And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

Obviously, the twelve following Jesus was His twelve apostles. As far as the records go that we have, prophetic mention of the twelve apostles prior to their mortal lives is rare. There is only one example in the scriptures besides this one that I can find. It’s in Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life (and the future of America):

18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe.

20 And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been. (1 Nephi 14:18-21)

We know from other sources of modern revelation, such as the temple, that the twelve apostles have always had an important role in the Lord’s kingdom. Actually, when you read the old testament and the Book of Mormon, you find that the prophets of the Book of Mormon are remarkably well informed about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They knew about the Savior, by name, they knew what He would do. They knew that the law of Moses pointed their minds toward Christ, and that He would suffer and die for their sins.

It’s possible, even likely that many of the biblical prophets knew, through prophecy, every bit as much as Nephi and His people about Jesus and His gospel, but that the translation of the records over the centuries lost those precious truths. We know that there were many such truth’s lost in the transcription and translation of their books, so this lost information about the twelve apostles may have been among them.

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Chas Hathaway is the author of the books Scripture Study Made Awesome, Marriage is Ordained of God, but WHO Came Up with Dating? and Giraffe Tracks. Learn more at chashathaway.com. Please participate in the conversation by adding comments and sharing with friends on the web!

Gospel Living Made Awesome is not an official work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If Chas says something stupid, it's his own fault.