CFM Week 3 : D&C 2 : Elijah, Moses, Keys and Turning Hearts

 

Moses, Elias, and Elijah Appear in the Kirtland Temple, by Gary E. Smith

Doctrine and Covenants SECTION 2

 [NOTE : this is the earliest revelation included as a Section in the D&C.]

 An extract from Joseph Smith’s history relating the words of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith the Prophet, while in the house of the Prophet’s father at Manchester, New York, on the evening of September 21, 1823. Moroni was the last of a long line of historians who had made the record that is now before the world as the Book of Mormon. (Compare Malachi 4:5–6; also sections 27:9; 110:13–16; and 128:18.)

 1, Elijah is to reveal the priesthood; 2–3, The promises of the fathers are planted in the hearts of the children.

 1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

 2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

 3 If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

 

Next, read D&C 27:9

 D&C 27:9 And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;

 

Now read D&C 110, where Elijah and Moses return and give the keys to Joseph and Oliver in the new Kirtland Temple.

D&C 110: 11 After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.

 12 After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.

 13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:

 14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

 15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—

16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

 (I have no idea what is going on in verse 12.)

 So, what is the Biblical background for this?  What are keys, especially the key of sealing?  What does it mean to “turn hearts”?

 Key / Keys come from the Hebrew word patach  [ פָּתַח ] which literally means to OPEN or SHUT.  A key is an opener or a shutter.  Thus, one who has keys can open or shut. 

 This word is used both literally (see Jdg 3:25  :  And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened [patach] not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key [mpatach – the m makes the verb into a noun, a thing that opens]), and opened [patach] them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.)

 -       and metaphorically (see Isaiah 22:20 – 23

Isa 22:20  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

 Isa 22:21  And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

 Isa 22:22  And the key [mpatach] of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open [ patach ], and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open [patach] .

Isa 22:23  And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.)

The Rabbis found that there were THREE KEYS that God had, three times when He OPENED or SHUT.

1.    1. The key of pregnancy and childbirth.  Note that God closed wombs or opened wombs.

 Gen 20:18  For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

 Gen 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

 Gen 30:22  And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

 1Sa 1:6  And her adversary also provoked her [Hannah] sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

 2 Kings 4: 8-17 Elisha blessed the Shumanite woman who gave him food and shelter and she conceived and bore a son.

 Job 3:10  Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

 

2.    The key of resurrection

 1 Kings 17:17-24 Elijah raises the son of the widow of Zarapath

2 Kings 4: 18-37 Elisha was given this key so that he could revive the Shumenite woman’s dead son

 

3.    The key of famine, sealing the heavens so there would be no rain.

 1 Kings 17: 1-7, 1 Kings 18:1-46 Elijah calls down a famine, angering Ahab and Jezebel and setting up the contest between himself and the priests of Baal on Mt.Carmel.

1 Kings 17: 8-16 Elijah and the widow of Zarepath

 2 Kings 4:38-44 Elisha miraculously provides food for the righteous during a famine.

 Elijah SEALED the heavens during his lifetime.  I Kings 17:1 The chapter heading (probably written by McConkie) uses the term sealing, but the Old Testament doesn't ever use the terms seal / sealed / sealing the way we think of it : joining people together for eternity. 

 Most of the time the word(s) seal, sealed, sealeth  are used in the Old Testament, they refer to a literal impression of a signet ring in wax or clay (or a mark of ownership on the skin in Ezekiel 9:4) CLOSING or LOCKING a jar or book  (1Ki 21:8; Job 38:14).

Elijah called down a famine on the land as a punishment when Ahab and Jezebel were wicked.  As a righteous judge of Israel, Elijah had three options of how to cut off those who had broken their covenants, according to the Law in Leviticus 26:25-26 : war (sword), sickness (pestilence), or famine (broken the staff of your bread).

 See also  2Sa 24:13  So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? 

Here the prophet, Gad, offered David his choice of the three curses for his lack of faith.

[NOTE  that these are 3 of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: famine, pestilence and war.  The 4th is death] 

Famine may be the kindest curse, because it gives you the longest time to repent: the other two can kill you in one day.  Thus, Elijah had what the LDS call sealing power : he could open or shut the heavens.  In other words, Elijah had the KEYS to heaven. 

 Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

 Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 In Malachi 4:5-6 said that Elijah would come again and "turn hearts.”  If he is going to come AGAIN and turn hearts, when did he do it the first time?

 Go back to 1 Kings 17 and the contest between Elijah (representing Jehovah) and the priests of Baal. When fire from heaven fell and totally consumed the offering, the altar, the gallons of water and even the dirt, the Israelites fell on their faces and turned back to God.

 1 Kings 18: 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned [shuv] their heart back again.

The Hebrew word shuv means to turn, to return, to REPENT. Thus, Elijah “turned their hearts” or caused them to REPENT.

The famine ended when King Ahab and the israelites repented (or "turned their hearts"  I Kings 18:37) at Mt Carmel

Thus, I believe that when Malachi said Elijah would again ‘turn hearts,” it meant Elijah would call people to repentance, turn their hearts back to God.

 (Please note that ALL work for the dead - genealogy - is in vain if the spirits of those who died don't REPENT in the spirit world and accept the ordinances in faith).

 Moses gathered Israel.

 Moses and Elijah are the only prophets in the Old Testament who are taken up to heaven without tasting death.  Why?  So they could return to the earth BEFORE the resurrection.  This was necessary so that Moses and Elijah could come to Jesus at the Mt of Transfiguration.  Joseph Smith taught that there they gave their keys (sealing, gathering)  to Peter, James and John who had accompanied Jesus and were witnesses of His transfiguration (Mt. 16:15-19; 17:1-10 [NOTE Elias is simply the Greek for Elijah, like Isaias for Isaiah and Jeremias for Jeremiah] ).

So, who were the logical individuals to REPEAT the MT of Transfiguration - in the Kirtland temple, the mountain of the LORD's house - in the latter-days?

Moses and Elijah.