Doctrine of Translation

Volume Two—Chapter Seventeen DOCTRINE OF TRANSLATION

#What Is a Translated Being?

What does it mean for an individual to be translated? Scriptures suggest translation is a most noble and unique “calling.” The Lord utilizes translated beings as special messengers, or angels.

We may categorize all angels into pre-existent spirit beings, spirits in post-mortal paradise (“spirits of just men made perfect”—D&C 129:3), resurrected beings, and translated beings.

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that “there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it” (D&C 130:5). All paradisiacal spirits, resurrected beings, or translated beings called to minister as angels for the Lord have been mortals on earth, and all pre-existent spirit angels will eventually be born here.

The doctrine of translation is unknown to the rest of the world. It is one of the plain and precious truths kept from the world until the dispensation of the fulness of times. This doctrine is intimately associated with the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood (TPJS, 170). If one were to perform a “Google search” for the phrases “doctrine of translation” or “translated being,” the only substantive “hits” would be LDS sources.

#The Translated Body

Part of the calling of the translated being is to be provided a “translated body.” It is not an immortal, resurrected body; rather, it is more like a mortal body, but an improved version. Perhaps we may regard it as being of “terrestrial” quality as compared to the “telestial” body we now possess. It should not, however, be mistaken for a resurrected terrestrial eternal body. Translated beings are not subject to accidental death and will not suffer pain and sickness. They are not hindered by the frailties of the human body.

They are not subject to the temptations of Satan, and they have special abilities to travel. The prophet Mormon, referring to the translated state of the three Nephite disciples, wrote: “Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day [resurrection]; 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, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them” (3 Nephi 28:39). As such, travel and distance are of no consequence to them. Wicked or evil men and women have no power over them as is evident from the experience of the three translated Nephite disciples. They were cast into deep pits.

Three times they were cast into fiery furnaces and twice into dens of wild beasts. The Lord delivered them each time without harm. The scriptures suggest they were able to use “the power of the word of God” to destroy the prison walls and to deliver themselves out of the depths of the earth. They have the power to show themselves to whomsoever they desire. Conversely, apparently, they can keep themselves from being seen by anyone whom they do not wish to see them.

In a previous chapter, I discussed the so-called “oath and covenant of the priesthood” in D&C 84:33-42. There we learned that those who persist in magnifying their calling in the priesthood may received a blessing referred to as being “sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies” (D&C 84:33).1 I wondered at the time as to whether or not this promised physical renewal might be a logical extension of the doctrine of translation. We have no way of knowing.

#What Emotions Might They Experience?

Translated beings can and will experience a variety of emotions. They are not devoid of feeling or understanding. The Savior said to the three Nephite disciples allowed to tarry: “Ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 28:9). Translated beings are not hindered by the frailties of the human mind. They are emotionally stable and free of any semblance of depression, anxiety, or other mental aberration.

#The Purpose of the Calling

Translated beings function as inspired servants with special powers. They are messengers—angels of God (3 Nephi 28:30). Their assignment is to tarry upon the earth, further the Lord’s work, and bring souls to Christ. They will so labor until the Lord’s second coming. It is likely they function under the direction of the Holy Ghost.

#Where Do They Live?

A commonly held belief of secular theologians is that to be translated is to be taken directly into God’s kingdom without experiencing death. Concerning this mistaken belief, the prophet Joseph Smith declared, “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 fulness, but this is a mistaken idea. Their place of habitation is that of the terrestrial order, and [is] a place prepared for such characters He [God] held in reserve to be ministering angels” (TPJS, 170). We obviously don’t know exactly the location of their place of habitation. Their home has even been referred to as “heaven” in the scriptures. It is not a place of celestial glory, rather it is a terrestrial abode reserved for such as they. Perhaps it is a terrestrial planet somewhere in our Father’s universe.

Some have supposed that translated beings reside on the earth continuously until they are resurrected. It has been common for those who read the Book of Mormon to wonder “where on earth” the three translated Nephite disciples are working presently. It would seem more likely that the translated beings make their home on a terrestrial sphere somewhere and are dispatched to earth on an ad hoc basis as their services are needed.

#Who May Be Translated?

Those selected for this exciting calling are likely the very elect who have earned their stripes in mortality. These are probably those who have been sealed up to eternal life or had their calling and election made sure. Their ministries as translated beings involve this earth and perhaps even other planets whereon live the children of God.

#Examples of Translated Beings

Examples of translated beings include the three Nephite disciples (apostles) in the Book of Mormon, Enoch and those righteous inhabitants of his city (Moses 7:18, 21), Melchizedek and his city, the beloved apostle John (3 Nephi 28:6-9; John 21:20- 23), and Elijah. The Book of Mormon suggests Moses was translated (Alma 45:18-19). Moses’s translation is further suggested in D&C 84:25. There we read that the Lord “took Moses out of their midst.”

Some have felt that Elijah and Moses were translated for a specific purpose. Hundreds of years after their mortal sojourn, they would appear on the Mount of Transfiguration, with the transfigured Savior, to Peter, James, and John. If they had been spirits only, they would not have been able to lay hands on the heads of these three apostles (D&C 129:5).

Another Book of Mormon character who was possibly translated is Alma the younger. Alma 45:18-19 indicates that after the disappearance of Alma, some Nephites came to believe that he might have been taken in the same way “the Lord took Moses unto himself.” Also the prophet Nephi, the son of Helaman was probably translated (3 Nephi 1:3).

Regarding the translations of Moses and John the Revelator, both of which are suggested in the Book of Mormon, there is ancient textual support of this idea not mentioned in the Bible. Only one text known in Joseph Smith’s day suggested that Moses had not died. The first-century AD Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote that when Moses went atop a high mountain with “Eleazar and Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on the sudden, and he disappeared in a certain valley, although he wrote in the holy books that he died, which was done out of fear, lest they should venture to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue, he went to God” (“Antiquities of the Jews” Flavius Josephus. Complete Works. William Whiston, trans., 103). The story is confirmed in a fourth-century AD Samaritan document, Tabat

Marqa 269a: “When he got to the top of the mountain, a cloud came down and lifted him up from the sight of all the congregation of Israel.” A number of early Jewish texts unavailable to Joseph Smith confirm that Moses never died but was alive and serving God in heaven. Among these are the Talmud (TB Sotah 13b); Midrash ha-Gadol, Zot habberakhah 4:5; Sifre to Deuteronomy 357; and Midrash Leqah Tob. The medieval Zohar relects the same tradition (Zohar Genesis 37b; Exodus 88b-89a, 174a; Leviticus 59a). Some of the early Christian fathers also held that Moses had not died but had been taken by God. Among these are St. Ambrose (died AD 397) in his On Cain and Abel 1.2.8 and Cassiodorus (ca. AD 468-560) in his Latin translation of Clement of Alexandria, commenting on Jude 1:9.

We learn of the apostle John’s translation in 3 Nephi 28:6-9. Christ promised three of the Nephite disciples that they will not die and compares their situation to that of John. That John may have been translated is merely hinted at in John 21:20-23. These verses caution 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 (D&C 7). A fourth-century document, the Discourse on Abbaton, 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” (Sir Ernest A. Wallis Budge, Coptic Martyrdoms, 475). This latter reference 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” (Ibid., 492-93).

#How Long Do Translated Beings Serve?

Apparently, those translated before the time of Christ were resurrected with him (D&C 133:54-55). Presumably those individuals who are translated after the time of Christ’s resurrection will mostly minister in their terrestrial state until the second coming of the Lord. It is certainly possible, however, they may be released from their calls as translated beings at any time and be resurrected with a celestial eternal body.

#Can a Translated Being Be Recognized as He Ministers Here on Earth?

One provocative verse of scripture that may well refer to translated beings (“angels”) as they go about their work in mortality is Hebrews 13:2. It refers to mortals who “have entertained angels unawares.” Perhaps those mortals who benefit from the ministrations of translated beings are not even aware they are associating with angels.

#The Actual Process of Translation

The scripture is strangely silent on the transition from a mortal (telestial) body to a translated (terrestrial) one. Elijah was seen to be taken up in a chariot of fire. Apparently Moses, Alma the younger, and Nephi, the son of Helaman, simply wandered off and were never again seen. We are not told how this transition is accomplished. Just how does the mortal body become quickened to a translated state? Perhaps the mortal body is simply raised in an instant from a telestial to a terrestrial condition.

Is it possible that an individual may suffer a conventional death in mortality, be buried in a grave, and then later on have his spirit re-embodied with a translated or terrestrial body? We are not told the answer to this question, but it seems plausible. There is a Christian tradition that John the Revelator died and was buried in Ephesus (Alfred Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah).

#Are We Conscripted, or Do We Volunteer?

It would seem out of character for this “calling” to be anything but purely voluntarily. It is an honor to be called, but only those who wish to serve are then translated.

Can you imagine having the Son of God offering to grant unto you whatsoever you might desire? Initially one may assume that the possibilities would be endless and overwhelming. But a little thought would indicate that the righteous choices would be limited. We would all want to eventually live with him and with those we love in the celestial heaven. Some may elect to “go home” immediately after their death. Others may elect to tarry for a time on earth in his service. You may be sure that such an offer is extended only to an individual whom the Lord knows would not ask amiss. When the Savior made this offer to the twelve Nephite disciples, he knew their hearts even before they expressed their desires. The request of the nine to come immediately into the kingdom of God upon death was a worthy and proper one. But the desire of the three to remain on the earth that they “might bring the souls of men unto [Christ], while the world shall stand” was an even “greater work” (see D&C 7:5).

#The Differences between Translated Beings and Millennial Mortals

There are similarities between the condition of the translated being and the state of those who live on the earth during the Millennium. There are also some differences. Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:

Millennial man will live in a state akin to translation. His body will be changed so that it is no longer subject to disease or death as we know it, although he will be changed in the twinkling of an eye to full immortality when he is a hundred years of age. He will, however, have children, and mortal life of a millennial kind will continue (The Millennial Messiah, 644, 646).

Millennial people can reproduce while translated beings cannot. Translated beings have been sealed up to eternal life. Their calling and election has been made sure. Millennial beings are still on probation and can still inherit any kingdom of glory. Translated beings will not taste of death but will be resurrected in an instant with a celestial eternal body. Righteous, celestial-bound, millennial beings will enjoy the same blessing, but apparently those millennial beings that fall short of celestial glory will die a mortal death similar to the one mortals die today.

#The “Death” of the Translated Being

Translated beings will eventually, when the time is right, experience a “death.” They will transition from the translated body to a resurrected, eternal, celestial body. The scriptures suggest the individual making this transition “will never taste of death” (3 Nephi 28:7) or experience the “pains of death” (3 Nephi 28:8). They will “be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality [actually, a translated state] to immortality” (Ibid.). This transition is a particularly sweet experience. “This change from mortality to immortality, though almost instantaneous, is both a death and a resurrection” (McConkie, Mortal Messiah 4:390). For translated beings, death is more like an ordinance than a time of parting and separation. There is no funeral, no mourning, and no grave.

See chapter 12, Priesthood.