"And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."[[11]]
How long this condition lasted with the Jewish Saints, we are not told. Among their contemporaries, the Nephite followers of Christ, the splendid results flowing from the practice of the Law of Consecration are thus portrayed:
"The people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly, one with another;
"And they had all things common among them, therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."[[12]]
The Apostles Taken.—One by one the Apostles were taken. James was slain with the sword at Jerusalem. Peter, if the tradition be trustworthy, was crucified at Rome, where Paul likewise suffered martyrdom, by decapitation. All were put to death, save one, concerning whom Peter had inquired of the Lord: "What shall this man do?" And the Lord had said: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren; that that disciple should not die."[[13]]
John Tarries.—Modern revelation confirms the ancient tradition that John the Beloved did not taste of death, but obtained from the Lord a promise that he should remain in the flesh, fortified against disease and dissolution, and do a wondrous work. He was to "prophesy before nations, kindred, tongues and peoples, and continue on earth until the Lord came in his glory."[[14]] It is traditional that an attempt was made upon John's life by throwing him into a cauldron of boiling oil; but he escaped miraculously.
A Falling-Away Foreseen.—In the ninety-sixth year of the Christian era this Apostle was on the Isle of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea. Patmos served the Romans very much as Siberia has since served the Russians. To that desolate place the Empire banished its criminals, compelling them to work in the mines. John was an exile for Truth's sake. But the Lord had not forgotten his servant, though men had rejected him and cast him out. The Heavens were opened to him, and he was shown things that would come to pass thereafter, also events that were even then taking place. He beheld the sad spectacle of a paganized Christendom, the "falling away" that St. Paul had predicted.[[15]]
Restoration and Judgment.—But John also looked forward to a time when the pure Christian faith would be restored; when an Angel would "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth;"[[16]] when Israel would be called out from the nations;[[17]] when the hour of God's judgment would come, and the dead, small and great, would stand before the Great White Throne, to give answer for the deeds done in the body.[[18]]
Among the Nephites.—The experience of the Church of Christ on the Western continents was in many respects a duplicate of its experience in Oriental lands. Here as well as there, special witnesses were chosen,[[19]] and to three of the Nephite Twelve, Christ gave the same promise that he had given to the Apostle John—a promise that they should remain in the body, not subject to death, and bring souls to Him.[[20]]
A Foretaste of the Millennium.—The Nephite Church had a marvelous career—even more marvelous than had the Jewish Church. "The people were all converted unto the Lord," and for two full centuries[[21]] a social condition similar to that which had characterized Enoch's ancient commonwealth, was the favored lot of this flourishing branch of the House of Israel. It was a foretaste of the Millennium, a foreshadowing of the great Day of Peace.