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FAIR Answers Wiki Table of Contents
The Book of Mormon contains a reference to the intense agony endured by Jesus Christ as he atoned for the sins of all humanity:
And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. (Mosiah 3:7, emphasis added.)
Since the Nephite authors would not have known about skin pores, is the reference to skin pores anachronistic?
The concept of having pores in the skin through which sweats, fluids, or gases could pass is of great antiquity. Pores and the associated sweat gland apparatus were not demonstrated microscopically until 6 years after the publication of the Book of Mormon.
Latter-day Saints regard the Atonement of Christ, during which he suffered incomprehensible and unbearable agonies, as the most important event in human history. While the technical details of that experience are of minor importance, the Book of Mormon's account is consistent with ancient medical and anatomical concepts, and well-documented case reports from the modern era.
However, rather than focus on microscopy or physiology, members of the Church hope to spend far more time obeying Jesus' command to repent, which he gave in a description of the atonement as revealed to Joseph Smith:
Notes
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