KnoWhy #196 - How Was Nephi, son of Nephi, Similar to John the Baptist? (3 Nephi 7:23-24)

In the years before the coming of Christ to the Book of Mormon people, Nephi, son of Nephi and grandson of Helaman, performed a role much like that of John the Baptist. The language used to describe his manner of preaching and baptizing is reminiscent of that describing John the Baptist in the New Testament. The miracles that he performed, especially those recorded in 3 Nephi 7, are similar to those that Jesus himself would work during his ministry. This Nephi, who was the son of Nephi the High Priest in Zarahemla, can be seen as a forerunner to the coming of Christ in the New World, much as John the Baptist, the son of the priest Zacharias in the temple of Jerusalem, was a forerunner in the Old World.