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one of the Three Nephites

The Religious Affiliation of
one of the Three Nephites
 

Religion: First Century Christian / Latter-day Saint CBR Scale: D

Name: one of the Three Nephites

Classification: supporting character supporting character   clergy/religious leader clergy/religious leader   real/historical person real/historical person  

Publisher(s): AAA Pop

Earliest Appearance Listed in This Database: (historical) Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi chapter 28; (comics) Madman Adventures #3 (1992)

Creators: (original chroniclers) Nephi III, Mormon, (comics) Mike Allred

Number of Appearances: 2

   Comic Book Appearances: 1

   Prose/Text Book/Story Appearances: 1

Location: South America

Gender: male

Discussion

From: "The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Character one of the Three Nephites who appeared in an issue of Mike Allred's Madman" forum discussion, started 1 May 2006 on the Adherents.com website (http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/ThreeNephites.html; viewed 14 August 2007):

One of the Three Nephites had a pivotal role in an issue of Madman. The character identified himself as "one of the three" who tarried on the Earth and as "a Nephite."

This Nephite is categorized on this website along with Latter-day Saints (LDS). Technically speaking, one could say that there isn't clear proof that the character is actually a Latter-day Saint, because he was a "former-day" Saint, a member of the Church established on the American continent by Jesus Christ in the time immediately after his crucifixion and resurrection in Israel. But this would be quibbling about semantics. The Three Nephites are an aspect of Latter-day Saint scripture (specifically, the Book of Mormon) and are not associated with any other religious denominations. The Church which the Three Nephites belonged to in the Book of Mormon during the 1st Century A.D. is regarded as the same organization with the same authority as the contemporary Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Within the Madman comic itself, the character did not mention any specific denomination. The character could be seen as simply a generic prophet of God or a generic representative of Christianity. But such classification is less than precise. In depicting this Nephite character, Allred regarded him as essentially a member of or aspect of his own denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Madman is a critically acclaimed comic book series written and illustrated by comic book industry fan favorite Mike Allred. The inclusion of one of the Three Nephites was a rare exception for Allred, who until that time had rarely or never made direct allusions to his religious faith within his published comic book work.

Mike Allred is best known for his work on mainstream comics, such as his art for the X-Men spin-off series X-Factor and X-Statix. A self-identified devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Allred is also the writer and illustrator of The Golden Plates, a comic book/graphic novel adaptation of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This overtly Latter-day Saint comic book series was published many years after Allred had depicted one of the Three Nephites in an issue of Madman.


Suggested links for further research about this character and the character's religious affiliation:
  - http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/ThreeNephites.html
  - http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=11216