Jesus’ Birth Archive
The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ “embraces, sustains, supports, and gives life to all other gospel doctrines. It is the foundation upon which all truth rests and all things grow out of it and come because of it.”1 “The wondrous and glorious Atonement was the central act in all of human history.”2 Because of these statements, all things also point to Christ and His atonement. Those who lived before Christ looked forward to Him and His infinite and eternal sacrifice. Those who live after Christ look back to this greatest of all events and “remember what was done.”3
There were many different ways in which the blood sacrifices before Christ were types and shadows of the great and last sacrifice. Note a few of the details:
First, like Christ, the [sacrificial] animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have its life’s blood spilt. Third,... Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes some of the simplest questions are also some of the most profound. These types of questions are therefore some of the most difficult to answer. “Why is Jesus called the Son of God?” is one of these questions, simple, profound, and difficult to answer. But as one of my English Professors told me the other day, “The hard questions are really the only questions worth asking.” In that case, Why is Jesus called the Son of God?
In a basic sense, the question is closely related to the question the Spirit of the Lord asked Nephi: “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” (1 Nephi 11:16). Note a definition of “condescend” that the Oxford English Dictionary gives the word, “To depart from the privileges of superiority by a voluntary submission; to sink willingly to equal terms with inferiours.” I feel like I can use Nephi’s response to the Spirit’s question as my own response, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning... Read the rest of this entry »
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Video used with permission of Foundation Arts.
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Several years ago, while pondering the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I discovered a few fitting details about the rigorous, devoted lives of ancient shepherds. I regret that I can no longer find their source. Perhaps one of you will recognize the passages and inform me of their origin. As I pondered those details in light of the account of the Savior’s birth, a message divinely intended for parents seemed to illuminate itself. I share it with you in all its tender simplicity. It speaks to Jesus‘ awareness of each of us. And I wish you a Merry Christmas.
Jesus Christ Birth: Christmas Message
Jesus Christ‘s birth has a setting many of us know intimately. Let’s start witht the positioning of the shepherds.
Imagine the life of a shepherd two thousand years ago, tending his flocks at night—a harsh and lonely life framed on the fringes of cultivated land.
Generally of modest means, shepherds either owned a small flock or were hired to work for someone else.... Read the rest of this entry »
Anna: Witness of Birth of Jesus
In the providence of God, the marvelous testimony of Simeon was not to stand alone. Anna, an aged widow, a devout and saintly woman who worshiped constantly in the temple with fasting and prayer both day and night, now approached the holy family. As Simeon was a prophet, so she was a prophetess, and her voice now joined his as a special witness of the birth of Jesus Christ. Anna, whose name means “full of grace,” bore testimony to all Jerusalem who “looked for redemption” (Luke 2:38). Through the countless hours she had spent within the walls of the temple, she was undoubtedly well known to those of the holy city who also faithfully sought the coming of the Messiah. All such would hear her testimony of His birth–the birth of the Savior of the World, the birth of Jesus Christ. (see Luke 2:36-38).
Sperry Symposium Classics, Joseph Fielding McConkie, 2006, Brigham Young University & Deseret Book, 115-116.
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Simeon: Witness of Birth of Jesus Christ
The birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated, revered, as a marvel to each of us. His coming was long prepared for, eagerly awaited, prepared from the pre-mortal life. The birth of Jesus Christ was anticipated by those who were holy saints, seeking to live by the promises of the Old Testament given by Jehovah, the Savior of the World. Simeon was one who received a revelation regarding the birth of Jesus Christ and who lived to see Him in the flesh.
In the words of one Mormon scholar:
Our attention now turns to Jerusalem and its temple. There an aged man, described by Luke as “just and devout,” one who in faith had awaited the coming of the Messiah and who had received the promise of the Lord that he would not die until he had seen the Savior, was moved upon by the Holy Ghost to go to the temple. His is the first testimony within the sacred walls of the temple of which we have records that announced the birth of Jesus Christ. Appropriately,... Read the rest of this entry »
When the heavens were opened to the shepherds, they first saw an angel of the Lord–we would suppose Gabriel–saying: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). Then “suddenly,” according to the King James account, “there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14). Read the rest of this entry »
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The Shepherds: Witness of Birth of Christ
On the eve of the birth of Jesus Christ in the stable at Bethlehem, there were in the fields not far distant shepherds watching over their flocks. The fact that they were in the fields by night gives us some indication of the season of the year in which Jesus Christ was born. It was the custom among the Jews to take their sheep to the fields about the time of Passover and bring them home at the coming of the first rains–thus they would be in the fields from about April to October. Of these shepherds, late LDS (“Mormon“) apostle, Elder Bruce R. McConkie has suggested: Read the rest of this entry »
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Joseph: Witness of Birth of Christ
The birth of Jesus Christ is a miraculous and beautiful story. Our joys where born when He was born. Jesus Christ is definitely the Author of our Salvation! For those who don’t know Him, we invite you to read, study, hear His word, see His life, and engage in a relationship with Him through prayer to the Father in His name. He is real. He is not just a wise man who lived in the Meridian of time. He is the Son of God. The birth of Christ is the beginning of His mortal mission, but not the beginning of His life or plan of happiness. He lived in the realms above, as we did, in the presence of God before coming to earth.
Regarding the birth of Christ, according to Joseph McKonkie, we have no scriptural record of any words spoken by Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ. Despite the lack of words, Joseph’s testimony as to Jesus Christ‘s divine sonship is most eloquent. He was, as we are told, a “just man,” meaning that... Read the rest of this entry »
There could be no more perfect mortal witness of Christ‘s divine sonship than His mother, Mary. From Gabriel she received the promise that she would conceive in her womb “the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:32). Following that marvelous event, she testified, “He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). Nephi gave the most perfect scriptural account of this sacred event. Our eternal Father, he told us, condescended–that is, He came down from His royal court on high and in union with the beautiful virgin girl of Nazareth fathered a son “after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:18). “And it came to pass,” Nephi wrote, “that I beheld that . . . 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... Read the rest of this entry »
