Excerpt from Birth of the Messiah by Paul Thomas Smith.
(reading only)
Nearly 100 miles to the north, in the province known as Galilee of the Gentiles (see Matt. 4:15), a young Jewess named Mary ("Miriam" in Hebrew) lived in an obscure hillside village named Nazareth. Mary was betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph. By Jewish custom their year-long betrothal was considered to be as binding as the vow of marriage.
Six months after Elisabeth's conception Gabriel appeared to Mary and said:
"Hail, thou art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women…
"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
"And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:28, 31—33).
Nephi saw Mary in a vision and described her as "a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins" (1 Ne. 11:15). Alma testified that Mary was "a precious and chosen vessel" (Alma 7:10). Of her conception, he wrote that she would "be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Alma 7:10). Gabriel explained this to Mary and added, "Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
From the angel, Mary learned that her relative Elisabeth—barren during her entire marriage—would also miraculously bear a son, "for with God nothing shall be impossible" (see Luke 1:36—37).
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