Annunciation Made to Mary and Then to Joseph

Luke 1:28; Gabriel came to Mary before her conception, and to Joseph after it became apparent that his espoused wife was with child, to announce that she should be "the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh." (1 Nephi 11:18.) In both visits the unborn child was heralded as the promised Messiah, the heir to the throne of David, the Lord God Omnipotent who should come down and through the normal birth process make flesh his tabernacle. (Mosiah 3:5-8.)

Luke 1:28; Virgin birth] Mary was a virgin "A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins" (1 Nephi 11:15)—until after the birth of our Lord. Then, for the first time, she was known by Joseph, her husband; and other children, both sons and daughters, were then born to her. (Matthew 13:55-56; Mark 6:3; Galatians 1:19.) She conceived and brought forth her Firstborn Son while yet a virgin because the Father of that child was an immortal personage.

Luke 1:35; Jesus is the Son of God, not of the Holy Ghost] Just as Jesus is literally the Son of Mary, so he is the personal and literal off-spring of God the Eternal Father, who himself is an exalted personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones. (D&C 130:22.) Apostate religionists—unable to distinguish between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—falsely suppose that the Holy Ghost was the Father of our Lord. Matthew's statement, "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost," properly translated should say, 'she was found with child by the power of the Holy Ghost.' (Matthew 1:18.) Luke's account (Luke 1:35) accurately records what took place. Alma perfectly describes our Lord's conception and birth by prophesying: Christ "shall be born of Mary, ... she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God." (Alma 7:10.) Nephi spoke similarly when he said that at the time of her conception, Mary "was carried away in the Spirit," with the result that the child born of her was "the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father." (1 Nephi 11:19-21.) As Gabriel told Luke, he was the "Son of the Highest" (Luke 1:32), and "the Highest" is the first member of the godhead, not the third.

Matthew 1:18. Mary was espoused to Joseph] According to Jewish law, marriage took place in two steps, first came the espousal or betrothal, later the formal marriage ceremony. Both formalities preceded assumption of the full privileges and responsibilities of the marital state. In a sense, espoused persons were viewed as already married, so that the angel in counseling Joseph to fulfill his marriage plans properly referred to Mary as his "wife." Espoused persons were considered bound to each other so that their betrothal could only be broken by a formal action akin to divorce. This is what Joseph had contemplated prior to receiving direction from the angelic visitant.

Matthew 1:22-23; 22-23. Matthew takes frequent occasion to quote Old Testament Messianic prophecies and to show their fulfillment in the birth, life, and ministry of Jesus.

Luke 1:31. Thou shalt conceive in thy womb] Our Lord was destined to have all of the essential experiences of mortality, including conception and birth in the natural and literal sense. Jesus] Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua, Jeshua, Joshua, or Jehoshua, meaning Jehovah is salvation or deliverance.

Luke 1:32; 32. The throne of his father David] Our Lord was heir to David's throne in both the temporal and eternal sense of the word. Mary his literal mother and Joseph his foster father were descendants of David. Indeed, their lineage was in the royal house itself. "Had Judah been a free and independent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the carpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor to the throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." (Talmage, pp. 87, 90.) Thus Jesus was an heir to the throne of the temporal kingdom. But in a far greater sense, he is the Eternal King of Israel—the King whom they once served in all their ancient trials and tribulations, the King whom they shall serve again when the scattered remnants of Israel are gathered into one great millennial kingdom, with our Lord, the King, reigning personally upon the earth. (Ezekiel 37:21-28; Tenth Article of Faith.)

Luke 1:38; 38. Be it unto me according to thy word] This affirmation of submission, conformity, and obediencies, even of anxious willingness to do the will of Deity—ranks in sublimity and majesty with the declaration of the pre-existent Christ, who responding to the Father's search for a Redeemer, volunteered: "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:2.)