ldsliving.com/why-did-alma-say-christ-would-be-born-in-jerusalem-surprising-evidence-of-the-book-of-mormon/s/87333 ​
• Gordon Thomasson, “Revisiting the Land of Jerusalem,” in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon (FARMS, 1999); https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/revisiting-thelandofjerusalem ​
• Daniel C. Peterson, “Is the Book of Mormon True? Notes on the Debate,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited (FARMS, 1997); https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/book-mormon-true-notes-debate ​
• Joseph Feilding Smith, “Is There a Contradiction between Alma 7:10 and Matthew 2:5–6?” Improvement Era, April 1955; https://scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/magazine-article/there-contradiction-between-alma-710-and-matthew-256

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