Anointed by the Three Nephites?

1. The Three Nephites

The Three Nephites.

The Book of Mormon describes the visit of Jesus Christ to the Americas within a year after His resurrection. There he called twelve disciples and ordained them to the priesthood so that they could baptize members into His church and administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Before He departed from them, He asked each of the twelve what they would have Him do for them. Three of them desired to live until His return in order to bring souls to Him. Their wish was granted, such that they would not feel physical pain while in the flesh (3 Nephi 28:6-9).

These three men were also given many extraordinary powers, some of which are mentioned in the Book of Mormon:

they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did receive the Holy Ghost.

And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain.

And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold them.

And thrice they were cast into a furnace and received no harm.

And twice were they cast into a den of wild beasts; and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb, and received no harm.

And it came to pass that thus they did go forth among all the people of Nephi, and did preach the gospel of Christ unto all people upon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ, and thus the people of that generation were blessed, according to the word of Jesus. -- 3 Nephi 28:18-23

Another example of the ministering of these three disciples of Christ is given in the Book of Mormon, where they ministered several centuries later to Mormon, the principal author and compiler of that sacred scripture. They have also appeared among the Jews and Gentiles alike, generally without being recognized or known (3 Nephi 28:6-9). Moreover, they are to stay in this condition until the final Judgment Day of the Lord at the end of the Millennium, at which time a change equivalent to death will occur and they will be received into the kingdom of the Father, to go no more out (3 Nephi 28:37-40). Moreover, they also ministered to Mormon's son Moroni (Mormon 8:10-11).

In the Book of Mormon, these men are referred as three disciples of Christ. In popular Mormon jargon, however, for simplicity they are referred to as the "Three Nephites", because they were chosen from the descendants of Nephi (1 Nephi 12:9). Moreover, it should also be noted that they are not referred to the Book of Mormon as "apostles", which name seems to be reserved for the twelve in Jerusalem who ministered at the same time. Let us now turn to some accounts of possible visits of one or more of the Three Nephites in these latter days.

2. Early LDS Accounts

Have you ever heard or read of an account of a possible visit of the Three Nephites, perhaps in the official LDS magazine The Ensign? Today such visits are rarely discussed in the official literature, but perhaps someone you know related an account of how they feel they might have encountered one of more of those three ministers.

A Nephite healing someone.

Earlier in Church history, such accounts were sometimes included in various LDS publications, such as the Juvenile Instructor. Several stories were collected by Ogden Kraut into his book The Three Nephites (Salt Lake City, UT: Pioneer Press, 1969). One rather standard "archetypal" visit might be summarized as follows. Usually an older man appears at the door asking for some bread to eat. After entering, often all he wants is bread and water. Then he asks if anyone is sick, and sure enough, there is someone there who is. He blesses them, whereupon they are instantly healed. He then leaves. Someone then rushes to the door to thank him, but he has disappeared, nowhere to be seen. If it is winter with snow, there are no tracks in the snow. It is the disappearance which implies that the man may be one of the Three Nephites.

Here is an excerpt from one typical example given in The Three Nephites:

"This was in Provo. Old David John was Stake President ... The snow was very deep on the ground, especially so, and for days the family hadn't gone outside for anything.... they were quarantined for a contagious disease--one of the children was very ill....

"In the night a knock came on the door and she went to the door, and a very benevolent man was standing there. She described him as kind-looking with a snow-white beard. He said he had been sent and he understood that there was sickness and they needed help.... He placed his hands on the child's head and blessed the child, and she immediately went to sleep.... He said he must go.... It seemed to her that it would be impossible for him to walk around, the snow was so deep.... Out of curiosity she took a lantern, but she could not see any tracks in the snow, either coming or going. Only then it flashed across her that that he was one of the Three Nephites." pp. 152-153.

3. Possible Recent Visit

The following account was testified of to me personally by the man and his wife who both claim to have experienced it. Their names are Edward and Jeanne Henry and I have known them for about a decade. He is a man of unusual integrity, so the account appears to be true, as given to me separately by each of them. It occurred over 27 years ago and has not been recorded until now, so their memory might have failed on some minor details, but there is no doubt in my mind that the overall event occurred essentially as described. Here is Ed's account, as dictated to me and approved by Jeanne after she had rehearsed to me her own version:

While they lived in Penrose, Colorado, about January 1993, Ed Henry and his wife Jeanne had an amazing experience. They had not yet joined the LDS Church, but Ed had been visited by its missionaries off and on for several years. He liked them and helped them out as often as possible. They called him a "dry Mormon" because he had not been baptized.

The Florence Medical Center.

Ed came down with double pneumonia and bronchitis as shown by his chest x-rays taken in the nearby town of Florence. The doctors wanted to put him into the hospital immediately. He had their friends John and Janet Vonzuela coming to their home that night to receive an LDS missionary discussion, so he deferred going until the next day, even though he was coughing up blood.

During the presentation by the two missionaries, there was a knock on the door. Jeannie answered the door and saw three gentlemen there. One said, "The Holy Spirit has sent us here to see somebody. You are not the person we are supposed to see. Is there anyone else here?"

Jeanne replied that her husband, along with the Vonzuela couple were there, so she invited them in. They stepped in and pointed at Ed and said, "We are here to see you."

They said, "Could we put a chair in the middle of the living room?" When that was done, they asked Ed to sit in it. Then they surrounded him and brought out a silver flask about four inches tall. They said a few words and then poured the entire contents of the flask of oil over his head so that it was dripping on his clothes and also on the chair and carpet.

After anointing him with the oil, they proceeded to lay their hands on his head and to bless him. They ordained him to the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek and bestowed several priesthood keys on him. They gave him several spiritual gifts also, including knowledge, discernment, and healing. The description of the gifts went on at length, but that is all that Ed now remembers. The main reason he remembers the ordination is that the missionaries explained its importance to him afterward and how unusual it was for that to happen before a man had even joined the LDS Church.

As the three were ready to leave, one of the missionaries stood and said that Ed was really sick and needed a blessing. They turned around and came back to him and the three asked the missionaries to join the circle. Then they anointed again with just a little oil and gave him a blessing to be healed.

The three turned again to the door and left. After the door closed, Jeanne thought to thank them and immediately opened the door to do so. They were not to be seen and she exclaimed, "I can't see them anywhere!" From their home they could see all the way down the block in both directions. Ed came to the door and in amazement reported, "There are no footprints!" It had snowed most of the day, so that seemed impossible! The missionaries and Vonzuela family came to see and all verified that observation of no prints in the fresh snow. They marveled at what had just occurred.

Then the guests said it was time for them to go so that Ed could get some sleep. When he awoke the next morning, Jeanne, who was in school to become an occupational therapy assistant, noticed that he was not coughing. With her stethoscope she determined that his lungs were clear. They went again to Florence and new X-rays revealed that his lungs were then totally clear. There was no sign of the pneumonia at all, which astounded the doctors. He had no fever nor any symptoms whatsoever.

Afterwards, the mission time of both of the missionaries was almost fulfilled, but Jeanne requested that they could remain on their missions a little longer in order to baptize them both. That was granted by the mission president. Both of the missionaries were from Canada. Not only were Ed and Jeanne baptized on Sun 7 Feb 1993, but also the Vonzuela couple and other friends, totaling nine altogether.

Later Ed really wondered who those men were. He asked his local bishop and stake president if they had sent them. After he received a negative response, he telephoned LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, whom he had met two years prior when he had visited for a conference. Ed asked him if he had sent the three men, but he also had no knowledge of the event.

After Ed had personally related this account to me, John P. Pratt, he verified that it had been written by me correctly. I then asked him if he had considered the possibility that the men were the Three Nephites. He said that had never occurred to him and that he knew nothing about such appearances. Later, separately, I asked his wife Jeanne to tell me her version of the occurrence, without her having yet heard what he had told me. Her recollection was virtually identical, except that she remembered her own words better and he had remembered his words better. She recalled that she had been standing in the kitchen, but essentially they were indeed two witnesses of the event. An effort is also being made to contact the two missionaries to get their remembrances.

Thus, it appears to me their accounts constitute two credible witnesses of a visit by who appear to have been the Three Nephites, mostly because no other possible candidates are forthcoming. It differs significantly from all other accounts known to me because, although they did miraculously heal someone as was typical, it seemed to be an afterthought. Their main purpose was to anoint a man with oil, ordain him to the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, give him spiritual gifts and keys. All of that occurred even though he was not a member of any church at the time. All of these points seem significant and worthy of being known, that such events do indeed take place in our day in the presence of several witnesses.

4. Conclusion

This article reviews just who the Three Nephites are and summarizes typical accounts of some of their alleged past visits to minister to those in need. They usually seem to come to heal people, do not identify themselves, but are recognized only by their disappearance from sight or lack of tracks in the snow.

A highly probably appearance of them about January 1993 is then presented wherein at least two witnesses testify that three men arrived unexpectedly at a door, anointed a man with oil, ordained him to Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, gave him spiritual gifts and keys, and then also healed him of double pneumonia.

We are moving into the times of the Millennium, during which Jesus Christ will reign personally on the earth. It is felt that this account may be typical of the coming interaction with holy men and the outpouring onto the heads of the righteous of the blessings of God!