by John P. Pratt
23 Dec 2018, 1 Jaguar (SR), 1 Fulness (UV), 0 Res (UMa),
1 Winter (E), 1 Delivered (P), 1 Sgr (S), Redeemed (US)
©2018 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved.
| 1. Old Testament |
| 1.1 Antediluvian |
| 1.2 Shem |
| 1.3 Angels to Abraham |
| 1.4 Leah and Rachel |
| 1.5 Isaac's Death |
| 2. New Testament |
| 2.1 Virgin Mary |
| 2.2 John the Baptist |
| 3. Latter Days |
| 3.1 Sagittarius Presidency |
| 3.2 Priesthood |
| 3.3 Church Birth |
| 4. Conclusion |
| Notes |
The Book of Enoch describes a star calendar with 364 days, each represented by a star, which in turn represents a servant of God. Earlier articles introduced the Star Calendar based on that book, laying the groundwork that the year is divided into twelve zodiac "months",[1] identifying all of the stars,[2] placing the stars in order,[3] and identifying the holy days.[4] This article reports on several sacred events which occurred on holy days on the Star Calendars and for which those stars are witnesses of the dates. Some of those witnesses are "stellar" indeed, which led to the title with the pun referring to a "star witness" in a court trial!
The Star Calendar (S) and Uniform Star Calendar (US) are so important that they merit their own column on my Religious Chronology. In fact, until now it has appeared that the most important sacred calendar was the Sacred Round. After recent developments it now appears that the two Star Calendars may well be the most significant because there is a star (with an entire story) for each day!
With that in mind, only a few examples of events on holy star days will be given in this article and limited to those not mentioned in the earlier articles. Most of the dates mentioned earlier were on the major holy days before the arrangement of more minor stars was understood. There are over 350 dates of key religious events on my Complete Chronology and most of them occurred on significantly meaningful star dates for that event. That is far too many to consider explaining in an article. If the reader truly desires to comprehend more about how the Lord uses these calendars, it is suggested to consult the Religious Chronology which has references and explanatory remarks for each event. While so doing, please keep in mind that all of those dates, except for some new ones included in this article, were published before the Star Calendars were understood or even known to exist.
Many of the vital dates of the great patriarchs before the Great Deluge have been discussed in earlier articles as having been holy on many sacred calendars simultaneously. Let us now look at some of them, as well as other sacred events, on the Star Calendars.
Birth of Adam. The date of the creation/birth of Adam, when he first breathed the breath of life, has been noted as the most amazing yet known in all of history in that it was possible to find even without knowing the year because it occurred on the day representing birth on so many sacred calendars. This date is written in stone, but when the Star Calendars were first discovered, his birth date thereon did not appear to be especially significant. The dates were 22 Sgr, meaning the 22nd day of the sun being in the zodiac constellation ("month") of Sagittarius, the Archer (S) and 1 Sco (Scorpius, the Scorpion, US). Since then it has been discovered that in addition to there being holy days based on bright and well placed stars, there are also holy days based solely on the day of the zodiac month (like 22 Sgr) corresponding to those of the Hebrew and Enoch calendars. In this case, at the time of Adam, 22 Sqr was the major holy day End of the Feast of Tabernacles (S). That is because the day corresponded to the same day on the Hebrew Calendar on which the End of the Feast of Tabernacles always occurs on the 22nd day of the seventh month (Tishri). Following that pattern, the 22nd day of the seventh month counting from spring on the Star Calendar is 22 Sgr (S). Similarly, 1 Sco is always the Feast of Trumpets (US) because it is the first day of the seven month counting from spring. That is because the holy feast days do not precess through different zodiac months on the uniform version, so Taurus is always the first month (US). Thus, both of those star dates turned out to be major holy days on the Star Calendars!
Adam & Eve Marriage. At the time of the recent (Sep 2018) discovery of the date of the marriage of Adam and Eve, the Star Calendar dates were still not understood nor mentioned in that article. One surprising point about their marriage date was that, whereas many of the later patriarchs were married on Passover, Adam and Eve were married on Easter. Now it turns out that the date already published for their marriage turns out to have been on Passover (S) and Firstfruits (US), both major holy days!
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Death of Jared. Jared, the father of Enoch, represented baptism as an ordinance and the Great Deluge, where that immersion was applied to the entire earth. For example, he was born, ordained, and died on Prime on the Venus Calendar, which symbolizes rebirth and baptism. His death on the Hebrew Calendar was 17 Heshvan, called Deluge Day because that was the very day the rain began to fall. The corresponding day on the Star Calendars is 17 Sgr, and it turns out that his death was on that very day (Deluge Day) on both Star Calendars. Again, these calendars can provide more witnesses of already proposed dates.
Birth of Noah. The birth of Noah has long been established, having many ties to his family and to the Great Flood. That birth date was on the star day of Arcturus (alpha Boo, 25 Vir, S) the brightest northern star in the Star Calendar. It is a major holy day just because of its brightness. The day was also 18 Gem (Posterity, delta Gem, US). That is the most precisely located star in Ptolemy's star tables. Lest there be any doubt of its meaning, he records that it is located in the left testicle of one of the Twins! Sure enough, Noah was all about having posterity, being the father of all mankind living after the Deluge.
Birth. While most of the Bible patriarchs have had their birth and death dates determined in my work, Noah's chosen son Shem has remained a mystery until recently. One of the obstacles was that the Book of Moses, revealed to Joseph Smith, disagreed with the Book of Jasher, which had been my main source for the birth years of many of the prophets, which had proved very reliable. All that Genesis says is that Noah's three sons were born when he was 500 (Gen. 5:32). The Book of Moses claims that Shem was born when Noah was about 492 (Moses 8:12). The Book of Jasher says that Noah was married at 498, that Japheth was the first born, and that Shem was born when Noah was 502 years old (Jasher 5:18). Note that the three books even list even the order of births differently.
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These discrepancies provided a good test case of the sacred calendar dating method, which requires several criteria to be fulfilled. Besides the birth and death dates of the patriarchs being on holy days on the (Perpetual) Hebrew Calendar, they almost always link to the birth and death dates of themselves, their wives, parents, and children. Often there are multiple links, meaning that the events occurred on the same days of either the seasonal or uniform versions of the same calendar. There are also often calendar links to others with similar missions.
A few months ago the choice was made when sufficient links were discovered and the date was published on my Religious Chronology without source reference. Now the Star Calendars provide two more witnesses.
It is here proposed that Shem was born on Friday afternoon, 8 Jul 2441 BC when Noah was 502 years old. That day was 1 Ab (PH), a day associated with priests. For example, it was the day of the death of Aaron (Num. 33:38-39) for whom the Aaronic Priesthood was named. This is an example of a link to those with a similar mission, because Shem was known as "the great high priest" (D&C 138:41)
That day was the major holy day 1 Eagle (SR) on which both Adam and Enoch were born, so that links Shem to them (all three being high priests). Moreover, the date also links to both of his parent's birth dates: all three were born on 1 Lord (M).
Death. It is proposed that Shem's death date was after 6 pm on Wed 16 Jul 1841 BC. He lived 600 years, which was so long that he and Eber were able to be tutors to both Isaac and Jacob! That death date was 9 Ab (PH), the Summer Fast holy day, which is also a priestly day. If so, then he lived just a few days longer than exactly 600 years.
That day was also 1 Water (SR), the same as the birth date of his father Noah. Moreover, that day was 1 Fulness on both the Mercury and Uniform Mercury calendars, as was Noah's birth date. Thus, that makes three calendar links of this death date to his father's birth date. This alone is so rare as to lock this date in as the death date of Shem. Combining that with it being nearly exactly 600 years after the proposed birth date was compelling enough to accept both of these dates as correct.
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First, the proposed birth date for Shem was on 42 Leo, which corresponds to the star at the end of the tail of the Big Bear (end of the handle of the Big Dipper). Why is that significant? For one thing, that constellation is engraved on the side of the LDS Salt Lake Temple with the explanation that it represents "the great truth that through the priesthood of God the lost may find their way."[5] Moreover, that is the very star which symbolizes the head of the Melchizedek Priesthood! In the Priesthood Pattern of Seven,[6] it is star number 1 (See Figure 4) and the position of Peter (Uriel) to whom Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 16:18-19).
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The birth star on the Uniform Star Calendar is such a perfect match that it caused me to change my English translation of the star name in honor of Melchizedek. That holy star day is 28 Aqr, which is the star in the Waterman's right hand which is pouring the water representing spiritual blessings onto the head of the Southern Fish, which represents a church of believers. Until now the star was named "Right Hand" to remind us both of this place in the constellation but also that it is the right hand which blesses. But who has authority to bless? It is the higher priesthood of Melchizedek which has the authority to give spiritual blessings (D&C 107:18). Many others who held the high priesthood also had key sacred events occur on this holy day. Thus, the star seems to represent that priesthood, so it is now renamed "High Priest" in honor of Melchizedek.
And now for a final witness of the correctness of this proposed birth date for Shem. Noah's death date was also on that same star day, 28 Aqr, High Priest (US)! That is a very strong additional calendar link between the father-son pair of Noah and Shem. In fact, the most usual link is to have the father die on the same day as the son was born on the same calendar (US in this case).
This section should make it clear how it would probably take an entire book to describe how both star days might help tell a story about all of the 350 dates of sacred events published so far! Thus, this article attempts to focus only on a few of the most important dates.
The day of the visit of the angels to announce to Abraham and Sarah that she would bear a son named Isaac has been discussed at length in my articles, partly because it was part of what is called the Creation Pattern.[8] That day on the Star Calendar was Consecraton (S), being 10 Tau, α Per, named "Sacred" in my work, the brightest star in the Hero (Perseus).
The significance of that is that much about Isaac had to do with consecration or "setting apart", especially to be a sacrifice. He was born on Consecration, 10 Nisan (PH), the day when the Passover Lamb is chosen to be sacrificed (Exo. 12:3). That was the day that the Lamb of God was chosen at the Triumphal Entry to be the Passover sacrifice. Isaac too would have a chance to perform a similar role and offer himself to be sacrificed.
Much has been said about how the sacred calendar witnesses show equal respect to Jacob's two wives Leah and Rachel. They were both born on holy days on many calendars and although twins, they were born on different star days which emphasize their individual identities. With the (hopefully) final arrangement of the stars being known as well as the fact that there are also holy days like Passover and the Feast of Esther on the Star Calendars, more star witnesses can be added to what has already been noted about the stars involved.[9]
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But there is more! On the Uniform Star Calendar, Leah's birth was on the holy day 14 Lib (US), which is the star Prophet (α Ser), which is associated with great prophets, such as John the Baptist. Rachel's birth was on the major holy day 1 Sco (US), which is the Feast of Trumpets (US), being the star Pincer (σ Lib). Thus, these noble women were born on four separate holy star days!
And what about their two marriages one week apart? Was Rachel cheated out of having her wedding on a really significant star date because of her father's treachery, or did the Lord have a foreknowledge of all things and somehow again make sure the two were treated equally?
The marriage date of Leah, on the day planned for Rachel, was on 15 Tau (S), which was Passover, on the star day Seer (Aldebaran, α Tau), one of the four royal cornerstone stars and one of the brightest stars in the sky. So what about Rachel? She was married seven days later on 22 Tau (S), which was Easter, on the star day Fulness (Rigel, β Ori), an even brighter star and the one representing a Fulness, even as Easter represents what the Passover was leading up to, namely the Resurrection. Thus, both women were married on major holy days (S).
On the uniform version, Leah was married on the holy day 1 Cap (US), the first day of the zodiac month of Capricornus. Rachel was married seven days later on 1 Aqr (US), being the major holy day of both the first day of Aquarius and also the first day of Winter. The reason there is only a one week between the first days of these two zodiac constellations is that there is huge overlap between them. It is the only such case with a one week separation, and it "just happened" to occur on the week between their marriages!
Now we will see how two star dates may tell a real story which has been lost until now.
Five years ago the death date of Isaac was determined by its calendar link to his wife and family and published in my work.[10] It was noted that the Book of Jasher records that on the day of Isaac's death, he blessed Jacob's eleven sons as well as Esau's sons (Jash. 47:2-9). Joseph was believed to be dead at that time, but would really remain in prison in Egypt for nearly two more years.
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The answer is yes, we can get a hint of the content of Isaac's blessings from the two star dates of his death. Let us look at each in some detail.
Star Calendar: 10 Sgr. The star date of the afternoon of Mon 3 Nov 1773 BC was 10 Sgr, the tenth day of the zodiac month of the Archer (Sagittarius). That star day ξ Sgr is not particularly illustrious, but it is located in the head of the Archer and hence represents the entire constellation. It is named "Archer" in my work.
It has been noted in earlier articles that the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith, the Seer, was born on the star day of the tenth day of the Archer.[11] At that time it was believed that the stars were in the order of longitude and the day 10 Sgr fell on a star in the Archer's Bow. Because the blessing of Jacob mentions the Bow of Joseph (Gen 49:24), it was felt that the Bow might represent Joseph Smith, who was prophesied to be a descendant of Joseph. It was also noted there that Isaac died on that same day, but no reason for that alignment was sought.
It is now suggested that even though no blessing for Joseph would likely have been mentioned in the blessings because he was presumed dead, this calendar link between the blessing date and the birth date of Joseph the Prophet suggests that the date itself is prophesying of Joseph!
After the correct detailed method of assigning stars to a zodiac day was discovered, namely by "connecting the dots" to draw the stick figures and also to keep the bow stars together, it was determined that the day 10 Sgr actually corresponds to the ξ Sgr, the Star named "Archer". It is not a bright star but it is strategically located and represents the entire constellation.
So we see that the birth star of Joseph the Seer was the Archer and hence might be a fulfillment of the prophecy of Jacob in his blessing to his son Joseph which referred to an archer. Let us now look at a second witness that the date of Isacc's last blessing might have been prophesying future prophets!
Uniform Star Calendar: 24 Vir. The date of the blessing on the Uniform Star Calendar also seems to clearly refer to a well known prophecy of a Millennial prophet. The star day was 24 Vir, which corresponds to the star ψ Vir. That is the star named "Stem" recently discovered to be in the stalk of wheat which the Maiden (Virgo) holds. It is between the star named "Root" (χ Vir) at the root of the stalk of wheat, and the bright star of α Vir, Spica, the Ear of Wheat,[12] also called the "Seed" or the "Seed of Woman" in my work.
It has been noted in many places both in my work and in the work of many commentators, that the Seed of Woman star represents Jesus Christ. That is derived from the prophecy to the serpent that her Seed would crush his head even though he would bruise His (the Seed's) heel (Gen 3:15).
The Greek Ptolemy changed some constellations, removing what seemed to him to be unnecessary objects. Thus, the bad news is that he removed the stalk of wheat out of her hand entirely! Its presence has been preserved mostly by the Roman name for the bright star "Spica" which means "Ear of Wheat". The good news is that he kept a list of what stars had been removed. That led to the discovery that two of those stars, χ and ψ Vir, had been the other two stars in the stalk of wheat. That was deduced from knowing that the number of stars in both the people and the objects is important. Two more stars were needed in an object so that there would be 14 in the Maiden. It was decided that two more stars were needed in the stalk of wheat, which cannot be illustrated well with the single star Spica.
It was realized that the three stars in the root, stem, and grain might represent the root, shoot or branch, and stem or stump of Jesse, respectively, as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. The blessing given by Isaac was on two star dates. One probably alluded tacitly to the birth of Joseph Smith. The other star day, on the day of the Stem of the wheat, may have referred to Isaiah's prophecy, so let's consider it in some detail.
Here's Isaiah's prophecy:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord —
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. — Isa. 11:1 (NIV)[13]
That translation is from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible which is more faithful to the original Hebrew than is the King James Version. In the KJV verse one is translated: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." That obscures the desired picture, by referring to the shoot as a rod and a tree stump as a stem. Moreover, the fruit is entirely omitted. See Figure 7 for what appears to be a more correct image.
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Fortunately, the Prophet Joseph Smith asked the Lord these very questions and the Lord's answers are recorded for us:
Who is the Stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses of the 11th chapter of Isaiah?
Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ. — D&C 113:1-2
Here we are given a simple and unambiguous answer of whom the stump (stem) represents. It also makes it clear why a "stump" was the original word because the Savior was "cut off" (executed) in his prime (Dan 9:26).
So what about the shoot (or rod) which springs forth from the roots of Jesse? That was the subject of Joseph's next question:
What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse?
Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power. — D&C 113:3-4
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We are told more about him in the next few verses of Isaiah (Isa. 11:10-16). Although those verses clearly seem intended to explain more about the shoot (or rod or Branch), the word "root" is used and Joseph apparently wants to make sure that it refers to the same person as the shoot in verse one, so he then asks:
What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days. — D&C 113:5-6
That seems to make it clear that the verses beginning with 11 do indeed refer to the same man as The Branch in verse one. From other verses, it is clear that the time of this prophet is during the Millennium when the wolf and lamb shall lie down together peacefully and a little child shall lead them (Isa. 11:6). Thus, the entire prophecy in Isaiah 11 is about a Millennial Servant of Christ who is a literal descendant of Jesse and of Joseph.
So what has Isaiah's prophecy got to do with the Stem star of the day when Isaac left his departing blessing on his posterity?
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If these interpretations are correct, then it means that two rather obscure stars have preserved the blessing prophesying two of Joseph's descendants that could not even be given because he was in prison! It was this astounding and unexpected witness which led to this article's title!
These two Star Calendars provide many witnesses to the already proposed dates in the life of Jesus Christ. Most of those dates have been discussed and their corresponding star dates. It does not seem necessary to belabor that point, so let us look at two new star witnesses.
The birth date of the Virgin Mary has been impressive enough that it was determined several years ago. One new change with the recent reordering of stars is that now her birth star is Splendor (Vega, α Lyr, 15 Sgr), which is the third brightest star included in the Star Calendar. Previously it has been assigned to 18 Sgr, which was the birth day of Rebekah. She still is born on a star in the Lyre, being the star named Harp (β Lyr, 18 Sgr). That constellation apparently represents heaven as symbolized by Enoch's translated city.
Mary was also born on Redeemed (1 Lib, α Lib, US). Her death occurred on 1 Sco, the Feast of Trumpets (US), which is a second witness to her death also having been on the Hebrew Feast of Trumpets (PH)!
Recently someone asked me if the date of Mary's visit to Elizabeth had been researched in my work. My reply was that the question had never been raised, but it should not be too hard to discover. Luke tells us that very shortly after the Annunciation (in June of 2 BC) that Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth, staying there 3 months (July-September) until Elizabeth was ready to deliver her son John (October).
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That afternoon was holy on these four calendars: it was (1) 1 Deer (Sacred Round), (2) 1 Prime (Mercury), (3) 1 Prime (Uniform Mercury), and (4) the star day of Capella (α Aur, US), one of brightest stars in the Star Calendar. Moreover, the day was 14 Quickening on the Mars Calendar which is also significant.
All of those five relate to a day on which the unborn John the Baptist likely leaped for joy in the womb at the arrival of Mary. First, the day 1 Deer is a perfect fit. The day "1" represents beginning and Deer symbolizes running and leaping quickly as a spirit. Thus, the leaping is a match there. The two Mercury days on 1 Prime both refer to baptism and rebirth, so those are two witnesses for the Baptist!
The most important witness, however is the US star day. Evidence has been accumulating that the constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga) represents John the Baptist, and that its brightest star Capella also represents him. There have only been three dates known in his life: his birth, when he baptized Jesus, and his death. None of those dates were related at all to Capella, so there was no evidence to support that theory. Now it appears that he leaped in the womb on his own star day.
As for Mars, the life of John the Baptist was totally synchronized with the Mars cycle. He was born on 1 Birth (Mars) and died on 1 Birth (Mars). Thus, it makes sense that he would have been near the beginning of Quickening on the Mars cycle when that event occurred.
Thus, it is here proposed that the day of Mary's arrival to visit Elizabeth occurred on Thu 24 Jun 2 BC. By the way, 24 Jun is the day of St. John the Baptist in the Catholic Church!
Many dates during the restoration of the Church of Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith have been discussed in these pages. The only ones known before were those on the brightest stars. Only new star dates are added or discussed here.
Most readers will have heard that many believe we are entering the "Age of Aquarius". That is a true concept from the science of astronomy, based on what zodiac constellation the sun is in on the first day of spring. Each age lasts about 2,000 years. An earlier article suggested that there are also ages based on other seasons. For example, there is a winter age called the Age of Sagittarius. It was also suggested that each age has a priesthood presidency.[14]
The presidency proposed earlier for the Age of Sagittarius is Joseph Smith the Seer as president, his brother Hyrum as first counselor, and Sidney Rigdon his Spokesman[15] (D&C 100:9) as second counselor.
Let us look briefly at the star dates associated with each.
Joseph Smith. The birth date of Joseph Smith on the evening of Mon 23 Dec 1805 was significant on both star calendars. The date of this article is on his birthday to honor him. The day was 10 Sgr, the Archer (Sagittarius) on the Star Calendar. That is the very day discussed above as the death date of Isaac, when he blessed his grandchildren. In the Age of Sagittarius, that is the holy day of the Winter Fast (S). Thus, it is here proposed that the birth of Joseph Smith the Seer fulfilled Isaac's implied prophecy. Having been born on the star "Archer" is also perfect for the president of that age.
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That day is the holy day of the Winter Fast (US). Joseph was also born on the Winter Fast on the U. Enoch calendar.[18] Thus, Joseph was born on the Winter Fast on three Sacred Calendars (S, US, UE)!
Joseph was also born on the first day of Winter, 1 Tebeth (PH), so most of the star symbolism has to do with Winter, and especially restoring light to a darkened world. That date also ties him to his progenitor Joseph of Egypt, who prophesied of his latter-day descendant. Joseph of Egypt was also born on 1 Winter (UE).
Hyrum Smith. Hyrum was born on 15 Aqr on the Star Calendar. That was the holy day of the Feast of Esther (S). He was martyred on the day of the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, the same as his brother Joseph.
Sidney Rigdon. Sidney, the Spokesman for Joseph and his second counselor in the Sagittarius Age Presidency, was born on the star day of Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan, which represents priesthood leadership. Deneb, named "Celestial" in my work (25 Aqr) is not only the brightest star in the Swan, it is one of the brightest in the entire sky and so is a major holy day. That seems fitting for someone who was prophesied nearly 4,000 years ago (2 Nephi 3:18, D&C 100:9).
Several latter-day events concerning priesthood restoration also occurred on holy star days.
Aaronic Priesthood. The time proposed in my work for the visit of John the Baptist to restore the Aaronic Priesthood is the afternoon of Sat 16 May 1829. That is a day later than recorded in Church history, but the sacred calendar witness is so strong that to me it overrides the traditional date, which could easily have been mistaken. That time was also on a holy day on both Star Calendars, which adds to the witness of the dates correctness.
On the Star Calendar, the day was 1 Tau, the holy day beginning the zodiac month of Taurus. The day was also on the major holy day Summer, 1 Leo (US). Thus, it was a day of beginning on both Star Calendars. Moreover, it was the day 1 Priest (Aphses) on the Priest Calendar, which is a bull's-eye, and which was not noticed back at the time of the correction to the Church history date. Thus, there are three more witnesses to the correctness of the proposed date.
Baptism. The first person baptized after Joseph and Oliver was Samuel H. Smith, Joseph's brother. That was on Mon 25 May 1829. That afternoon was the holy day 10 Tau (α Per, Sacred, S) which is fitting for the first such priesthood ordinance after its restoration day. That day was also the holy day 10 Leo (ε Leo, Lion, US), which is holy because it is one of the lunar mansions. Thus, again both star days are holy, witnessing another use of these calendars.
Peter, James & John. The early morning of Sun 31 May 1829 is the time which has been proposed in my work of the visitation of Peter, James, and John. They ordained Joseph and Oliver to be apostles (D&C 27:12), in order for them to give Church members the gift of the Holy Ghost (DHC 1:39) when the Church would later be organized. That date was determined mostly by the Mars Calendar, which deals with Priesthood events. That was the day 1 Jehezekel on the Priest Calendar, called 1 Strengthen in English. That is especially appropriate because both Joseph and Oliver needed strengthening at that time, as they had been fleeing from a mob all night.[19]
That day was a major holy day on both Star Calendars, which adds an important witness of the date because nothing was known about those calendars at the time the date was published. In fact, the date was the star day of two of the four royal cornerstone stars! It was 15 Tau (Aldebaran, α Tau, the Seer) on the Star Calendar, which is especially significant because Joseph Smith was the prophesied Seer whom that star represents! The day was also 15 Leo (Regulus, α Leo, the King, US). Thus, it was a holy day indeed.
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The star day was also 22 Leo (Thuban, α Dra, the Dragon, US), also a major holy day because in the Star Calendars the Dragon represents God on his throne in the midst of heaven, not Satan attempting to usurp His throne (Rev. 12:3). The fulness of the priesthood must be given by the voice of God (Gen. 14:26-29, Inspired Version), which can be through the voice of his servants. But God must be present and Joseph the Seer testified of seeing Him at that time.
Patriarch. The date of the first Church Patriarch has already been noted to have followed the pattern of the antediluvian Patriarchs, such as always being on a Venus holy day.[21] The date is known from having been recorded in Church history.
That date of the ordination of Joseph the Seer's father, Joseph Smith, Sr., was on the major holy of 5 Sgr (Crown, Eltanin, γ Dra, S), the crown of the head of the Dragon, who represents God. The crown of the head is where hands are laid to give patriarchal blessings. The day of the Patriarch's death was on the holy day 31 Sco (Jaw, Grumium, ξ Dra, US), the Jaw of that Dragon. The Jaw symbolism of the mouth fits well with a patriarch pronouncing blessings!
The day of the birth of the Church of Christ (now LDS Church) on Tue 6 Apr 1830 was known to have been holy on several sacred calendars and now the witness of the stars may be added.
First, it should be noted that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon just 12 days earlier, and which was timed to be on an important anniversary of the resurrection of Christ on the Venus Calendar, also occurred on the day 27 Tau, being the major holy day of the star Glory (Capella, α Aur, US), one of the brightest stars in the sky. In this same article above, that star is associated with John the Baptist, a forerunner. The Book of Mormon was indeed a forerunner to the Church being established!
The Church was founded on 25 Psc, the major holy day of One Heart (Altais, δ Dra, S). That star at the heart of the Dragon (God) represents being of one heart and one mind, as is representative of the Lord's people. The day was also 4 Gem, the holy day of the star Polaris, the North Star (α UMi, US). That is the star to which the Big Dipper (representing the priesthood) on the west side of the Salt Lake Temple is pointing in the actual sky (see Figure 3)! That star is at the end of the tail of the Little Bear, even as the end of the tail of the Big Bear (end of Big Dipper's handle discussed above under Shem) is the first star in the Pattern of Seven (star 1 in Figure 4). Both represent Melchizedek Priesthood heads, but the Little Bear may be a smaller and more celestial flock than the Big Bear, such as the Church of Firstborn (D&C 76:54-58), because the Little Bear is smaller and closer to the throne of God.
The date of the beginning of the public ministry on Sun 11 Apr 1830 has already also been noted to have been important on sacred calendars. Now the Star Calendars add their witness. That morning was 1 Ari, the holy day of the Fish Net (Dictys, μ Psc, S). That is the net being cast out by the Ram to start becoming fishers of men! What could be more appropriate? And the day was also the holy day 8 Gem, being the star day of Foundation (Tejat, μ Gem, US). Clearly it was also a foundational day for the Church. Thus, both star days are not only holy, but have clear relevance to the sacred event.
Now that the holy days on the Star Calendars have been established in earlier articles, several examples of their use have been discussed. Usually it is to provide additional witnesses to the correctness of proposed dates for sacred events as well as to help add some details of what occurred by their symbolism. In one case discussed, their witness was powerful enough to potentially indicate what would have been included in Isaac's blessing to Joseph had he been able to attend (he was then imprisoned). The specificity and clarity of these stellar witnesses, provided by their locations in the constellation figures, is far beyond what could have been anticipated. These witnesses are compelling evidence that the heavens are indeed a house of glory and a House of God!