As stated in the Introduction, Mormon stood as an idle witness (v. 16) through his writing. Mormon’s words were addressed to the Gentiles and to the twelve tribes of Israel who would be living in the world in the latter days, when the gathering of scattered Israel would begin (v. 17). The word “yea,” in the beginning of the next verse (18), clarifies the location of the house of Israel to be in “all the ends of the earth.” Some of these may be gathered in bodies: the Jews; the Lamanites; and the ten tribes in the north countries (see D&C 133:26– 33), or “driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:4) which the Prophet Joseph Smith said “must mean the breadth of the earth” (TPJS, 85). The Prophet’s interpretative definition is a phrase similar to Mormon’s “all the ends of the earth.” Others were scattered among all the nations of the earth as prophesied:
8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. [Amos 9:8–9]
The second use of the word “yea” (Mormon 3:18) clarifies that Mormon is writing to all twelve of the tribes, not just his seed, and the Jews, who are erroneously recognized in the world as a synonym for all of the tribes of Israel.
In the New Testament we read the promise given to the Twelve Apostles by Jesus: “Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). Mormon gives another testimony of this judgment (Mormon 3:18; above). Nephi, son of Lehi, had been shown the same thing and gave the same testimony hundreds of years before (see 1 Nephi 12:9). The Savior confirmed this judgment to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else. [D&C 29:12]
However, only the Book of Mormon clarifies and enlarges upon the doctrine of the judgment by the apostles.
The Twelve Apostles judging the house of Israel may be misleading. The usual meaning of the word in our day is to pass sentence or determine innocence or guilt. This interpretation, however, gives only half of the broader meaning as used in the Book of Mormon. The judgment of Christ is a time of reward as well as a time of accountability for the acts of mortality. In the biblical injunction, it is being “weighed in the balances” (Daniel 5:27), where consideration is given to both the positive and negative acts of the individual. The Book of Mormon further clarifies that there will be apostles or special witnesses at the judgment-seat of Christ to testify in behalf of or against the persons being judged.
In his great sermon on the Atonement of Christ, Jacob, son of Lehi, warned his brethren of reviling against the truth and then incited them: “O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name” (2 Nephi 9:41). Jacob’s warning is consistent with Jesus’ declaration at the pool of Bethesda during his earthly ministry, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the son” (John 5:22). Jacob went on to testify: “O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my garments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his all-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I shook your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before him, and am rid of your blood” (2 Nephi 9:44). Jacob’s testimony is significant in understanding the role of the Apostles at the judgment bar. His testimony to those listening to his sermon, and to those who read it, will not only rid him of his accountability for their sins, but will make them accountable for the testimony he has borne. He had stood as a witness of God and they will be judged, either positively or negatively, in their response in word and in actions to his declaration of truth. Just as Jacob stood as a witness for or against his people at the day they stand at the judgment bar of Christ, the Twelve Apostles will be witnesses for or against all people at the judgment bar of Christ.
The Apostles are “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world—thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their callings” (D&C 107:23). Thus they are Christ’s representatives, and all people who hear their testimony, or have opportunity to hear it, will be responsible for what the Apostle taught, and will be blessed or held accountable at the judgment-seat of Christ. An understanding of the Apostles’ role among the children of men in various times and places enables us to know how they will serve as judges of the house of Israel and of the world.
Why would the Twelve Apostles of Jerusalem judge all the tribes of Israel, when they only ministered primarily to the people in the land of Palestine? The answer is that they were special witnesses of the ministry, Atonement, Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their written testimonies, like Mormon’s, were to go to all the world. These twelve men in Jerusalem were eye witnesses from the beginning of his ministry (see Matthew 4:18–22; John 1:35–51). When a replacement was chosen for the apostate Judas, the disciples from whom Matthias was chosen, were also to have been eye witnesses: “Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:22). Thus they stood as special witnesses in life and through their writings to the whole world.
The twelve Nephite apostles were also to judge the Nephite people (v. 19). Nephi, son of Lehi, had seen their call, their ordination, and their role as judges in vision several hundred years before the time of Christ (see 1 Nephi 12:6–10). Thus we have two witnesses of their role in the Book of Mormon, as well as an account of the Savior calling the twelve and making them witnesses of his being the resurrected Son of God (see 3 Nephi 11). We also have “special witnesses” of the restoration of the gospel in these latter days, and “special witnesses” to continually guide us since the restoration. These great men will likewise be our judges at the judgment bar of Christ.