Signs of Messiah's Birth Foretold by a Lamanite Prophet

A Lamanite prophet appeared among the Nephites five years before the year one of the Christian era, prophesying that within five years a sign of the Messiah's birth would be given. This sign included the light of day continuing through two days and a night, followed by the rising of the sun as usual, along with the appearance of a new star.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 95, No. 50):

Five years more cometh . . . then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who believe on his name. And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming ; for behold there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day. Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night . . . for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting

In his prophecy recorded in Helaman 14, Samuel the Lamanite explicitly stated that he had been commanded by an angel to "cry unto this people" and that he delivered these warnings while standing upon the walls of the city of Zarahemla after being cast out by the Nephites. Samuel clarified that the sign of the Messiah's death would include three days of total darkness, the rending of rocks, great tempests, and the leveling of mountains into valleys, alongside the graves being opened and saints appearing to many. He also noted that these signs were intended to leave the people with "no cause for unbelief."