14 Days - Gordon Platt

14 Days

I pictured a rainbow, You held it in your hands

I had flashes, but You made the plan

You wandered out in the world, while I just stayed in my room

I saw the crescent, but You saw the whole of the moon

-The Waterboys

There are three events, one in the Old Testament, one in the New Testament, and one in the

Book of Mormon, which at first blush don’t seem to have much to do with each other. But are,

in fact, intimately connected. And, taken together, they tell us something remarkable about the

Savior’s mission.

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As with all months in the Jewish calendar, Nisan traditionally began with the appearance of the

first visible crescent of the new moon. And the Jewish year begins with Nisan.

“This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.” (Exodus 2:12 NIV)

On the 10 th day of Nisan the community of Israel was commanded to take a male lamb without

blemish from the sheepfold and bring it into their homes. On the 14 th day of Nisan, Israel was

told to kill the lamb at twilight, before the start of the new day, and to put its blood on the

lintel and the doorposts of their homes, and then to eat the lamb’s flesh.

“This meant that they took the lamb into their house…lived with that lamb for four days…fed it

and gave it water, and that the children probably petted it and played with it…They made it, for

four days, a part of their family.

And then they killed it.

Just pause for a moment, and let that sink in. Why did God tell Israel to choose the best of their

herd? Why did He tell them to keep it for four days (in their homes)? Because…it was supposed

to hurt. It was supposed to be hard to kill that lamb. It was supposed to cost them something.”

(The Lamb in the House, RoseannaMWhite.com)

It was supposed to give Israel an inkling of what it cost the Father to see the Lamb of God killed

for the benefit of man.

Now, even though God’s ways are higher than our ways, at least in this case, He is easily

understood. God loves His son. It was a terrible thing for Him to see His son die. Bringing the

Passover Lamb into one’s home and then being asked to sacrifice it is basically the same lesson

that God taught Abraham when He asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But this time God was

teaching all of Israel.

So, this part of the symbolism of the Passover seems easy to understand. But why was it

necessary to change Israel’s calendar in connection with these events? This was the first

commandment that God gave Israel through Moses and Aaron, and it seems kind of like paper-

shuffling or housekeeping. Why put this commandment first? Well, the reason wouldn’t

become clear for a great many years.

As multiple scholars have noted, Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem likely occurred on the

10 th of Nisan. This would of course perfectly align with God’s commandment to the Israelites to

welcome the lamb without blemish into their homes on the 10 th of Nisan.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and

spread them on the road.   The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (NIV Matthew

21:8,9)

There is no scholarly consensus however on exactly how many days passed between Christ’s

entry into Jerusalem and His crucifixion. But, since God commanded that the Israelites’ lambs

were to be slaughtered on the 14 th of Nisan, that day seems conspicuous.

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Some years earlier, on the other side of the world, Samuel the Lamanite made a remarkable

prophecy about a day and a night and a day without darkness on the occasion of Christ’s birth.

And when that happy event came to pass, the Nephites reorganized their calendar to make that

point in time the beginning of their new year.

“ Now the Nephites began to measure time from when the sign was given, or from Christ’s birth.”

(Covenant of Christ, 3 rd Nephi 1:9)

And then, 33 years later, the people began to look anxiously for the fulfillment of Samuel the

Lamanite’s other prophecy, that there would be three days of darkness when Christ was killed.

Well, probably, there was no “year zero. 1 ” So, it’s likely that the Nephites would have

designated the year of Christ’s birth as “year one.” Therefore,

“In the 34th year, on the 14th day of the first month, a great storm arose, the kind of storm that

had never been experienced before in that land.” (Covenant of Christ, 3 rd Nephi 4:2)

1 The ancient Hebrew numeric system was additive and did not depend on a positional place-value system. Hence,

no need for zero. The formal concept of zero was first explained by Indian mathematicians in the 7 th century AD,

although the Mayans had a placeholder symbol for zero used widely in calendars by the 4 th century AD.

And “Thick darkness covered the whole land, so that those who survived could feel the vapor of

darkness. That dark vapor prevented any light, even from candles or torches. And fires couldn’t

be lit either…So no light was seen, not a fire or a spark, nor the sun, moon, or stars, as thick

mists of darkness covered the land.” And, “No light was seen for three days.” (Covenant of

Christ, 3 rd Nephi 4:4, 5)

The elements combined to lament the passing of their creator. And darkness was of course the

perfect symbol for the departure of the Light and Life of the World.

All this strongly suggests that the Nephite calendar and the Jewish calendar were aligned. In the

New World, the elements testified of the death of the Savior on the 14 th day of the 1 st month of

the year. And among the Israelites, the Passover lamb was killed on the 14 th day of Nisan – the

first month of the year.

So, why was God’s first order of business with the Israelites to redo their calendar? It was to

honor His son. To establish the beginning of the new year on the day His son would be born.

And God certainly knew the day that His son would be born, just as He knew the day that Christ

would enter Jerusalem, and the day that He would be killed. And 1500 years before any of that

happened, God put in place the calendar and symbols that would point Israel toward those

events.

But why 14 days? Is that just an arbitrary length of time? Could it have been instead 11 days, or

17 days, or 23? Well, it appears that there is meaning here too.

Ammon and his brethren worked 14 years among the Lamanites before they were able to save

their beloved converts in the land of Jershon. Jacob worked 14 years for Laban, before he

fulfilled the terms of his employment and secured his family. And, through seven years of

plenty and seven years of lean, Joseph worked for Pharaoh, which allowed him to feed his

family and save them from starvation.

Paul describes a voyage through the Mediterranean in which a terrible storm lasting 14 days

obscured all the light of the sun and stars. And though those on board were so occupied with

keeping the boat afloat that they fasted for 14 days, still everyone on board was saved. And an

angel told Paul, “God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” (NIV Acts

27:24) 2

There are reasons to believe that having a 14-day period on the calendar between the Lord’s

birth-day and His death-day is meaningful: that there is symbolism here. Perhaps that period is

intended to convey the idea that like Jacob, and Joseph, and Ammon, and Paul, the Lord – the

archetype for these men – served a mission in which He secured all the family of man.

2 Compare the accounts of Noah, the brother of Jared, and Lehi and his family, in which these patriarchal figures

saved their families in perilous ocean crossings.

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Daniel was told by the angel Gabriel, that after the Messiah was killed, after He was “cut off,

but not for Himself,” that He would “confirm the covenant with many,” but that He would

“cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.” (KJV Daniel 9:26,27) 3

And that’s just what we find the Lord doing in 3 rd Nephi.

Don’t be surprised I said that old things had come to an end and everything had become new. I

assure you the Law that was given to Moses is now completed. I Am the one who gave the Law,

and I Am the one who covenanted with My people Israel. (Covenant of Christ 3 rd Nephi 7:2)

The rites of the Mosaic law were shelved, but the covenant remained in place.

And He commanded them to get up and stand on their feet. They arose and stood on their feet.

Then He broke bread again and blessed it and gave it to the disciples to eat. When they had

eaten, He commanded them to break bread and give it to the large crowd of people. When they

had given it to the people, He also gave them wine to drink and commanded them to give it to

the people…He said to them: Anyone who eats this bread eats of My body to their soul. And

anyone who drinks this wine drinks of My blood to their soul. (Covenant of Christ 3 rd Nephi 9:6)

Unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and lamb, became bread that fed the soul. 4 Blood on the lintel

became wine that satisfied the soul’s thirst. Old things had become new.

And there’s at least one other nod here to the original Passover. God gave the Israelites specific

instructions on how they were to eat that meal.

(And) this is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your

feet and your staff in your hand.” (Exodus 2:12)

The Israelites were getting ready to leave Egypt. To leave slavery in that unjust, foreign

kingdom. They were on their feet, staff in hand, ready to go.

Similarly, the Nephites were told to take the sacrament the Lord provided “standing on their

feet.” An echo of an earlier time: an invitation to the Nephites to leave “Egypt,” and the slavery

of this foreign, sinful world.

3 “Weeks” in these verses comes from the Hebrew “shabua,” representing a period of seven units—widely

interpreted as seven years. Seven years is apparently the duration of the Savior’s ministry to the “sheep” in

Jerusalem following His crucifixion plus His ministry to the “other sheep not of this fold.” If that’s true, then 33

years of mortal ministry to Israel plus 7 years of post-mortal ministry to Israel makes a total of 40 years.

4 “When to thy mortal soul but two loaves are left, sell one, and with the dole, buy hyacinths to feed the soul.”

- Saadi

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Fourteen days after the beginning of Nisan, halfway through the lunar cycle, the moon is full

and gives its maximum light. 5 It may not be mere coincidence that the moon, the symbol of our

Mother in Heaven, is full on each and every Passover. Perhaps it is a reminder of the gift She

gave to the world. And if so, is it any wonder that at the Passover on which Her son was killed,

She veiled Her face in darkness.

Gordon Platt

October 10, 2026