Jubilee Years

• Joseph Smith, Journal 1835-1836, Joseph Smith Papers, pp. 189-190

"so shall this day [30 Mar 1836] be numbered and celebrated as a year of Jubilee and time of rejoicing to the saints of the most high God."

• Joseph Smith, Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843, Joseph Smith Papers, p. 48

"Thursday, April 6th 1843 The first day of the Jubilee of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints."

• General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ, "A Year of Jubilee", YouTube, Dec 21 2015 (The recording is from the October 1999 General Conference.)

Elder L. Tom Perry declares that the year 2000 is a year of Jubilee and urges it as a time to reflect on practices that should be eliminated and to reconnect with our heritage.

• William Whiston, "The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged", Dissertation 5.39-58

Remarks on probability that the time of the taking of Jericho was a year of jubilee.

Remarks on how jubilee years follow sabbatic years.

Remarks on a passage in Isaiah which appears to refer to a sabbatic year followed by a year of jubilee.

Remarks on the probability of the corruption of Leviticus 25:20-22 along with the author's opinion on a possible reconstruction (which I rather like).

Jubilee years used to validate chronological calculations.

Discusses how the Lord supported his people through their jubilee years.

Joseph Smith declared a year of Jubilee in 1836, then again in 1843. It has also been He seems to declare them every 7 years akin to the sabbatical years. L. Tom Perry declared 2000 to be a year of Jubilee. If we take Joseph's 1843 declaration and go forward one more year, that gives us 1850, and with the observation that the original jubilees were every 50 years (7 weeks of years followed by a jubilee year), and presuming that the word Jubilee is being used to refer to sabbatical years, then we can project 1850 forward 150 years to identify 2000 as a sabbatical year (or Jubilee year, as it is being termed).

When exactly the double year happens is anybody's guess, (though, apparently not in '43; could have been '35-'36, or '50-'51, but the '43 and '93 years don't seem to be a part of a double) but there seems to be a method to the madness. That means that we don't really know exactly when the next Jubilee year is. Could be '28 or '29. I would presume though that the Apostles have records that define the pattern.

• Sabbatic Years