Translated Beings

829. Some mortals have been translated; in this state their bodies are changed so that they are not subject to disease, sorrow, or death.

Some mortals have been translated. In this state they are not subject to sorrow or to disease or to death. No longer does blood (the life-giving element of our present mortality) flow in their veins. Procreation ceases. If they then had children, their offspring would be denied a mortal probation, which all worthy spirits must receive in due course. They have power to move and live in both a mortal and an unseen sphere. All translated beings undergo another change in their bodies when they gain full immortality. This change is the equivalent of a resurrection. All mortals, after death, are also resurrected. In the resurrected state they are immortal and eternal in nature, and those among them who are privileged to live in the family unit have spirit children. 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, p. 644) TLDP:699-70

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

"Does translation imply an entire change in the body?"

There is nothing written upon this subject concerning Elijah, who was translated. But we have the words of the Lord in the Book of Mormon concerning the three Nephites unto whom the promise was made, in the words of Jesus, "For ye shall never taste of death." They were told that they should "never endure the pains of death," but when Jesus should come in His glory they were to "be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality." They were not to have pain while they should "dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world." They were caught up into heaven, and it is recorded that they could not tell whether they were in the body or out of the body; "for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state." In speaking of them, the Prophet Mormon says, "Whether they were mortal or immortal from the day of their transfiguration" he knew not.

This gives us a clear idea of the change that was wrought in these three Apostles. In the translation of Elijah and others who may have been translated there doubtless were similar changes made such as the Prophet Mormon describes as having taken place in the case of the three Nephites. (Gospel Truth, 1:36-37) TLDP:699

quoted by Mormon

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 I am gone to the Father? 2. 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.

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; and with me ye shall find rest.

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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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; 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, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; 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, while the world shall stand. . . .

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. (Nine of the twelve disciples desire and are promised an inheritance in Christ's kingdom when they die-the three Nephites desire and are given power over death so as to remain on the earth until Jesus comes again) 3Ne.28:1-9,12

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (Letter to the Jewish members of the Church, about A.D. 60) Heb.11:5

It would appear that the translated residents of Enoch's city are under the direction of Jesus, who is the Creator of worlds: and that He, holding the keys of the government of other worlds, could, in His administrations to them, select the translated people of Enoch's Zion, if He thought proper, to perform a mission to these various planets, and as death had not passed upon them, they could be prepared by Him and made use of through the medium of the Holy Priesthood to act as ambassadors, teachers, or messengers to those worlds over which Jesus holds the authority. . . .

Each kingdom, or planet, and the inhabitants thereof, were blessed with the visits and presence of their Creator, in their several times and seasons. (The Mediation and Atonement, pp. 76-77) TLDP:699

translating the Book of Moses

And it came to pass that the Lord showed unto Enoch all the inhabitants of the earth; and he beheld, and lo, Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Behold mine abode forever. . . .

27. And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion. . . .

29. And Enoch said unto the Lord. . . .

31. And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations. . . . (The record of Moses: Enoch views the earth) Moses 7:21,27,29,31

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (The generations of Adam are set forth) Gen.5:24

receiving the Word of the Lord

I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom. . . . (Revelation of commandments to Saints in conference, Jan. 2, 1831) D&C 38:4

translating the Book of Moses

Wherefore, hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my wisdom-the wisdom of him whom ye say is the God of Enoch, and his brethren,

12. Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto myself-a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come-a day which was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not because of wickedness and abominations; (Revelation, March 7, 1831) D&C 45:11-12

Enoch was twenty-five years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam; and he was sixty-five and Adam blessed him.

49. And he saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he walked with God three hundred and sixty-five years, making him four hundred and thirty years old when he was translated. (Revelation on priesthood received as the Twelve met in council, March 28, 1835) D&C 107:48-49

Enoch and his whole city were translated, taken up bodily into heaven without tasting death. There they served and labored with bodies of flesh and bones, bodies quickened by the power of the Spirit, until that blessed day when they were with Christ in his resurrection. Then, in the twinkling of an eye, they were changed and became immortal in the full sense of the word. So it was also with Moses and Elijah, who were taken up bodily into heaven for reasons that will be manifest on the Mount of Transfiguration. They too were with the Lord Jesus in his resurrection. (See D&C 133:54-55.) (The Mortal Messiah, 3:52) TLDP:700

quoted by John

quoted by Joseph Smith,

translating a parchment record of John's

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. (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 a translated version of the record made on parchment by John and hidden up by himself.) HC1:35-36; D&C 7:1-3

After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, . . . (Vision manifested to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836) D&C 110:13

receiving the Word of the Lord

Wherefore, I will that all men shall repent, for all are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of. (Revelation, March 1831) D&C 49:8

recorded in Matthew

Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Jesus speaks to his disciples and foretells his death and resurrection) Matt.16:28

And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of.

19. Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial. (Mormon records the disappearance of Alma, the younger, 73 B.C.) Alma 45:18-19

830. Translated beings eventually undergo a change equivalent to death.

Translated bodies cannot enter into rest until they have undergone a change equivalent to death. Translated bodies are designed for future missions. (Conference of the Church, Oct. 3, 1841, Nauvoo, Ill.) HC4:425

Translated beings are still mortal and will have to pass through the experience of death, or the separation of the spirit and the body, although this will be instantaneous. The people of the City of Enoch, Elijah, and others who received this great blessing of translation in ancient times, before the coming of our Lord, could not have received the resurrection, or the change from mortality to immortality at that time, because our Lord had not paid the debt which frees us from mortality and grants to us the resurrection and immortal life.

Christ is the "resurrection and the life" and the first fruits of them that slept. Therefore, none could pass from mortality to immortality until our Savior completed his work for the redemption of man and had gained the keys of the resurrection, being the first to rise, having "life in himself " and the power to lay down his life and take it up again, thus freeing all men from the bondage which the fall had placed upon them. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:300-01) TLDP:700

We acknowledge that through Adam all have died, that death through the fall must pass upon the whole human family, also upon the beasts of the field, the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the air and all the works of God, as far as this earth is concerned. It is a law that is unchangeable and irrevocable. It is true a few have been translated, and there will be living upon the earth thousands and millions of people when the Messiah comes in power and great glory to reward every man according to the deeds done in the body, who will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, from mortality to immortality. Nevertheless, they must pass through the ordeal of death involved in the change that will come from them. (May 14, 1882, Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p. 244) TLDP:700

Will translated beings ever die? Remember John's enigmatic words relative to his own translation: "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?" (John 21:23) Note the distinction between avoiding death as such and living till the Lord comes. Then note that Jesus promises the Three Nephites, not that they shall not die, but that they "shall never taste of death" and shall not "endure the pains of death." Again it is an enigmatic declaration with a hidden meaning. There is a distinction between death as we know it and tasting of death or enduring the pains of death. As a matter of doctrine, death is universal; every mortal thing, whether plant or animal or man, shall surely die. Jacob said: "Death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator" (2Ne.9:6). There are no exceptions, not even among translated beings. Paul said: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1Cor.15:22). Again the dominion of death over all is acclaimed. But the Lord says of all his saints, not that they will not die, but that: "those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them; And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter" (D&C 42:46-47). The distinction is between dying as such and tasting of death itself. Again the Lord says: "He that liveth when the Lord shall come, and hath kept the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless, it is appointed to him to die at the age of man. Wherefore, children shall grow up until they become old; old men shall die; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye" (D&C 63:50-51). Thus, this change from mortality to immortality, though almost instantaneous, is both a death and a resurrection. Thus, translated beings do not suffer death as we normally define it, meaning the separation of body and spirit; nor do they receive a resurrection as we ordinarily describe it, meaning that the body rises from the dust and the spirit enters again into its fleshly home. But they do pass through death and are changed from mortality to immortality, in the eternal sense, and they thus both die and are resurrected in the eternal sense. This, we might add, is why Paul wrote: "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1Cor.15:51-52).

"And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; 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, while the world shall stand."

During the Millennium all men will be translated, as it were; in that day "there shall be no sorrow because there is no death. In that day an infant shall not die until he is old; and his life shall be as the age of a tree; And when he dies he shall not sleep, that is to say in the earth, but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be caught up, and his rest shall be glorious." (D&C 101:29-31) (The Mortal Messiah, 4:389-91) TLDP:700-01