John the Beloved

[MrNirom]

D&C 7 states:

1 And the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you.

2 And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee.

3 And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.

5 I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater awork yet among men than what he has before done.

6 Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth.

Can anyone give me more info on this. Explain why if John continued to live.. where did he prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people? Did he bring souls unto the Lord?

[Hemidakota]

He is currently with the Lost Tribes of Israel. I feel for you, it would better to serve you if you have the complete background of this unique prophet. Lengthy reading but well worth it:

I have always been very interested in the apostle John the Beloved. I am convinced that he is one of the great ones who have lived on earth.

We should not confuse John the Beloved with John the Baptist. John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias, was the forerunner of Christ. He was the one who baptized Christ. He was the one who was beheaded by Herod. He was the one who appeared as a resurrected being on May 15, 1829, and restored the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

The man I am referring to has several titles: John the Beloved, John the Revelator, John the Apostle, John the brother of James, and John the son of Zebedee.

Background of John the Beloved

The first time we meet him is in his hometown on the Sea of Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee (see Matthew 4). When the Savior walked around the shore of the sea, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net. He called to them and said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). Then he saw another boat where the sons of Zebedee, James and John, were mending their nets, and he also called them forth into the ministry. "And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him" (Matthew 4:22).

I find it intriguing to note how faithful they are the first time we meet them, leaving not only their former life and profession but perhaps even leaving their parents in order to follow this man whom they came to know as the Messiah. Later these four mean were called to the apostleship (see Matthew 10).

Evidently James was the elder brother because he is usually listed first, although John is listed at times before James. In Matthew 10, we read about the calling of the apostles and the charge the Savior gave to them. After the Savior called the Twelve Apostles, he gave them a commandment:

"Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. . . . And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. . . .

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another" (Matthew 10:5-8, 11-20, 22-23).

The city of Ephesus was visited not only by John the Beloved but also by the great apostle Paul. If these brethren followed the admonitions the Savior gave to them, I suspect they dusted their feet of Ephesus, for this great city, in which at one time one of the seven wonders of the world was located, became desolate ruins. Physically, it is more tolerable almost for Sodom and Gomorrah than for the people John taught at Ephesus.

The Uniqueness of John the Beloved

We, as Latter-day Saints, should know more about the apostle John than any other people on the face of the earth. We know everything the Bible records about him, but we know much more about him. The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants make several references to John, and many modern prophets have testified concerning this great man. He is unique among men who have been called to be apostles, though he shares with them certain responsibilities.

He was called among the original Twelve Apostles. He was called to be with Peter and James on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was also called with Peter and James to be present in the Garden of Gethsemane when part of the great miracle of the Atonement took place.

At least one thing in regard to John the Beloved, however, was not shared with the other apostles. When the Savior was on the cross, he selected John to take care of his mother, Mary:

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home" (John 19:25-27).

That alone would make John the Beloved unique among men. Of all men on the earth at that time, the Savior selected him to take custody of his mother. From then on the lives of John and Mary were entwined. According to tradition, Mary was buried in Patmos. The scriptures indicate that Mary was placed in John's custody, but they do not indicate that she was ever in the area of Patmos.

We know that Mary was about eighteen or so when she gave birth to Christ; therefore, she would have been in her early fifties at the time of the crucifixion. We also know that John was in Patmos after Paul; if Mary had still been alive, she would have been in her eighties at the time John was in Patmos. Interesting enough, there are two burial places of Mary in Jerusalem: one, the Church of the Dormition, near the Church of the Last Supper; the other, the Tomb or the Sepulchre of Mary near the Garden of Gethsemane. There are also two places in Asia Minor where Mary is supposedly buried. Obviously, not all of these locations can be correct; in fact, they might all well be wrong. We simply do not know where she was buried.

I don't think we could point to any location in Patmos today and say that Paul stood here or that John stood here. But they were both in that city, and they may well have walked down its broad streets. A church built over a grotto in Patmos is believed to be where John wrote the book of Revelation. Although we are not sure this is the exact spot, we are sure he wrote the book while he was on the island. In the first chapter of Revelation we read the following: "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet" (Revelation 1:9-10).

It is the Savior who used the term "beloved" in referring to this apostle as "John, my beloved" (3 Nephi 28:6). I think the Savior used "beloved" not only because he loved John but because he was loved by John. John was the apostle who leaned on the Savior's breast at the time of the Feast of the Passover. In the gospel of John, we find the Savior's great sermon of love. In fact, John equates the gospel of Jesus Christ with the word love. After the Savior had announced that one of the Twelve would betray him, John, in what I suspect was a somewhat trembling voice, asked, "Lord, who is it?" (John 13:25).

John had the same spirit as Brigham Young and J. Reuben Clark Jr., who in some of their great discourses cautioned the Latter-day Saints not to challenge Lucifer by saying they would never deny the Church or the Savior. We can imagine the little drama during the Feast of the Passover when the Savior announced that one of the Twelve would deny him. First of all, it seems logical that everyone would say to himself, "Well, it must be someone else." Then, finally, they might ask themselves, "Is it possible that it could be me? I don't think so. I hope not. But could it be me?" It was John who put word to the question, "Lord, who is it?"

It was also John who gave us the great intercessory prayer found in only one place in the New Testament. In John 17, we read this great prayer recorded in its fulness, or near fulness:

"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:1-5).

The Gospel Written by John, Chapter 21

Then we come to the last chapter of the book of John—one of the most confusing chapters in all scripture to scriptorians and those who write scriptural commentaries. Remember that Peter and the other apostles had returned to the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Christ. The Savior had already appeared to them twice in Jerusalem. On the day of his resurrection, he appeared to ten of them—Thomas not being there and Judas already having committed suicide. A week later he appeared to the eleven, including Thomas. Then the apostles returned to the Sea of Galilee, and we read that they were together—Simon Peter, Thomas and Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

"Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing" (John 21:3).

Then the Savior appeared on the shores at sunrise and asked them whether they had caught any fish. When they answered no, he said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." They did so and caught a "multitude of fishes" (John 21:6). Then John recognized the Savior.

"Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, . . . and did cast himself into the sea" (John 21:7).

The other disciples also came to shore. Then occurred an interesting dialogue wherein the Savior, knowing that Peter earlier had denied him three times, gave him three opportunities to reaffirm his confidence and faith.

"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" Three times Peter replied, "Yea, Lord." I hope none of us is guilty of misinterpreting that scripture. I have heard some ministers indicate that on that occasion the Savior was seeing how faithful Peter was in relation to the other apostles. I do not believe that—that would be entirely foreign to the personality and character of the Savior.

When the Savior asked Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" the antecedent of these is not the other apostles. He is not saying, "Do you, Peter, love me more than James, John, and the other apostles love me?" What he is saying is something like this: "Now, Peter, when I called you to the apostleship, you were a fisher of men. You followed me for three years, and you have done very well. But now you've gone back to your old ways again. You're doing the same things you did before I called you. Do you love me more than you love these things? If you do, then come follow me. Feed my sheep and take care of the flock." So the Savior is not trying to test Peter against the other apostles. He is testing Peter against himself: "Do you love me more than you love these things?"

Then come the confusing verses:

"Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following. . . . Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying 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? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:20-24).

Of course, the person who is bearing that testimony is John the Beloved himself. Now the question the scholars have asked is, "What did John mean when he wrote, 'If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?'"

This question was also on the mind of the Prophet Joseph Smith on one occasion. As he translated the Book of Mormon, he came to the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ to the Nephites. When the disciples met with the Savior just before he left them, the Savior asked this question:

"What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father? And they all spake, 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. 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; and with me ye shall find rest.

"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? And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired.

"And he said unto them: Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me. Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; 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" (3 Nephi 28:1-7; emphasis added).

When Joseph Smith read and translated this account, he evidently asked himself, "Well, what is meant here when these three Nephite disciples desired the same thing which John, the beloved disciple of Christ, desired?" Therefore, he went before the Lord and asked him what this was all about. In an interesting foreword to one of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read: "Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829, when they inquired through the Urim and Thummim as to whether John, the beloved disciple, tarried in the flesh or had died. The revelation is the translated version of the record made on parchment by John and hidden up by himself" (D&C 7, section heading).

If we as Latter-day Saints really believe this, we are not going to put the Doctrine and Covenants down immediately. In Doctrine and Covenants 7 we can read the first-person account of what John actually wrote concerning events on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias when the resurrected Christ appeared to the apostles. According to John's writings on that parchment:

"The Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you. And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee.

"And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people. And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom.

"I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater work yet among men than what he has before done. Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth.

"And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother James; and unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come. Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired" (D&C 7).

All of a sudden, we as Latter-day Saints know more about the translation of John, or the transfiguration of John, than any other people upon the face of the earth. Evidently, before the Savior left his apostles on the eastern continent, he called them together and said, "Ask of me what you will and I shall grant it unto you."

Bold, impetuous Peter spoke up first and said, "I want to live out my life speedily on the earth, and then I want to come unto thee."

So the Savior said, "All right, Peter, you have made the request and it shall be given unto you. Now, John, my beloved, what do you desire of me?"

John said, "I would that I might tarry upon the earth, that I might bring souls unto you until you come in your power."

And the Savior said, "All right, John, I will grant that unto you."

Then Peter said in effect, "Me too. I want what John asked for."

But the Savior had to remind Peter, "I asked you what you wanted. You had your first say. You asked, and what you asked for was very good. I have granted it unto you. Therefore, it shall be done unto you as you have asked. But John has asked for this other thing, and I have given it unto him. He also will receive what he asked."

I hope we read that scripture carefully. I have heard more than one teacher claim that the Savior said that John had asked to do a greater work than Peter was to do. That is not what the scripture says at all. The comparison here is not between the work of Peter and the work of John. The comparison is between the work John previously did with what he was going to subsequently do. Read the scripture again:

"And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom.

"I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater work [and most of us turn off our minds right then and think that he is going to compare the work of John with the work of Peter] yet among men than what he has before done.

"Yea, he has undertaken a greater work [than what he has before done]" (D&C 7:4-6; emphasis added).

The Savior is not comparing the work of John and Peter here. Who knows how important the work of Peter may actually have been?

[Hemidakota]

PART - 2 [final]

The Work of John after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

On the Isle of Patmos there is a church where guides say John the Beloved was buried. They claim that the reason this church was built was that the bones of John the Beloved were discovered there. We as Latter-day Saints know two things about that place—first, we know that it is not where John the Beloved was buried because he has not yet been buried; second, we know his bones were not discovered there because John the Beloved has not yet died.

As far as we know, John was at Ephesus, and it was from there that he was placed in exile. Domitian was the Roman emperor at that time, and he did not like what John was preaching. But rather than cause an insurrection by killing him (or trying to do so), Domitian exiled him to the Isle of Patmos. John did not stay there long, however, because when Domitian died, the next emperor forgave all those who had been placed in exile. As far as we know, John then left and went other places.

According to what we know, John the Revelator is now working among the lost tribes of Israel. I find that rather intriguing. In the 1820s the Three Nephites appeared quite regularly to the Prophet Joseph Smith, but we do not read very much about John the Revelator. He has appeared on occasion but not as frequently as the Three Nephites. For example, John the Revelator appeared with Peter and James to restore the Melchizedek Priesthood. As far as we know, Peter and James were resurrected beings. John was a translated being—he was not resurrected. All three men had physical hands that they placed on top of Joseph Smith's head when they conferred upon him the Melchizedek Priesthood. They also restored blessings in addition to the Melchizedek Priesthood.

In Doctrine and Covenants 128, the Prophet Joseph Smith reviews some of the great events that have happened during this dispensation. Among other things, he writes:

"And again, what do we hear? . . . The voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times!" (v. 20).

Although we do not know the exact date of this great appearance, we know that it occurred after May 15, 1829, because John the Baptist declared that he was restoring only the Aaronic Priesthood and that the Melchizedek Priesthood was yet to be restored by Peter, James, and John. We also know that this restoration took place before April 6, 1830, the day the Church was organized. The keys of the kingdom and of the gospel of the dispensation of the fulness of times had to be restored before the Church could be organized. Therefore, during that time period, John visited Joseph Smith and his companions to help restore those keys.

We know of one other appearance of John the Beloved, as recorded in Church records. Joseph Smith was leading the Zion's Camp march. When the men entered Missouri, Joseph Smith left the company and walked down the road a ways in company with another person and visited for some time with him. When Joseph returned to the company, the other brethren were interested in who this man was. Joseph Smith announced that he had been visiting with John, the beloved apostle.

But Joseph did not see John the Beloved very much, and so he finally went to the Lord and asked why. In response, we have another revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith indicating that John the Beloved was then among the lost tribes of Israel and that he was working to prepare them to become worthy to return after their long dispersion. Therefore, it has become the accepted doctrine and teaching of the Church that John the Beloved is now with the lost tribes of Israel helping them to prepare to return and to receive their blessings under Ephraim.

Some of the Writings of John

So the record of John—the life record of John—is still an open book. But we do not have all the writings of John. Hundreds of years before John was even born on this earth, the great prophet Nephi saw him in vision. In his vision, Nephi saw the Lamb of God come down to earth, and he saw Twelve Apostles follow the Lamb of God. An angel then said to him:

"Look! And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe. And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been. And he shall also write concerning the end of the world.

"Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men.

"And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see. But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.

"And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.

"And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel. And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw" (1 Nephi 14:18-28; emphasis added).

Notice that the angel said to Nephi that he was going to see everything John the Revelator would write down. Nephi wrote only a small part, and yet we have in the writings of Nephi almost as much as we have in the book of Revelation. But some teachers claim that the book of Revelation contains the writings of John referred to in this scripture. Although Revelation may include a greatly abridged version of the writings of John, these are not the writings of John referred to in this scripture, as the Lord himself declared later.

Isn't it interesting that this great apostle, John the Beloved, was seen in vision over 500 years before he was born on this earth and described in the same manner that the Christ himself was described:

"I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe. And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. . . . And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel" (1 Nephi 14:19-20, 27).

This means that over five hundred years before John the Beloved was born, he had already been foreordained to write this great record of his that would contain an account of the creation of the world to the end thereof. That's why I say that when we talk about this man we are talking about one of the great ones.

In Doctrine and Covenants 27 the resurrected Jesus Christ, in instituting the sacrament in this dispensation, indicates that when he comes in his power and glory, he is going to partake of the sacrament with certain of the great leaders on this earth, including John, his beloved disciple (v. 12).

In speaking of the resurrection in Doctrine and Covenants 76, the resurrected Christ quotes the words of John. Isn't that interesting? Who knows more about the resurrection than Jesus Christ? And yet when he explains the resurrection to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he uses the words of John the Revelator.

According to its section heading, Doctrine and Covenants 77 is a "revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Hiram, Ohio, March 1832." The revelation is an "explanation of the Revelation of St. John" and answers the following questions:

"What is the sea of glass spoken of by John, 4th chapter, and 6th verse of the Revelation?"

"What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse?"

"Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or orders?"

"What are we to understand by the eyes and wings, which the beasts had?"

Latter-day Saints not only know more about John the Beloved than any other people, but we know more about his writing. We can take all the Bible commentaries concerning the writings of John the Beloved in the book of Revelation and throw them out the window, for we have the Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon, which contain inspired commentary as to what John was really teaching.

The Savior tells us about the great writings of John in these words: "And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the fulness of John's record is hereafter to be revealed. [Jesus Christ is speaking May 6, 1833.] And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was; therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of the world and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (D&C 93:2-11).

John then bears testimony that the Savior progressed from "grace to grace" (D&C 93:13) until "he received a fulness of the glory of the Father" (D&C 93:16). After the Savior concludes quoting John to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he adds, "And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John" (D&C 93:18).

We do not have yet in the scriptures of the Church the fulness of the records of John. Nephi saw that many of the writings of John were going to be taken away—the plain and precious things (probably much of what we now have in Doctrine and Covenants 77) that must at one time have been in the New Testament. But they were taken out when they proceeded through the hands of the great and abominable church referred to in the record.

The great prophet Ether had at his disposal the long history of his people, and he had an account of the great vision of the brother of Jared. In Ether we read something about that vision when the Savior says:

"Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

"Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

"And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed. Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.

"Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.

"And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen" (Ether 4:14-19).

If we relate that scripture to Doctrine and Covenants 93 and to 1 Nephi 14, we see that the great apostle John the Beloved, also known as John the Revelator because of the great revelation he had on the Isle of Patmos, wrote a record of the history of this earth from before the creation of the earth to the very end thereof. That record is written but is yet to come forth.

John's Mission Still Being Performed

We are not sure exactly how long John lived on the Isle of Patmos. But while he was there, he saw the vision that he recorded in the book of Revelation. I have always been intrigued by the promise that was made to John: "The Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people" (D&C 7:3).

Because of the great vision John the Revelator had on the Isle of Patmos, he has been selected as a unique representative of Christ on this earth and undoubtedly has been or will be called to represent him before nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, as was prophesied.

I guess Latter-day Saints know more about translated beings than anyone else. There is one power or gift that translated beings have that we should not overlook. People often refer to the apostasy of the priesthood on the earth, but there has never been an apostasy of the priesthood on the earth. There has never been a single instance in the history of this earth since the fall of Adam to our day that the priesthood power has not been here on the earth. We can trace the priesthood from Adam to the time of Christ, and we as Latter-day Saints can trace it from the time of Christ to our day because of John the Beloved. There was an apostasy of the Church and there was a great apostasy from the Church, but there has never been an apostasy of the priesthood because of the power and authority held by John. I hope that some day in the Church we might have a special Ensign devoted to this man. I think his teachings best exemplify the teachings of Christ. Perhaps that is why the Savior referred to him as his beloved—the Savior loved him, and he loved the Savior.

Some of the Teachings of John the Beloved

I end this chapter with some selected readings from the writings of this great man:

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; . . . That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full" (1 John 1:1, 3-4).

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

"Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. . . .

"And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him" (1 John 2:1-7, 28-29).

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. . . .

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:1-3, 16-17).

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. . . . If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also" (1 John 4:7-11, 20-21).

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. . . .

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:13-15, 20).

"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" (2 John 1:9-11).

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 1:4).

The ancient apostle John the Beloved referred to all the Saints as his "beloved children." I think if he were here today he would again refer to us as his beloved children, and that he would "have no greater joy than to hear that [his] children walk in truth."

Note

Excerpts from a talk prepared for a Mediterranean cruise sponsored by the BYU Travel Study department in the latter part of the 1970s. [selected Writings of Daniel H. Ludlow]

[Moksha]

D&C 7 states:

Can anyone give me more info on this. Explain why if John continued to live.. where did he prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people? Did he bring souls unto the Lord?

I would love to do my speculating from a cruise ship like the writer above.

At first glance, the idea of living thousands of years seems like hyperbole, but I would not want to state this for fear of seeming sacrilegious. Wonder if we could just consign this to a mystery?

[Hemidakota]

Bahahahaaa Then we have Moses, Enoch, Shem and countless thousands of immortal beings that were translated. Mystery? Perhaps! For some...

Joseph Smith

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. . . .

Now it was evident that there was a better resurrection, or else God would not have revealed it unto Paul. Wherein then, can it be said a better resurrection? This distinction is made between the doctrine of the actual resurrection and translation: translation obtains deliverance from the tortures and sufferings of the body, but their existence will prolong as to the labors and toils of the ministry, before they can enter into so great a rest and glory. (From an article on priesthood, read at a general conference of the Church by Robert B. Thompson, and included as part of minutes of the conference held in Nauvoo, Ill., Oct. 5, 1840, HC4:207-12) HC4:210

Edited June 26, 2008 by Hemidakota