LOL. (Certainly, those Nephite disciples could do tour duty service for at least 2 years given the commmon sacrifices Lds missionaries make)
Lurkers: If you don't understand TN's reference...here it is from the Book of Mormon, supposedly circa 34-35 A.D. -- around the death of Christ:
3 Nephi 28...starting in verse 2: all but three Nephite disciples from...
...South America/MesoAmerica/or whereever the Mormons eventually play pin the tail on the American donkey,
...told the Mormon jesus they wanted speedily out of their "ministry, wherein thou has hast called us" [Isn't that cute...these 3 34A.D. disciples speaking King James English in the Americas!]
Of course, they had good motivations -- they wanted to "speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom."
The Mormon jesus' responded by saying "Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing" (v. 3) and told them they'd live til they were 72. [And here the tradition is all but John among the Jewish disciple-apostles suffered deaths of martyrdom; while those American disciples always get ease & comfort -- guaranteed life-breath insurance policies until they EACH reached 72 -- except for the three -- and for them, a lifetime achievement award on planet earth for the lifetime of the rest of the planet!
Then the Mormon jesus turned to the other three Nephite disciples. And the Mormon jesus read their minds (v. 6) that they desired to be like the apostle John and "never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men...when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven. And ye shall never endure the pains of death....and ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh..." (vv. 7-9)
So Book of Mormon literalists believe that 3 Nephite disciples and the apostle John have been wandering the earth for over 2,000 years. For some reason, they've been demoted from "apostle" and "general authority" status (we know since Mormonism is a supposed "restoration" of the original church, that the "general authority" title must have been scrubbed by those nasty Christians from the scriptures).
So ask your Mormon neighbors and co-workers: "Do you REALLY believe 4 men have walked the earth alive for over 2,000 years?" (If they say "yes," they are TBM -- True Believing Mormons; If they say "no," ask them why they doubt the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants -- D&C outlines the same thing for the apostle John).
In conclusion let us summarize this grand key, these “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”, for our salvation depends on them.
1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet does not have to say “Thus Saith the Lord,” to give us scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may advise on civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.
I testify that these fourteen fundamentals in following the living prophet are true. If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency.
Ezra Taft Benson
(Address given Tuesday, February 26, 1980 at Brigham Young University)
(Makes one wonder if these two fellows ever met and discussed things...)