Where was Jesus for 18 Years?

[Larry Cotrell]

I walked into a doughnut shop the other day and the owner was reading this huge book. He said he was studying the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity and where Jesus had been for 18 years before he began his ministry. We talked about the Bible and Josephus for a while before I ordered some blueberry doughnuts and headed out. It made me wonder, where was He between his visit to the Temple at age 12 and his ministry around age 30? Personally, I think he was probably living in Nazareth learning his father's trade, but there's no way to know for certain.

Where do you all think He was?

 

Edited December 24, 2016 by Larry Cotrell

[Traveler]

 

All indications are that Jesus was in Nazareth where he was well known by the inhabitants as a resident and not a new comer.   However, there is a very interesting connection between Jesus and Buddhism.  Buddha was believed to be about 150 years before Jesus but the teachings of Buddha did not amount to much until sometime after the death and resurrection of Jesus when Buddhism exploded into the world from a rather obscure area of India.  This area of India was, according to tradition, the area of the world that doubting Thomas went to preach of Christ.

What is also interesting is that during the 4^th century (when the great Libraries of Alexandria, Zoroaster and Babylonia were being destroyed as well the fall of the Nephite civilization and the effort to destroy the Nephite records) in a place called “The Cave of the 1,000 Buddha’s” it was discovered that a rather interesting set of New Testament Scriptures + text not included in our current Bible was preserved.  It is interesting that despite the fact that these texts predate most currently used Biblical text – there has been little to no effort to recover these documents and translate them.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seems to be unique among Christians with the interest of receiving additional revelation critical to the Last Days.

 

The Traveler

[Just_A_Guy]

If we assume that Jesus never married, one explanation may have been that He traveled widely and never really settled down.  As the incarnation of a God who loves *all* His creations, I find it unlikely that Jesus would never have shown an inclination to see people and places and cultures beyond the Holy Land.

[Guest MormonGator]

2 hours ago, Traveler said:

 

  Buddha was believed to be about 150 years before Jesus

It's closer to 500 years before Christ. 99% of scholars think that he taught during the Mahajanapada era.  

Edited December 24, 2016 by MormonGator