1 Nephi 12:7–8

7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.

8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the Twelve Disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.

The Book of Mormon never directly calls these twelve that are chosen among the Nephites “apostles,” unless Ether 12:41 is referring to these Nephite disciples. In essence that is what they were, even though they are usually referred to as “disciples,” even in the same sentence where the twelve in Jerusalem are called apostles. At any rate, there seems to be a definite difference in their authority, since verse 9 below will tell us that the Nephite disciples will be judged of the Jerusalem apostles. It’s as if the Church was a worldwide organization even then; they just had no communication with each other. Church headquarters was in Jerusalem with the apostles, while outlying areas, such as the Americas, were like stakes would be today, with a presidency and high council. Presumably this same organization was established everywhere the Lord visited after His resurrection. (3 Nephi 16:1–3) I’m reminded of the picture I took while on my mission to South Korea. It shows a Buddhist temple statue and the picture around on the wall next to the statue seemed to show this organization. The painting shows a central main Buddha figure flanked on each side by a priest with elaborate headgear, but not as elaborate as the main figure. These have “halos” around their heads. Twelve other figures surrounded them, also with halos, unlike the other figures that are also in the painting. Very interesting. We don’t yet have a record of Christ establishing His church in China or Korea, but this painting seems to indicate that if he didn’t, then Buddha must have come up with a similar organization on his own. The hierarchy is just too coincidental.