All the prophets, from Adam in the beginning of earth's existence down to Joseph Smith and his successors in this, the last dispensation, have testified of Christ. His coming was announced many hundreds of years before Mary gave birth in Bethlehem, and all who were spiritually enlightened knew that the Christ who would come would bring the blessings of salvation and eternal life. The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ presents a careful analysis of those prophecies concerning the First Coming of the Lord. "What is here considered," says the author, Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Council of the Twelve, "was the heart and core of the teachings of all the preachers of righteousness who lived before he dwelt among men. In the course of this discussion, it becomes evident that the fulness of God's everlasting gospel has been available to men in every age, that the plan of salvation is eternal and unchanging from century to century, and that the same principles and doctrines which were given to save men in the days of Christ saved men in the days of Abraham, and will save them in the present day. But most important of all these teachings is the understanding that Christ is the Savior, that he did indeed come to make atonement for the sins of men and thus opened up the way for them to return to his presence.