The Birth of Jesus Christ in the Words of Ancient Prophets in the Americas

I Looked and Beheld a Virgin                           Carrying a Child

The Birth of Jesus Christ

From the Record of Ancient American Prophets

As Contained in

The Book of Mormon,

Another Testament of Jesus Christ

The Words of the Prophets

nephi

Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world.

The Prophet Nephi, about 592 B.C. (Nephi was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah.)

First Nephi, Chapter 10, selected from verses 2-3

And it came to pass that I looked 

and beheld the city of Nazareth; 

and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, 

and she was exceedingly fair.

And I saw the heavens open; 

and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him: 

A virgin, most beautiful and fair 

above all other virgins. 

And he said unto me: 

Behold, the virgin whom thou seest 

is the mother of the Son of God, 

After the manner of the flesh.

And it came to pass that I beheld that she was Carried away in the Spirit; 
and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: 

Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

And the angel said unto me: 

Behold the Lamb of God, 

yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!

First Nephi, Chapter 11, selected from verses 13-21 

There is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. For according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Second Nephi, Chapter 25, verses 18-19  

And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection.

 Second Nephi, Chapter 26, verse 3  

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King benjamin

And the things which I shall tell you are made       known unto me by an angel from God. 
And he said unto me: 

Awake! and I awoke, 

and behold he stood before me. 

And he said unto me: 

Awake, 
and hear the words which I shall tell thee; 

for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. 

For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, 

and hath judged of thy righteousness  

and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; 

and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy. 

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, and he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name.

                                   

King Benjamin, a descendent of Lehi, at Zarahemla, about 124 B.C. 

Mosiah, chapter 3, verses 2-9

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Samuel the lamanite

And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many things. 

And he said unto them: 

Behold, I give unto you a sign; 

for five years more cometh, 

and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

And this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; 

for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; 

for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; 

therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; 

nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; 

and it shall be the night before he is born.

And behold, there shall a new star arise, 

such an one as ye never have beheld; 

and this also shall be a sign unto you.

And behold this is not all, 

there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven. And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.

And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.

 And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you.

And ye shall hear my words, for, for this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city, that ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might know the conditions of repentance; and also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.

  Samuel, the Lamanite Prophet, about 6 B.C.
  Helaman, Chapter 14, verses 1-13

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Nephi the son of helaman

Now it came to pass that the ninety and first year had passed away and it was six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.

And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people.

But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.

And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.

And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.

But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.

Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.

Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.

And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.

And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear.

For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things.

And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.

And it came to pass that Nephi went forth among the people, and also many others, baptizing unto repentance, in the which there was a great remission of sins. And thus the people began again to have peace in the land.

   

The Prophet Nephi, who was the son of Helaman, a descendent of Lehi.  A.D. 1.

Third Nephi, Chapter 1, selected from verses 1-23

Lift up your head 

and be of good cheer;

for behold, the time is at hand,

and on this night shall the sign be given,

and on the morrow come I into the world.

Credits: painting, Be It Unto Me by Liz Lemon Swindle, FoundationArts.com