Book of Mormon
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Did Jesus Visit America?

Didn’t Jesus only minister in the Holy Land? Aren’t the ‘other sheep’ just the Gentiles — and isn’t a visit to America a cartoon?

Bible

They quote this

Bible · John 10:16

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

NRSVUE

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Our explanation

They say this means Gentiles. He said they shall hear my voice. Gentiles heard through apostles. That is not this verse.

How we read it

They say this means Gentiles. He said they shall hear my voice. Gentiles heard through apostles. That is not this verse. Keep reading. The rest of the Bible is still in the room.

The Bible answers

Bible · John 21:25

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

NRSVUE

But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Our explanation

John already said the Gospels are not the full file. A visit that isn’t in your table of contents is not a visit that couldn’t happen.

Bible · Acts 9:3–6

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? … And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

NRSVUE

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” … The Lord said to him, “Get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Our explanation

After the ascension, on a road to Damascus, He showed Himself to Paul. He is not house-arrested in Palestine.

Bible · Matthew 15:24

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

NRSVUE

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Our explanation

Sent to the lost sheep of Israel. A remnant of Joseph is still Israel. The Gentile mission comes later, through the Twelve.

Bible · 1 Corinthians 15:6–8

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once… After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

NRSVUE

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time… Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Our explanation

Five hundred at once, then James, then Paul. The Bible already has appearances the four Gospels barely mention.

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon answers

3 Nephi 15:21–24

And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold… And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles… And they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save by the Holy Ghost. But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.

Our explanation

Jesus interprets John 10 Himself: you thought I meant the Gentiles. I did not. You have heard my voice and seen me.

3 Nephi 16:1–3

And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them.

Our explanation

And He still had more sheep — not of this land, not of Jerusalem. One visit does not empty the map.

3 Nephi 11:13–15

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. And it came to pass that the multitude went forth… and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety.

Our explanation

They feel the nails. That is what a visited people do: they come, they touch, they write it down.

Ancient witnesses

Dead Sea Scrolls and related extra-biblical texts that illuminate the same pattern the Restoration restores.

John 21:25; 1 Corinthians 15:5–8 — the New Testament already refuses a complete list

John says the world could not hold the books if every thing Jesus did were written. Paul lists appearances the Gospels barely sketch: James, five hundred at once, and then Paul himself — after the ascension, on a road to Damascus, not in the garden tomb.

A risen Lord who can appear to Paul in Syria can appear to a remnant of Joseph. The Bible never fences Him inside Palestine. If a people saw Him, they would do what Israel did: tell it, then write it. 3 Nephi is that kind of record.

Faithful answers

Scripture Central

The Good Shepherd and His other sheep

Scripture Central

The street version is: ‘other sheep = Gentiles, so America is out.’ Jesus in 3 Nephi 15 answers that reading Himself. The Jews supposed He meant the Gentiles. He says no: the Gentiles would hear by the Holy Ghost, through the apostles — not His own voice. The other sheep ‘shall hear my voice.’ That is a visit, not a later missionary report. Matthew 15:24 already said His mortal mission was to the lost sheep of Israel. A remnant of Joseph in the New World is still Israel. And nobody has a verse where He promises never to show Himself again. Paul, James, five hundred brethren, and John on Patmos are the Bible’s own pattern: He appears where He wants.

If He visited them, they would write it down. That is not a Mormon twist. That is what every visited people in scripture already did.

  • John 10:16: they shall hear my voice — personal, not a rumor from Jerusalem.
  • He never said He would not appear to anyone else. John 21:25 says the Gospels are not the full file.
  • Paul saw Him after the ascension, far from the tomb. Distance is not a doctrine.
  • A visited people keep a record. 3 Nephi is that record. 3 Nephi 16: He still had more sheep to visit.
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BYU

Since Cumorah — a Christ who is not house-arrested in Palestine

Hugh Nibley

Nibley’s point is the same as the text’s: the God of Israel is the God of the whole earth (3 Nephi 11:14). Second Temple Jews already expected lost remnants and hidden books. A risen Messiah who walks through walls in Jerusalem is not suddenly too weak to stand in Bountiful. The scandal is not physics. It is a map some readers drew and then called a commandment. If those people saw the wounds, they would tell their children and cut it into metal. That is how scripture starts.

The question is not ‘could He?’ The question is ‘did He?’ The Book of Mormon is the claim that He did — and that they wrote it down.

  • 3 Nephi 11 is a witness scene: they feel the nails. That is John 20 for another fold.
  • Oral memory first, then plates — the same path as Israel’s own stories.
  • More nations than one: 2 Nephi 29. A Bible-only map is the thing the Lord already mocked.
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