Gospel topic
Second Coming: Obvious Warnings & Hints on How to be Prepared
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Of the Seventy (2)
Elder Lynn G. Robbins
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The Second Coming of Christ (2)
President Dallin H. Oaks
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We can see an important purpose and symbol in the divine announcement of the birth of God’s Only Begotten Son. We learn from the New Testament accounts that the announcements of the birth of the Christ child in the eastern hemisphere were made to three different groups, each with very different characteristics. Those who received the heavenly announcement of the birth were the very humble, the very holy, and the very wise. The first announcement was to the shepherds in the hills by Bethlehem. An angel and a heavenly choir proclaimed “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people … a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” The shepherds were probably chosen to receive these good tidings because they were meek and humble. Thus, they were uniquely receptive to the message of heaven, which they verified by visiting the newborn. Then, the scripture reports, they “made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” Their work as shepherds and the lambs they tended both anticipated examples the Savior represented in His teaching. Also, when Jesus came to John the Baptist at the beginning of His ministry, that prophet declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The second announcement of the birth of the Messiah was in the temple in Jerusalem to two holy workers whose godly lives qualified them to receive the witness of the Holy Ghost. When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple for the sacrifice prescribed for the firstborn, Simeon and Anna both witnessed that He was the Messiah. The scripture records that Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God for allowing him to see “thy salvation,” a “light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” And Anna, “a prophetess,” “coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” A third group learned of this remarkable birth. The Bible, as slightly improved by Joseph Smith, reports that “there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is the child that is born, the Messiah of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” From their stated inquiry we cannot doubt that they were led by the Lord for His sacred purposes. The Bible teaches that “the things of God knoweth no man, except he has the Spirit of God.” These wise men were of another land and culture, so a witness to them was a reminder that the Messiah was born for all people. In addition, there may have been another purpose. The value of the gold and other gifts the wise men presented may have helped Mary and Joseph to make their hasty journey to Egypt and to remain there to save the Christ child when His life was threatened by the wicked order of King Herod. Isn’t it interesting that the miraculous event of the birth of Christ and something of the significance of that event was made known only to the very humble, the very holy, and the very wise? As Elder James E. Talmage taught in Jesus the Christ, “Indeed God raised up witnesses for Himself to meet all classes and conditions of men—the testimony of angels for the poor and the lowly; the testimony of wise men for the haughty king and proud priests of Judea.” Remembering Simeon and Anna can inspire us to be like them and add our witness of the sacred birth and its purpose at this Christmas season.
President Dallin H. Oaks
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