No Records Found
No Records Found
No Records Found
BY R. W. RICHEY
Who Are the Three Nephites?
If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS/Mormon) you likely already know the answer to this question. As such, you can skip to the next section. All others will need an explanation:
In the centuries since the New Testament was written some have taken these verses to mean that John the Beloved was granted immortality by Jesus. Latter-day Saints are among those people because this fact is confirmed in The Book of Mormon. When Jesus ministered in the Americas, He called an additional set of twelve apostles to be leaders of His Church there. Three of these apostles desired—and were granted—immortality as well. The believers in America called themselves Nephites and thus we call these additional immortal beings the Three Nephites.
In the LDS Church, it is believed that all four of them (the Three Nephites and John the Apostle) roam the world doing good. This idea has made Utah, where many Mormons reside, a hotbed of urban legends involving people who mysteriously show up in time of need and then just as mysteriously disappear. These stories, particularly if they happen to involve three individuals, are often referred to as Three Nephite stories.
How It Started
One Saturday in 1986 my father, his best friend, and his best friend’s son were out snowmobiling. They were following a trail that briefly intersected a road that had been built as part of a new development. Building had only barely begun. Roads and fire hydrants had been put in, and a few houses were under construction.
Snowfall had been heavy that year and plows had piled two large snow banks on either side of the road. As my father’s friend came up over the bank, he saw that someone had gotten lost, wandered up into the development, and in the course of trying to make a u-turn, had gotten stuck. He immediately stopped and got off to help, quickly followed by the other two.
Home
