And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of ^aNazareth^• I beheld a ^bvirgin^•, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

 And it came to pass that I saw the ^aheavens^• 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: Knowest thou the ^acondescension^• of God?

 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

 And he said unto me: Behold, the ^avirgin^• whom thou seest is the ^bmother^• 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 ^aSpirit^• for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a ^achild^• in her arms.

 And the angel said unto me: Behold the ^aLamb of God, yea, even the ^bSon of the Eternal ^cFather! Knowest thou the meaning of the ^dtree^• which thy father saw?

 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth^• itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost^• desirable above all things.

 And in the sixth month the ^aangel^• Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

 To a ^avirgin^• espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among ^awomen.

 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

 And the angel said unto her, ^aFear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name ^aJESUS.

 He shall be great, and shall be called the ^aSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the ^bthrone of his father ^cDavid:

 And he shall ^areign^• over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no ^bend^•.

 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I ^aknow^• not a man?

 And the angel answered and said unto her, The ^aHoly^• Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the ^bSon^• of God.

 ¶ ^aNow^• the ^bbirth^• of Jesus Christ was ^con^• this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick ^aexample, was ^bminded^• to ^cput^• her away privily.

 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a ^adream, saying, Joseph, thou son of ^bDavid^•, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the ^cHoly^• Ghost.

 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his ^aname ^bJESUS^•: for he shall ^csave his people from their sins.

 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

 ^aBehold^•, a ^bvirgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his ^cname ^dEmmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his ^awife^•:

 And knew her not till she had brought forth her ^afirstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

 ¶ But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a ^adream to Joseph in Egypt,

 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the ^aland of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the ^aroom^• of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a ^bdream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

 And he came and dwelt in a city called ^aNazareth^•: that it might be fulfilled which was ^bspoken by the prophets, He shall be called a ^cNazarene^•.

 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called ^aBethlehem^•; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

 To be taxed with Mary his ^aespoused^• wife, being great with child.

 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

 And she brought forth her ^afirstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the ^binn^•.

 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the ^aglory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you ^agood tidings of great ^bjoy, which shall be to all people.

 For unto you is ^aborn this day in the city of David a ^bSaviour, which is Christ the ^cLord.

 And this shall be a ^asign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

 ^aGlory^• to God in the highest, and on earth ^bpeace, good will toward men.

 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

 And they came with ^ahaste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

 And all they that heard it ^awondered^• at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

 But Mary kept all these things, and ^apondered them in her heart.

 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

 And when eight days were accomplished for the ^acircumcising of the child, his name was called ^bJESUS^•, which was so ^cnamed of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 And when the days of her ^apurification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the ^awomb^• shall be called holy to the Lord;)

 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of ^aturtledoves^•, or two young pigeons.

 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

 For mine eyes have seen thy ^asalvation^•,

 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

 A ^alight ^bto^• lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is ^aset^• for the ^bfall^• and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

 (Yea, a sword shall ^apierce^• through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

 And there was one Anna, a ^aprophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with ^afastings and prayers night and day.

 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for ^aredemption^• in Jerusalem.

 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

 And the child grew, and ^awaxed^• strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the ^bgrace of God was upon him.

 ¶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

 The ^aSpirit^• of the Lord is upon me, because he hath ^banointed me to ^cpreach the ^dgospel^• to the ^epoor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to ^fpreach ^gdeliverance^• to the ^hcaptives^•, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at ⁱliberty them that are bruised,

 ^aTo^• preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture ^afulfilled in your ears.

 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were ^aastonished^•, and said, Whence hath this man this ^bwisdom, and these mighty works?

 Is not this the carpenter’s ^ason^•? is not his mother called Mary? and his ^bbrethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without ^ahonour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

 And he did not many mighty works there because of their ^aunbelief^•.

 And all bare him witness, and ^awondered^• at the ^bgracious^• words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this ^cJoseph^•’s son?

 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in ^aCapernaum^•, ^bdo^• also here in thy country.

 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is ^aaccepted in his own country.

 But I tell you of a truth, many ^awidows^• were in Israel in the days of ^bElias^•, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

 And many ^alepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was ^bcleansed^•, saving Naaman the Syrian.

 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

 But he ^apassing^• through the midst of them went his way,