In History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]: 284, set during April 1833, we read:
The day was spent in a very
agreeable manner, in giving and receiving knowledge which appertained to this
last kingdom. It being just 1800 years since the Savior laid down his life that
men might have everlasting life, and only three years since the church had come
out of the wilderness preparatory for the last dispensation, they had great
reason to rejoice;
Commenting on this, Randall P. Spackman wrote:
. . . Ludlow also asserted that Joseph Smith “believed
the Savior was crucified on Arpil 6 in the thirty-third year of our present
calendar (April 6, A.D. 33)” because on April 6, 1833 C.E., a group of
Latter-day Saints met with Joseph Smith and he later record that “[t]he day was
spent in a very agreeable manner in giving and receiving knowledge which appertained
to this last kingdom—it being just 1800 years since the Savior laid down his
life . . .” (Ludlow 1978: 151). April 6, 1833 C.E. was the Saturday following
Good Friday, so it would have been natural for the Latter-day Saints to remember
the Savior’s crucifixion during their meeting. While Joseph Smith may have had
no reason to doubt the accuracy of the Dionysian year counting system, he new
that the Book of Mormon did not describe the lifetime of Jesus as exactly 33
Gregorian years (see 3 Nephi 8:5). Ludlow’s interpretation, while well
intentioned, reads far too much into Joseph Smith’s natural and general
statement. (Randall P. Spackman, Introduction
to Book of Mormon Chronology: The Principal Prophecies, Calendars, and Dates
[FARMS Preliminary Papers; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and
Mormon Studies, 1993], 72-73)
