The Annunciation: The Angel Gabriel Appears to Mary

See Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:26-38; Mosiah 3:8; Alma 7:10

My Word:

The purpose of true prophets is to declare the words of Jesus Christ. All true prophets testify of him (Mosiah 13:33; see also Prophets, Mission of.) Isaiah, King Benjamin (Mosiah was his son), and Alma (just to name a few) all knew of Jesus' birth years in advance and testified of the event. They knew of Mary and the miraculous birth. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should have a firm testimony of this event as we have The Book of Mormon; Another Testament of Jesus Christ. In 1st Nephi 11 right at the beginning of his great vision Nephi sees Mary being chosen and the birth of Christ. More on that of course when we get to the Book of Mormon pictures.

You will notice that Gabriel (who is he again?...use the Bible Dictionary) tells both Zacharias and Mary "Fear not"; why does he say that? According to James E. Talmage in Jesus The Christ, he explains:" ....the people regarded personal visitations of heavenly beings as occurrences of the past; they had come almost to believe that there were no longer prophets in Israel. Nevertheless, there was always a feeling of anxiety, akin to that of troubled expectancy, whenever a priest approached the inner sanctuary, which was regarded as the particular abode of Jehovah should He ever again condescend to visit His people. In view of these conditions we read without surprise that this angelic presence troubled Zacharias and caused fear to fall upon him." We can assume that Mary, having been raised in the same conditions, would feel the same way. ~I've never had a "visitation" but I think I may need to have the same reassurance of "Fear not"!

Those words may have been more necessary after the message than before Mary knew what message the Angel was to deliver! My heart has often been saddened when thinking about the judgements that were passed on her by people ignorant of the circumstances. Hopefully, this experience helps me keep my own judgements in check. What characteristics do you think Mary possessed that Heavenly Father would choose her as the mother of His Son? Think about that carefully...full of love?, yes....indulgent?...I don't think so! Patient?...yes, oblivious?...no! Really think about how Heavenly Father would want His son raised and apply that to your own parenting.

In Addition: In "Daughters of God, Scriptural Portraits" by S. Michael Wilcox, he writes about Mary rushing to Elisabeth:

"Mary may have gone to Elisabeth because she wanted to share her own marvelous secret with someone who would understand, but I believe Mary also went "with haste" to share in the happiness of Elisabeth. Elisabeth shared in Mary's joy and proclaimed, 'Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb'. Added to their natural joy over the anticipated birth of their sons was the knowledge that the long awaited Messiah soon would redeem his people.

"Many women have a natural capacity to be as thrilled over their sisters' blessings as over their own. This is a godly quality---one we would all do well to emulate. It is a quality that destroys envy, jealousy, and pride." ~I added the emphasis...if we compare ourselves with others we develop these last three qualities but when we rejoice with each other...pooof....gone! Go ahead test that theory...do you agree or not?

Why is it important to know that Jesus is the Son of God? You may want to review the second post of this blog for the answer.