“Behold, I Am Jesus Christ”

A visual account of the Lord Jesus Christ’s visit to the Nephites in the Americas.

Sometime between 559 B.C. and 545 B.C., the prophet Nephi wrote of the Lord Jesus Christ’s future ministry to the American Nephites and Lamanites. He prophesied: “After Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do. … There shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection. … The Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him” (2 Ne. 26:1, 3, 9). For many years the righteous Nephites and Lamanites awaited the coming of Christ.

Hundreds of years passed, and then in the thirty-fourth year after the signs of Christ’s birth, the signs of his death were given—a great storm arose, accompanied by earthquakes, great upheavals of nature, and three days of thick, impenetrable darkness. Sometime afterward, at an occasion when people were gathered together at the temple in the land Bountiful “conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death, … behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him. … And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (3 Ne. 11:2, 8–10). Thus began the ministry of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ to the people in the Western Hemisphere. Following is artwork depicting some of the events described in 3 Nephi, chapters 11 through 28.—Kathryn L. Poulter, Assistant Editor

Christ Blessing the Nephite Children, by Ted Henninger. “And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him” (3 Ne. 17:11–12).

Christ Appearing in the Western Hemisphere, by Arnold Friberg. The visitation of the resurrected Jesus Christ to the American Nephites begins in the Book of Mormon in this manner: “And it came to pass, … they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them” (3 Ne. 11:8).

The Bible and the Book of Mormon Testify of Christ, by Greg K. Olsen. “And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (3 Ne. 15:21; see also John 10:16).

And He Did Heal Them All, Every One, by Gary Kapp. “And it came to pass that … all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him” (3 Ne. 17:9).

The Sacrament in the New World, by Minerva Kohlhepp Teichert. “And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and commanded that they should eat. And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude” (3 Ne. 18:3–4).

The Resurrected Christ Blesses the Nephite Children, by Robert T. Barrett. “And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them” (3 Ne. 17:23–24).

Christ Blessing the Nephite Sick, by Ted Henninger. “And it came to pass that … he showed himself unto them … after having healed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures among them, and raised a man from the dead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto the Father” (3 Ne. 26:15).

“Bring Forth the Record,” by Robert T. Barrett. “And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept. … And now it came to pass that when Jesus had expounded all the scriptures in one, which they had written, he commanded them that they should teach the things which he had expounded unto them” (3 Ne. 23:7, 14).