What’s The Point?
As we continue with the story of the restoration of truth to the earth through Joseph Smith, we read about the visits of Moroni, a messenger from God, to young Joseph. One of the main points of Moroni’s message was the following; “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. 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. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” The expansion and clarification of Malachi 4:5-6 is a primary objective of the mission of the restoration. But what does it mean?
The statement that the earth “would be utterly wasted” is interesting to say the least. It brings to mind many questions, such as the purpose of creating the earth, and in turn, the role of priesthood in the structure of families. If the term “wasted” is referring to a failed enterprise or effort because the family structure is part of God’s plan, it makes sense. If “wasted” means destroyed, it could refer to the consequences of the societal breakdown that occurs as families become more and more fragmented.
Another aspect of the quotation in Malachi and the Joseph Smith history is the term “fathers”. It could simply refer to ancestry, or it could mean the fathers of the covenant, namely Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I think the answer is both. Part of the Abrahamic covenant is that Abraham would have a vast posterity, and that through them the whole earth would be blessed. The fact is that Abraham’s posterity comprises a good portion of the world’s population. The promised blessing, however, comes through the covenants made with priesthood authority.
The traditional christian understanding of these verses refers to Elias (Elijah) as John the Baptist as taught by Jesus in Matthew 11:13-15, “All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Latter-Day Saints understand that Elias can also mean a title for one who prepares people for the coming of the Lord, which was what John did.
Since Elijah was the last prophet in Old Testament times to hold the priesthood keys of the sealing power, it had to be him that came to restore them before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. While John’s mission was a fulfillment of prophesy, the translated Elijah appeared on the mount of transfiguration to confer priesthood keys to Jesus. The third manifestation of Elijah was in the Kirtland temple to restore again the priesthood keys to the earth.
When Moroni delivered these verses to Joseph in an alternate form from the Bible, Joseph did not fully know what they meant. Like the accounts of the First Vision, there are differences in the way the verses were quoted from 1823 and 1838, demonstrating Joseph’s increased understanding of their meaning as more revelations clarified them. So it is with each of us; our understanding of doctrine can change as we start putting the pieces together. We should never assume we have arrived at the absolute and unchanging truth of things because of our finite understanding.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the message of Moroni to Joseph was that a then seventeen-year-old was taught that the entire point of the creation of the earth was to bind families together through patriarchal covenants. It was a manifestation of God keeping his promises to Abraham and to the Fathers before him. What is remarkable is that we can make those same covenants with God because the priesthood was revealed by the hand of Elijah in the Kirtland temple. Not only are we bound to our ancestors, we are bound to our Father in Heaven through Jesus Christ’s atonement. That is the point.