In 1831, Joseph Smith said that "John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel ... to prepare them for their return from their long dispersion."¹ Their long dispersion began in 721 BC when the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel were deported to Assyria.² They were lost to history when the Assyrian's led them away.³ However, the Savior visited these Lost Ten Tribes as a distinct people⁴ after his post-resurrection ministry among the Nephites in about 34 AD.⁵ When John's little book mission began among the Lost Ten Tribes sometime after 96 AD,⁶ his ministry was sweet as honey in his mouth because these Lost Ten Tribes were already a physically and spiritually gathered people.⁷ John's ministry became bitter, however, when the Great Apostasy eventually gripped the Lost Ten Tribes as it gripped the Nephites on the American continent starting in about 200 AD.⁸

The foregoing history is symbolically depicted in the allegory of Zenos as recorded in Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon.⁹ This allegory of the tame and wild olive trees gives the history of the scattering and gathering of the whole house of Israel from the start of the twelve tribes to the end of the earth.¹⁰ The allegory describes the Lost Ten Tribes as the natural branches of an olive tree planted in the nethermost parts of the vineyard in Jacob 5:14.¹¹ In Jacob 5:20, the Lost Ten Tribes brought forth much good fruit when Christ visited them in 34 AD,¹² even though they were planted in the poorest spot of ground¹³ (northern Europe).¹⁴ In this poorest spot of ground the Lost Ten Tribes were led by prophets who must have prepared them for Christ to minister among them after his resurrection.¹⁵

In the allegory of Zenos, the Lord of the vineyard nourished Lehi's family of Israelites in the choicest ground of America.¹⁶ However, when the Savior visited Lehi's descendants in 34 AD, the Nephites had brought forth tame fruit while the Lamanites had brought forth wild fruit.¹⁷ The allegory indicates in Jacob 5:20-25 that the good fruit of the Lost Ten Tribes in 34 AD was miraculously better than even the tame fruit of the Nephites.¹⁸ Furthermore, the good fruit of the Lost Ten Tribes was still miraculously good in 96 AD, which explains why John's little book mission among them was sweet as honey in his mouth when his ministry began among them.¹⁹

Shortly after John began his little book mission among the Lost Ten Tribes his ministry became bitter in his belly.²⁰ The bitterness occurred because the Great Apostasy began to take hold among the Lost Ten Tribes,²¹ just as it had already taken hold of the seven churches in Asia by 96 AD.²² Conditions of apostasy were also present among the Nephites no later than 200 AD.²³ By 326 AD, the Nephites had become so wicked that the Lord took the three translated Nephites from their midst.²⁴ Ultimately, the allegorical branch of the olive tree representing the Nephites withered and died, which means they were destroyed²⁵ no later than 420 AD because of their wickedness.²⁶ According to the words of Zenos in Jacob 5:39, the entire house of Israel brought forth corrupt fruit during the Great Apostasy.²⁷ This is consistent with Revelation 13:7, where the symbolic First Beast from John's vision was given power "to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."²⁸

Unlike the Nephites, however, the Lord did not allow the Lost Ten Tribes to be destroyed when they began to bring forth corrupt fruit during the Great Apostasy.²⁹ Instead, John continued his little book mission among them as described in Revelation chapter 10 and further explained by Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants Section 77:14.³⁰

John's ministry among the Lost Ten Tribes mirrored Enoch's 365-year ministry among a wicked people that became righteous enough to be translated.³¹ The Three Nephites probably also labored with John to bring about a similar condition of righteousness among the Lost Ten Tribes.³² From a timing perspective, the prophet Mormon³³ last saw the Three Nephites in 385 AD,³⁴ and he was then told that "they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel."³⁵ This suggests that the combined ministries of both John and the Three Nephites began among the Lost Ten Tribes shortly before the destruction of the Nephite civilization.

Zenos provides additional insights into the combined ministries of John and the Three Nephites among the Lost Ten Tribes. For example, Zenos records that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that all his fruit was nearly corrupt during the Great Apostasy, the Lord carefully plucked out and burned the branches with the most bitter fruit from among the Lost Ten Tribes in Jacob 5:52-65.³⁶ The plucking and burning (destruction) of the most corrupt branches from the Lost Ten Tribes during the Great Apostasy is similar to the plucking and burning that occurred when Assyria took the northern kingdom of Israel captive in 721 BC.³⁷ Similarly, the Nephites and Lamanites fought one another in America for many years until the allegorical branch of the Nephites was completely destroyed.³⁸

When the Lord destroyed the most corrupt branches of people from among the Lost Ten Tribes, he also grafted back natural branches from the house of Israel in Jacob 5:52.³⁹ This re-grafting process must describe the ministries of John and the Three Nephites because they were the only natural branches of Israel that ministered in this poorest spot of ground during the Great Apostasy. The Lord's pruning, burning, and grafting processes among the Lost Ten Tribes transformed this wicked people into a righteous people worthy of translation, just like the translated peoples of Enoch⁴⁰ and Melchizedek.⁴¹

The righteous people from the Lost Ten Tribes were translated with their priesthood authority no later than 570 AD.⁴² This date can be calculated because it is 1260 years⁴³ before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored in 1830.⁴⁴ These 1260 years are the prophesied period of the Great Apostasy according to John's reckoning of time in Revelation13:5.⁴⁵ This calculation measures the period of the Great Apostasy from the time priesthood authority was taken from the earth until the church of Jesus Christ was restored in 1830.⁴⁶ In the Book of Daniel, by contrast, Daniel measured the Great Apostasy as a flood of spiritual darkness that lasted for 1290 years from the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD until an outpouring of spiritual light at the start of the Renaissance no later than 1360 AD.⁴⁷

The prophet Ezekiel⁴⁸ provides further insight into John's ministry among the Lost Ten Tribes, including the ordinance of their translation described in Doctrine and Covenants Section 77:14. Ezekiel had a remarkable vision called the vision of the valley of dry bones, which is recorded in Ezekiel 37.⁴⁹ This vision has a dualistic meaning.⁵⁰ On the one hand, it symbolically describes the physical resurrection of the dry bones representing the whole house of Israel.⁵¹ However, that is not the primary message in the vision.⁵² This is necessarily true because everyone born on earth will be resurrected, including people that are not members of the house of Israel.⁵³ Therefore, the primary message of the vision is the literal restoration of the entire house of Israel to their lands of promise after their resurrection.⁵⁴ Ezekiel actually uses the resurrection as a metaphor to describe: (1) the spiritual and physical gathering of scattered Israel in the last days,⁵⁵ and (2) the restoration of the Lost Ten Tribes⁵⁶ that began with John's little book mission and the ordinance of their translation that John performed during the period of the Great Apostasy.⁵⁷ Since the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision represent the whole house of Israel,⁵⁸ the translation and restoration of the Lost Ten Tribes cannot be excluded from its interpretive scope.

In Ezekiel's vision, he directs the four winds to blow on the dry and lifeless bones of Israel to give them life.⁵⁹ The four winds undoubtedly represent the ministries of John⁶⁰ and the Three Nephites among the Lost Ten Tribes.⁶¹ Their ministry as four translated angels breathed new life into the Lost Ten Tribes⁶² during the Great Apostasy.⁶³ Furthermore, the new spiritual life or conversion of the Lost Ten Tribes from a state of wickedness⁶⁴ to their translated condition in 570 AD⁶⁵ was a miracle on par with the ultimate gathering and physical resurrection of all the tribes of Israel.⁶⁶

John's ministry among the Lost Ten Tribes did not end when they were translated.⁶⁷ In 1831, as noted above, John held and still holds the keys for the physical and spiritual gathering of the Lost Ten Tribes. John's gathering keys differ from the keys held by the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church President holds the keys to lead the Lost Ten Tribes from the north⁶⁸ and John will be with them when they return. John does not hold the keys to lead the Lost Ten Tribes back to earth from the north.⁶⁹ Their return to earth will be in the likeness of the saints from the city of Enoch and from Salem in the days of Melchizedek. These groups and any other people translated before the time of Christ will return from heaven to earth in their resurrected condition to attend the gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman and they will also descend with Christ at the Second Coming.⁷⁰

Ezekiel saw the dry bones for the whole house of Israel stand up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.⁷¹ This same prophetic language appears in Doctrine and Covenants Section 105 to describe the inhabitants of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri after Zion is redeemed during the Great Tribulation.⁷² The symmetry in the language suggests that the mighty army in Ezekiel's vision is the body of translated Israelites from the Lost Ten Tribes who will be a defense and protection to Zion after the gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman and during the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation.⁷³

Some have suggested that when the Savior visited the Lost Ten Tribes in 34 AD, he called twelve disciples with apostolic keys as he did among the Nephites in the same year.⁷⁴ That possibility seems highly unlikely, however, because John and the Three Nephites were called to minister among the Lost Ten Tribes as apostolic witnesses.⁷⁵ Additionally, the Lost Ten Tribes did not possess the fulness of the priesthood at the time of their translation.⁷⁶ This is why they must still receive their exalting temple ordinances from Ephraim at the New Jerusalem when they return from the north at the Second Coming.⁷⁷ Their temple work will not occur until after the Second Coming.⁷⁸