1 AND it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto them: What is it that ye desire of me, after that [ How could Joseph Smith have known? Biblical Hebrew begins subordinate clauses with prepositions plus a word that translates as that, such as in Ezekiel 40:1: "after that the city was smitten." Such a use of that in English is awkward and therefore rare. Yet it appears frequently in the Book of Mormon, another evidence of Hebrew influence. It was even more frequent in the 1830 edition, but many of the thats were dropped from later editions to read more smoothly.(The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes) ] I am gone to the Father?

2 And they all spake, [ Or 9 of them ] save it were three, saying: We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom.

3 And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing of me; therefore, after that ye are seventy and two years old ye shall come unto me in my kingdom; [ Age of Mom when she died - hmmm ] and with me ye shall find rest. [ Or rest with me - we know from 3 Ne 19:25 that they had previously been sanctified - so now they are having their calling and election made sure. ]

4 And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father?

5 And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired. [ They knew what they wanted but they were afraid to ask for it. ]

6 And he said unto them: [ 3 of the Nephite disciples. ] Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, [ See vs 7 as well; "Christ promises three of the Nephite disciples that they will not die and compares their situation to that of John. That John may have been spared death is merely hinted at in John 21:20–23, which cautions that while "this saying [went] abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" A revelation given to Joseph Smith in April 1829 confirmed that John had, indeed, been translated (Doctrine and Covenants 7). A fourth-century Christian document, the Discourse on Abbatôn, first published in 1914, confirms that John had been translated. The preface speaks of "the Holy Apostle Saint John, theologian and virgin, who is not to taste death until the thrones are set in the Valley of Jehoasaphat."59 The text itself has the resurrected Jesus saying, "And as for thee, O My beloved John, thou shalt not die until the thrones have been prepared on the Day of the Resurrection. . . . I will command Abbaton, the Angel of Death, to come unto thee on that day. . . . Thou shalt be dead for three and a half hours, lying upon thy throne, and all creation shall see thee. I will make thy soul to return to thy body, and thou shalt rise up and array thyself in apparel of glory." Ancient Texts in Support of the Book of Mormon ] my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.

7 Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; [ By AD 100 all of the other 9 disciples were dead. ] but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven.

8 And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; [ In verse 7 is says that this will happen at the second coming of Christ. Until that time or rather at the time of their death at the age of 72 they were transfigured. Per verse 2. Although these three will have a blessed eternity ahead of them, they sacrificed a great deal to stay here on the earth and teach. During their ministry here are they lonely, without their loved ones? Do they travel and minister, alone or mostly together? Are they able to visit family in the Spirit World? They are great examples of endurance—still helping people on the earth learn the gospel. ] and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

9 And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, [ So they will not feel the pain associated with the physical body. ] neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; [ But you will experience sorry and emotional pain associated with those whom you try to save and will not listen. ] and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, [ They had a righteous desire to minister to the children of men, it was a righteous desire and thus was granted. Their responsibility is not to administer the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the responsibility of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. The Three Nephites and John are to assist in preparing the House of Israel to receive the Gospel when the Day of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Just like John (See D&C 7:2,4). ] while the world shall stand.

10 And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one;

11 And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me. [ See also 3 Ne 15:23; John 16:7. ]

12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry, and then he departed.

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they [ The three whom he did not touch. Suggested by the fact of what happens to them next - their bodies are changed to an immortal state. v15] were caught up [ They where translated. ] into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things. [ They were taught how to use the priesthood power that they were now blessed with in their ministry to bring the children of men to God. ]

14 And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard; [ So in order for someone to understand what these three saw that person would need to have the power of God rest upon them as well in order to fully understand. They would need the same change to take effect in their lives. ]

15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.

16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, [ Why did they not teach the things which they were taught while in the presence of God? Well for starters it is sacred, it is meant for those who have achieved that status, and when they do reach that status then God is the one that teaches them directly. ] because of the commandment which was given them in heaven.

17 And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not;

[ THE ADVENTURES OF THE THREE NEPHITES... ]

18 But this much I know, according to the record which hath been given—they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did receive the Holy Ghost.

19 And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain.

20 And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold them. [ So we can see that even though they held all of this power, they were allowed to suffer according to the actions of men; they were not spared from affliction other than they would not have felt the physical pain of it. ]

21 And thrice they were cast into a furnace and received no harm.

22 And twice were they cast into a den of wild beasts; and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb, and received no harm.

23 And it came to pass that thus they did go forth among all the people of Nephi, and did preach the gospel of Christ unto all people upon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, [ "We're not striving for conversion to the church. We're striving to be converted to the Lord." Book of Mormon never says converts to the church. It's very consistent, "Converted unto the Lord and united with the church." Were their heart was. If your conversion is to the church then you notice problems in the church or faults with people. If your conversion is to the Lord then you will unite with the church, see the members as God sees them, work together to perfect each other.What does it mean to be converted to the Lord?  They are those who are spiritually active, they seek to live close to the spirit, focus on having the spirit, looking for a change of heart, they understand the atonement. ] and were united unto the church of Christ, [How did they become united with the Church? They were baptized. They were physically united with the Church, they attended the meetings – but is that enough? Is there a difference between those the were just united and those that were convert? those that were converted never did fall away see  Alma 23:6. ] and thus the people of that generation were blessed, according to the word of Jesus.

24 And now I, Mormon, make an end of speaking concerning these things for a time.

25 Behold, I was about to write the names [ The names of all of the twelve apostles are found in 3 Ne. 19:4 ] of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; [ Why would the forbid it? One thing I can think of is that if we knew their names we might refer to them by their names which in a way would call attention away from their purpose of being special witnesses for God - So that the attention of what they do is focused on God. ] therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world.

26 But behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me.

27 And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not.

28 They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not.

29 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them.

30 And they are as the angels [ Joseph Smith Taught the following: The difference between an angel and a ministering spirit: the one [the first] is a resurrected or translated body with its spirit, ministering to embodied spirits; the other a disembodied spirit, visiting and ministering to disembodied spirits. Jesus Christ became a ministering spirit (while his body was laying in the sepulcher) to the spirits in prison, to fulfill an important part of his mission,  without which he could not have perfected his work or entered into his rest.  After his resurrection he appeared as an angel to his disciples. (St. Matt, xxvii:16-20). Translated bodies cannot enter into rest until they have undergone a change equivalent to death....  Translated bodies are designed for future missions.... The angel which appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos was a translated or resurrected personage. (Rev. xix:10).   Jesus Christ went in body after his resurrection to minister to translated or resurrected bodies. (Comprehensive History of the Church, vol. 2, ch. 44, page 91) ] of God, and if they shall pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus they can show themselves unto whatsoever man it seemeth them good.

31 Therefore, great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them, [ The three Nephites. See verse 25, this is who he is still talking about here as their names are not written. As well as John the Beloved, all four of them were originally called by Jesus Christ himself. All four of them have a great and marvelous work to do concerning the restoration of the house of Israel. ] before the great and coming day when all people must surely stand before the judgment-seat of Christ;

32 Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and marvelous work wrought by them, before that judgment day.

33 And if ye had all the scriptures which give an account of all the marvelous works [ This phrase "marvelous work" included the following definitions of what it means: 1) Events that God will use to sift the world( 1 Ne. 14:7); 2) Bare forth the arm of the Lord (1 Ne.22:8); 3)Two latter day Messiahs - One real and one fake( 2 Ne. 25:17-18); 4)The marvelous work will cause the wisdom of the world to perish (2 Ne. 27:26); 5)All of the records of Israel will testify of these things (2 Ne. 29:1,3,7,13,14); 6) Will bear record that Gos is the same yesterday, today, and forever(3 Ne.21:9); 7)The three Nephites and John The Beloved have a role to play in the marvelous work of the last days (3 Ne. 28:31,29,33) ] of Christ, ye would, according to the words of Christ, know that these things must surely come. [ One can suspect that Mormon has an understanding in more detail of their mission.]

34 And wo be unto him that will not hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto the words of Jesus, and also to them whom he hath chosen and sent among them; for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day;

35 And it would be better for them if they had not been born. For do ye suppose that ye can get rid of the justice of an offended God, who hath been trampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation might come?

36 And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath chosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that I knew not whether they were cleansed from mortality to immortality—

37 But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, [ So Mormon has been thinking about these three Nephites and their state, mission, etc. He asks the Lord how this happens] and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death;

38 Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a change [ Footnote: See TG Translated Beings - Persons who are changed so that they do not experience pain or death until their resurrection to immortality. ] wrought upon their bodies, that they might not suffer pain nor sorrow save it were for the sins of the world.

39 Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; [ So even though they have had their bodies changed so that they will live until the return of the Savior. Until their mission is completed - then they will undergo the final changes required such as a resurrected individual will be. vs40 ] but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt them; and they were sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, [ If they were sanctified before they were changed and Satan cannot have any power over them then they are in a state that is better than Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, As Adam and Eve were not subject to death but were subject to temptation. ] and that the powers of the earth could not hold them. [ So Mormon is trying to describe that they were not bound entirely to the laws of physics, gravity, time, distance and the other laws that we do not understand as well as we thing we do, as they can be overridden if we are in a certain state. ]

40 And in this state they were to remain until the judgment day of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change, [ They will remain in this state until the greater change that being that they are resurrected. Translated beings. “Persons who are changed so that they do not experience pain or death until their resurrection to immortality” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Translated Beings”). “Many have supposed that the doctrine of translation was a doctrine whereby men were taken immediately into the presence of God, and into an eternal fullness, but this is a mistaken idea. Their place of habitation is that of the terrestrial order, and a place prepared for such characters He held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets, and who as yet have not entered into so great a fullness as those who are resurrected from the dead” ( Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:210). Transfiguration. “The condition of persons who are temporarily changed in appearance and nature—that is, lifted to a higher spiritual level—so that they can endure the presence and glory of heavenly beings” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Transfiguration”). Resurrection. “The reuniting of the spirit body with the physical body of flesh and bones after death. After resurrection, the spirit and body will never again be separated, and the person will become immortal” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Resurrection”).] and to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell with God eternally in the heavens.