3 Nephi 28

Jesus Asks His Disciples What They Want

When Jesus had said these words, he spoke to his disciples one by one. He asked them, 'What do you want from me after I go back to the Father?' All of them except three said, 'We want our work to end when we have lived a normal life. Then we can come to you quickly in your kingdom.' He said to them, 'God blesses you because you wanted this. After you are 72 years old, you will come to me in my kingdom. You will find rest with me.'

Three Disciples Want to Stay

When he had spoken to them, he turned to the three. He said to them, 'What do you want me to do for you when I go to the Father?' They were sad in their hearts. They were too scared to tell him what they wanted. He said to them, 'I know your thoughts. You wanted the same thing John wanted. He was my loved disciple who was with me in my work before the Jews killed me.' 'God blesses you even more. You will never die. You will live to see everything the Father does with people. You will see this until everything is done according to the Father’s will. You will see it all the way until I come in my glory with the powers of heaven.' 'You will never feel the pain of death. When I come in my glory, you will change in the blink of an eye. You will go from being able to die to living forever. Then you will be blessed in my Father’s kingdom.' 'While you live on earth, you will not feel pain or sadness. The only sadness you will feel is for the sins of the world. I will do all this because of what you wanted from me. You wanted to bring people to me as long as the world lasts.' 'Because of this, you will have complete joy. You will sit down in my Father’s kingdom. Your joy will be complete, just as the Father has given me complete joy. You will be like me. I am like the Father. The Father and I are one.' 'The Holy Spirit tells about the Father and me. The Father gives the Holy Spirit to people because of me.'

The Disciples Are Taken to Heaven

When Jesus had said these words, he touched each one of them with his finger. He did not touch the three who were going to stay. Then he left. The heavens opened. They were taken up into heaven. They saw and heard things too amazing to describe. They were told not to talk about it. They were not given power to tell about the things they saw and heard. They could not tell if they were in their bodies or out of their bodies. It seemed to them like they had changed. It was like they had changed from bodies that could die into bodies that would live forever. Now they could see the things of God. But they came back to earth and taught the people. But they did not teach about the things they had heard and seen. This was because of what they were told in heaven.

I don’t know if they could die or not after the day they changed.

The Three Disciples Teach and Do Miracles

But I know this from the record. They went out across the land. They taught all the people. They brought many people into the church who believed their teaching. They baptized them. Everyone who was baptized got the Holy Spirit. People who did not belong to the church threw them into prison. But the prisons could not hold them. The prisons broke in half. They were thrown down into the earth. But they hit the earth with the word of God. By his power they were saved from the deep places of the earth. So people could not dig pits deep enough to hold them. Three times they were thrown into a furnace. They were not hurt. Twice they were thrown into a den of wild animals. They played with the animals like a child plays with a baby lamb. They were not hurt. They went out among all the people of Nephi. They preached the gospel of Christ to all people in the land. The people were changed and became followers of the Lord. They joined the church of Christ. The people of that time were blessed according to the word of Jesus.

Mormon Explains About the Three Disciples

I, Mormon, will stop talking about these things for now. I was about to write the names of those who would never die. But the Lord said no. So I do not write their names. They are hidden from the world. But I have seen them. They have taught me. They will be among the Gentiles. The Gentiles will not know them. They will also be among the Jews. The Jews will not know them. When the Lord thinks it is the right time, they will teach all the scattered tribes of Israel. They will teach all nations, families, languages, and people. They will bring many people to Jesus. This way their wish will come true. They will do this because of the convincing power of God that is in them. They are like the angels of God. If they pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, they can show themselves to anyone they want. They will do great and amazing works before the great day comes. That is the day when all people will stand before Christ to be judged. They will do great and amazing work among the Gentiles before that judgment day. If you had all the scriptures that tell about all the amazing works of Christ, you would know that these things must happen. You would know this according to the words of Christ.

It will be terrible for anyone who will not listen to the words of Jesus. It will be terrible for those who will not listen to the people he has chosen and sent. If you do not accept the words of Jesus and the words of those he has sent, you do not accept him. He will not accept you on the last day. It would be better for them if they had never been born. Do you think you can escape the justice of God when you make him angry? Do you think you can escape after people have walked all over him? That is how salvation comes.

The Change in Their Bodies

I talked about the three people the Lord chose. They were taken up into heaven. I said I did not know if they had changed from bodies that could die to bodies that would live forever. But since I wrote that, I have asked the Lord. He has shown me that there had to be a change to their bodies. Otherwise they would have had to die. So that they would not die, there was a change to their bodies. Now they would not feel pain or sadness. The only sadness they would feel is for the sins of the world. This change was not the same as the change that will happen on the last day. But there was a change to them. Satan could have no power over them. He could not tempt them. They were made holy. The powers of the earth could not hold them. They will stay this way until the judgment day of Christ. On that day they will get a bigger change. They will be received into the Father’s kingdom. They will never leave. They will live with God forever in the heavens.