Later, in Moroni 2, Moroni recorded onto the permanent record the actual words which Jesus spoke on that occasion to his Twelve Disciples. There in a very holy moment, they were given the power to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. The sequence and timing in which the twelve disciples received these two powers offers an amazing insight. At the beginning of the first day, Jesus ordained them and gave them the power to baptize, the power to cleanse with water. At the end of that day he gave them a second power—the power to cleanse by fire and with the Holy Ghost.
The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them— And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles. Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first appearing; and the multitude heard it not, but the disciples heard it; and on as many as they laid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost (Moroni 2:1–3).
This was not just ordination to the priesthood in general; this was being given the power to give the gift of the Holy Ghost. These men had already been given the power and authority to baptize. That happened back in 3 Nephi 11. We learn something there too, if you are given the priesthood, it does not mean that you have authority to perform all of the ordinances of the priesthood. How do we know that? The example in the Book of Mormon answers that question.
I once explained to a Catholic priest in Germany that we have the Aaronic Priesthood or the Levitical, which is one order, and we have a second order called the Melchizedek Priesthood. To which he said, “Oh that is interesting. How do you get that idea?” I said, “In Hebrews chapter 7, it talks about the two priesthoods, but it does not make it clear that those two priesthoods are still important today, and that they are separate, and so you do not get them both all at once.” He thought that sounded reasonable. But more than that, I mentioned that we have authority for that teaching in the Book of Mormon. He did not find that binding on him, but he nodded with understanding how we utilized both the Bible and the Book of Mormon in reaching that significant doctrine.
While reading and translating 3 Nephi, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery became aware that they did not have priesthood power. Right after they had translated 3 Nephi 11, they went to the banks of the Susquehanna River and there received the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist. I am sure that they were thinking much the same thing when they came to the end of chapter 18. There too they would have realized that they had not yet received that additional, higher authority and that there was thus more yet to come. In fulfillment of the words that John the Baptist himself had given them, Peter, James and John soon would restore through Joseph and Oliver that power—the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Jesus’s first day in Bountiful ended with this one last event. It was a private event for just the Twelve. The multitude did not even hear the words that Jesus spoke in verse 37. In verse 36, he touched all of the Twelve. I think this means that he put his hands upon them. Then the cloud came over them, and he ascended into heaven. Later, in Moroni 2, we learn what he said as he gave them on that occasion the power to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost.