On the second day of Christ’s visit, the day began with the twelve preaching to the people. On the third day of Christ’s visit, the day began with the twelve again preaching to the people. For three days, the Savior had been among the multitude, then he ascended to heaven. The end of the third day is not explicit, but there is a division between what Jesus did on that day and the teachings of the apostles, which occurs between 3 Nephi 26:16 and 17. These verses were originally part of the previous chapter, and should be understood in connection with 3 Nephi 26:17–21.
This event must occur some undescribed time later. The twelve are journeying. They are traveling to different places to preach the word, and the implications of these events that will be described are that they were alone.
Thus, at some indeterminate time after Christ’s appearances in Bountiful, he returns to the twelve while they are in the process of spreading the message. They were traveling as a group. Jesus appears to them and asks, “What will ye that I shall give unto you?”
They respond that they want the name by which the church should be called. Names were important. We remember that it was a royal occasion in which King Benjamin gave his people a new name (Mosiah 1:11–12). In the ancient world, the name was declared to encapsulate the essence. Therefore, the name by which the doctrine of Christ would be called was important.