These verses were about John the Baptist who came down from heaven. Whether John the beloved is in heaven or not we do not know. Elijah went up to heaven after he was translated. Perhaps translated beings can serve both in heaven and on earth.
I spoke with an LDS person a few days ago who claimed they saw John the other day.
"“While these things were being attended to the beloved disciple John was seen in our midst by the Prophet Joseph, Oliver Cowdery and others.” (In Whitney,
Life of Heber C. Kimball, pp. 91–92.)
Section 7, John the Revelator
D&C SECTION 7
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.
1–3, John the Beloved will live until the Lord comes; 4–8, Peter, James, and John hold gospel keys.
1 And the Lord said unto me: aJohn, my beloved, what bdesirest 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 apower over bdeath, 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 atarry until I come in my bglory, and shalt cprophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.
4 And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring asouls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my bkingdom.
5 I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater awork yet among men than what he has before done.
6 Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a aministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be bheirs of salvation who dwell on the earth.
7 And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother James; and unto you three I will agive this power and the bkeys of this ministry until I come.
8 Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both ajoy in that which ye have desired.
III Nephi 28
"
CHAPTER 28
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—They are translated and see things not lawful to utter, and they are now ministering among men. About A.D. 34–35.
"
- John requested and was granted power over death, so that he could tarry on earth until Christ’s Second Coming.
- By being translated, John would be able to bring souls unto Christ; to prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues, and people; to do an even greater work than he had previously done; and to minister for those who dwell on the earth. In these things John was to become “as flaming fire and a ministering angel” (D&C 7:6).
Jesus’ statement to His Apostles in Matthew 16:28 [
Matt. 16:28] seems to foreshadow John’s postmeridian ministry: “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.” The Luke version of this statement has a helpful addition in the Joseph Smith Translation: “There
are some standing here
who shall not taste of death,
until they see the kingdom of God
coming in power” (JST, Luke 9:27,
The Holy Scriptures: Inspired Version),
7 an obvious reference to the Second Coming, which John would live in the flesh to see. "
As Flaming Fire and a Ministering Angel
"For example, the original edition declares that John would “tarry until I come in my glory” while the current version adds “and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people” (D&C 7:3). In addition, the shorter version simply states to Peter that John “has undertaken a greater work,” but the expanded edition illustrates in greater detail what that mission would entail: “I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth” (D&C 7:6).
[27]
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The Doctrine of Translation
Latter-day scripture not only confirms that John did not die but also provides valuable information about translated beings. During His mortal ministry, the Savior declared to His Apostles, “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:28; see also Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27). John apparently desired to fulfill this prophecy. According to the translated parchment, John asked the Savior for “power over death” so that he might “live and bring souls unto thee” (D&C 7:2). The Lord responded by confirming to John that he would “tarry until I come in my glory” (D&C 7:3)—in other words, he would be translated. Use of the English word translated to describe someone who was taken to heaven without tasting death can be traced all the way back to the first English version of the Bible by John Wycliffe in the year 1380.[36] The King James Version of the Bible describes Enoch in the following way: “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” (Hebrews 11:5; emphasis added).
What does it mean to be translated? The Greek verb used in Hebrews 11:5 is metatithemi and can mean “to effect a change in state or condition” as well as “to convey from one place to another.”[37] Because of its association with the biblical story of Enoch, by the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith the word translated was understood not only to mean “conveyed from one place to another” but specifically “removed to heaven without dying.”[38] It is noteworthy that when discussing the doctrine of translation, latter—day scripture includes important information concerning changes to the condition of an individual’s body (see 3 Nephi 28:7, 37–38).
...
The Lord explained that John the Beloved would continue his ministry until the Second Coming (see D&C 7:3). At the time of the Savior’s triumphant return, translated beings will “receive a greater change” (3 Nephi 28:40; see also v. 39), namely instantaneous resurrection. The Savior instructed the Three Nephites that when He would return in His glory, they would be “changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality” (3 Nephi 28:8). At that point they would “be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell with God eternally in the heavens” (3 Nephi 28:40), and there they would experience a “fulness of joy” (3 Nephi 28:10)."
John the Beloved in Latter-day Scripture (D&C 42) | Religious Studies Center
