The Renewing of the Body & the Three Nephites | Translation and Temple Service (LDS)

Send us Fan MailWhat does the "renewing of your body" in Doctrine and Covenants 84 mean, and how does it connect to the three Nephites and LDS (Latter-day Saint) temple service? In this solo teaching episode, Tia Smith walks through the oath and covenant of the priesthood (D&C 84:33) — the promise that those who are faithful and magnify their calling "are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies" — and shows that this renewal can mean several things: strength to carry on the Lord's work in mortality, the temporary quickening that let prophets stand in God's presence, a translated state like the three Nephites and Enoch, and ultimately the resurrection. She teaches that translation and body-renewal always come through temple covenants and priesthood authority, under the prophet, and never apart from it. Drawing on D&C 84 and 88, Alma 13, 3 Nephi 28, Moses 7, Orson Pratt, and Joseph Fielding Smith, Tia connects this pattern to the last days: because only mortals can perform saving ordinances, and the millennial work is temple and missionary work, the Lord's servants will be strengthened and renewed to carry it forward. The through-line is desire — the same desire the three Nephites had to bring souls to Christ — and filling the measure of our creation by helping others receive the ordinances that let them enter God's presence.Q: What does "the renewing of their bodies" mean in Doctrine and Covenants 84?A: This episode teaches that the phrase carries several meanings and isn't limited to the resurrection: it can mean being strengthened to do the Lord's work in mortality, a temporary quickening to endure God's presence, a translated state like the three Nephites, or the final renewal in celestial glory at the resurrection. Tia Smith notes that commentators have offered a range of interpretations, and that the renewal is tied to the oath and covenant of the priesthood in D&C 84:33.Q: Why were the three Nephites translated, and how does that apply to us today?A: The three Nephites and John the Beloved were given power over death so they could remain on earth to bring souls to Christ until He comes again (3 Nephi 28). This episode teaches that their defining desire — to keep bringing souls to Christ — is the same pattern behind temple and missionary work today, and that their gift points to why the Lord's servants may be renewed to carry the growing work forward.Q: Can a person's body really be strengthened or renewed in this life, not just after death?A: Yes — this episode points to prophets and leaders whose strength was visibly sustained to finish the Lord's work, citing Elder Henry B. Eyring's testimony of the D&C 84 promise and observations about President David O. McKay and President Russell M. Nelson serving into advanced age. Tia Smith also shares her own testimony that she feels renewed to keep teaching despite serious illness, framing it as the same promised strengthening.Q: Why will a renewing of bodies be needed in the last days and the Millennium?A: Because, as Joseph Fielding Smith taught, the two great works of the Millennium are temple work and missionary work, and only mortals can perform the saving ordinances — resurrected beings can furnish information but cannot do the ordinance work. This episode teaches that the enormous scale of that work is why a process of restoration and the strengthening of the Lord's servants is part of the pattern for the last days.▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? Email [email protected] — your testimony may be exactly what someone needs to hear.#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelationCITATIONS:Doctrine & Covenants 84:31-34Aaron Reeves, “Embodied Authority: Priesthood Ordination and the Laws of the Mortal Body,” in By Our Rites of Worship: Latter-day Saint Views on Ritual in Scripture, History, and Practice, ed. Daniel L. Belnap (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 261–281.Farley, S. Brent, “The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood (D&C 84) “ in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Craig K. Manscill (Provo and Salt Lake City: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, and Deseret Book 2004), 221–233.D&C 67:11, D&C 88: 17-20, 25-26,34, 38Alma 13: 3,6,11-12, 18, D&C 84:23-24N. Eldon Tanner, “Reverence for Law,” October 1965Carlos E. Asay, "The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood", October 1985Henry B. Eyring, "Faith and the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood", April 2008Orson Pratt (JD, 15: 366.)Hebrews13:2Clyde J. Williams, "The Three Nephites and the Doctrine of Translation," in The Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 9–30, This Is My Gospel (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 1993), 237–51.3 Nephi 28: 1, 4,6, 7, 12-13, 15-16, 18, Moses 7: 3-4, 19Vaiangina Sikahema, "House of Sequential Order",  Oct. 2021Russell M. Nelson, in “Latter-day Saint Prophet, Wife and Apostle Share Insights of Global Ministry,” Oct. 30, 2018, newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.Revelations 7:13-17Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:167, 251–52.)Gospel Principles, Chapter 45: The MillenniumJoseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, edited by Bruce R. McConkie, 2:, p.178-179Dale G. Renlund, "The Priesthood and the Savior’s Atoning Power", Oct. 2017Charles W. Penrose, The Word of the Lord, Etc., JD 21:45Support the show