1994
A Book of Mormon Christmas
December 1994


“A Book of Mormon Christmas,” Tambuli, Dec. 1994, 35

A Book of Mormon Christmas

The words of Luke ring like the voice of an old friend, familiar and reassuring: “Firstborn son … in a manger … shepherds abiding in the field … glory to God in the highest.” They are words so familiar we can quote many of them from memory.

But what of the words of Nephi? He saw in vision the birth of the Savior 600 years before it happened. What of the brave prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite? Against the arrows of the wicked, he foretold the coming light. What of the stirring account in 3 Nephi? The Savior spoke comfort to a troubled prophet: “Lift up your head and be of good cheer; … on the morrow come I into the world” (3 Ne. 1:13).

The Book of Mormon brims with words of comfort and reassurance, with powerful witnesses of Christ. In the next few pages, we share some favorite passages. Feast upon them. Make them as familiar as the words of Luke. Go to the book itself, and discover your own favorites. The Book of Mormon is a gift to you from God.

Ether 3:9, 14, 16

“And the Lord said unto [the brother of Jared]: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood. …

“Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. …

“This body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.”

1 Nephi 10:4 [1 Ne. 10:4]

“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.”

Helaman 14:3–5 [Hel. 14:3–5]

“And behold, 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 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.”

1 Nephi 11:14–15, 18–20 [1 Ne. 11:14–15, 18–20]

“And it came to pass that 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.”

Mosiah 3:8

“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.”

Alma 7:11–13

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy. …

“The Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance.”

2 Nephi 25:26 [2 Ne. 25:26]

“We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

3 Nephi 1:13 [3 Ne. 1:13]

“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.”

3 Nephi 9:22 [3 Ne. 9:22]

“Whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.”

Samuel, above, and the Nephite prophets foretold the Savior’s birth, left, and ministry in detail. Their words are a second witness of the greatest gift God gave the world—his Only Begotten Son. (The Nativity, by Lorenzo Lotto, courtesy of the United States National Gallery of Art; Samuel the Lamanite Prophecies, by Arnold Friberg.)

Shortly after Jesus died, above, and rose again in Jerusalem, he revealed himself to those in the New World, right, who had believed the prophecies and centered their faith in him. (The Crucifixion, by Harry Anderson; Jesus Christ Appears unto the Nephite People, by Arnold Friberg.)

In both the Old World, above, and in the New, right, Christ promised eternal life and everlasting love to all who come to him. That promise extends today across all boundaries of space and time. (Christ the Consolator, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Superstock; Jesus Christ Visits the Americas, by John Scott.)