this
command, Joseph took Mary and her Child, and set out by night on the
journey to Egypt; and there the family remained until divinely directed
to return. When it was apparent to the king that the wise men had
ignored his instructions, he was exceedingly angry; and, estimating the
earliest time at which the birth could have occurred according to the
magis' statement of the star's appearing, he ruthlessly ordered the
slaughter of "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the
coasts thereof, from two years old and under."[240] In this massacre of
the innocents, the evangelist found a fulfilment of Jeremiah's fateful
voicing of the word of the Lord, spoken six centuries earlier and
expressed in the forceful past tense as though then already
accomplished: "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would
not be comforted, because they are not."[241]

BIRTH OF JESUS MADE KNOWN TO THE NEPHITES.

As heretofore shown, the prophets of the western hemisphere had foretold
in great plainness the earthly advent of the Lord, and had specifically
set forth the time, place, and circumstances of His birth.[242] As the
time drew near the people were divided by conflicting opinions
concerning the reliability of these prophecies; and intolerant
unbelievers cruelly persecuted those, who, like Zacharias, Simeon, Anna,
and other righteous ones in Palestine, had maintained in faith and trust
their unwavering expectation of the coming of the Lord. Samuel, a
righteous Lamanite, who, because of his faithfulness and sacrificing
devotion had been blessed with the spirit and power of prophecy,
fearlessly proclaimed the birth of Christ as near: "And behold, he said
unto them, Behold I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh,
and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall
believe on his name."[243] The prophet told of many signs and wonders,
which were to mark the great event. As the five years ran their course,
the believers grew more steadfast, the unbelievers more violent, until
the last day of the specified period dawned; and this was the "day set
apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those
traditions should be put to death, except the sign should come to pass
which had been given by Samuel the prophet."[244]

Nephi, a prophet of the time, cried unto the Lord in anguish of soul
because of the persecution of w