Formoreready‐to‐printFHElessonsvisithttp://thegoldenseven.blogspot.com .Jesus Christ’s Birth Karen Ashton, "Sharing Time: The Prophets Testify of Jesus Christ’s Birth", Friend, Dec. 1997, 14 Behold,IamJesusChrist,whomtheprophetstestifiedshallcomeintotheworld(3Ne.11:10 ).From the time of Adam, righteous men looked forward to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The prophets taught that Jesus Christ would come to save all of Heavenly Father’s children from death. They also taught that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, men could be forgiven of their sins and return to Heavenly Father. Many of the prophets knew of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, long before it happened. Isaiah, a mighty prophet of the Old Te stament, spoke of the Savior’s birth: “For unto us a child [Jesus Christ] is born, unto us a son [the Son of God] is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” ( Isa. 9:6). Lehi, a prophet of the Book of Mormon, fled Jerusalem with his family. He wandered for many years in the wilderness, endured much affliction, and inherited from God a promised land. He prophesied, as his son Nephi recorded it, that “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” (1 Ne. 10:4). Nephi prayed to see and understand the vision his father, Lehi, had received. In answer to his prayer, an angel ofthe Lord showed him the birth, ministry, and c rucifixion of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Nephi said, “I looked and beheld the virgin [Mary] again, bearing a child in her arms. “And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God [Jesus Christ], yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!” (1 Ne. 11:20–21 .) Samuel the Lamanite, another prophet of the Book of Mormon, stood boldly upon the wall at Zarahemla. He had been sent by the Lord to call the wicked Nep hites to repentance and to foretell the Savior’s birth. He cried with a loud voice, “For five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name” ( Hel. 14:2 ). When the Savior, Jesus Christ, was born, the prophecies were fulfilled. The time that all the holy prophets h ad waited for had finally come. An angel appeared to shepherds while they watched their flocks. The angel spoke to the shepherds, 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 .)
