GOSPEL
DOCTRINE LESSON
Supplements for
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Preparing Gospel Doctrine Lessons in Hebrew)
by Daniel Rona
Lesson Number 36
"On the Morrow Come I into the World" (3 Nephi 1-7)
In the middle East, Christians have a tradition of three wise men or Magi that come from the East bearing gifts for a newborn King. Obviously, the scriptures give us an account of Herod the Great receiving visitors and requesting that they return with news of "King of The Jews'" whereabouts. When they did not return, Herod ordered all the children killed in the Bethlehem area that were two-years old and under, (Matthew 2:1-16). Somehow, many nativity sets carved from olive wood have the wise men appearing at the birth even though the scriptures indicate a time frame of about two years later.
"Matthew's account of "wise men from the east" coming to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in search of the Christ Child is sometimes recited as a visit of three Magi. (Matt. 2.) Actually there is no historical basis for the prevailing legend that they were from the apostate Persian cult or that they were three in number. It is much more probable that they were devout men who knew of our Lord's coming advent, including the promise that a new star would arise, and that they came as prophets of any age would have done to worship their King. It is clear that they were in tune with the Lord and were receiving revelation from him, for they were "warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod." (Matt. 2:12.)" (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.462)
"Our Lord's birth into mortality was accompanied by the appearance of a new star in the heavens. One of Samuel the Lamanite's Messianic prophecies foretold this heavenly sign (Hela. 14:5), and the Nephites knew of the promised birth because they saw the new star that arose according to Samuel's word. (3 Ne. 1:21.)" (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.765)
"In contrast to the lowly shepherds and to the devout Simeon and Anna, who had become witnesses of our Lord, divine providence now provided witnesses from the great and mighty of the earth, witnesses who could bring gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, witnesses who could command audience with kings and who could boldly inquire: "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" So there came from unnamed eastern lands -- perhaps, Persia, Arabia, Mesopotamia, perhaps elsewhere -- an unspecified number of wise men. Whether they were two, three, or twenty in number is a matter of pure speculation." (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol.1, p.102 - p.103)
In this same time frame there are also three people from the Book the Mormon culture that have mysterious circumstances surrounding them. They seem to "disappear," or in other words, are not heard of again. Each had prophetic callings and exercised the redemptive power of God given them. This disappearance into obscurity includes references of an Alma, Samuel the Lamanite and a Nephi.
"And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of." (Alma 45:18)
"And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own people.
And behold, he was never heard of more among the Nephites; . . ." (Helaman 16:7-8)
"Then he departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth; and his son Nephi did keep the records in his stead, yea, the record of this people." (3 Nephi 1:3)
"And Nephi, who was the father of Nephi, who had the charge of the records, did not return to the land of Zarahemla, and could nowhere be found in all the land." (3 Nephi 2:9)
As with the Christian symbolic tradition depicting the wise men as two light-skinned men accompanying another dark-skinned person, it is interesting that the three men who disappeared from the American continent were also two light-skinned men and a dark-skinned man. It is a pleasant symbolism in any case, dark skinned and light skinned - worshiping the Messiah of all mankind.
In Jewish custom there prevails an expectation of "wise men" coming from obscurity. As touched on in previous lesson materials, many Jews anticipate a Joseph of latter-Days as well as a David of latter-days. These individuals may appear out of obscurity with redemptive powers. They become either the Messiah or fore bearers of the Messiah in the last days.