In his loneliness, Moroni wonders about the only righteous inhabitants that might exist on this continent. He is thinking of the three translated disciples who had ministered to himself and his father. But Moroni does not know what has happened to the three Nephites. He speculates that because of the total depravity of the people, the Lord may have taken them completely out of the land. Of course, Joseph Smith learned in modern times that translated beings such as these three disciples of Jesus do not live on the earth, but keep returning after each administration to a more refined planet such as the one where the people of Enoch live. This entire subject is discussed by Joseph Smith in the History of the Church 4:209-210.