ELIJAH IN OUR HEARTS

When the angel Moroni came to Joseph Smith, he said that Elijah would 'plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers" (D&C 2:2)  The fathers in this instance refers to our ancestors, namely the ancient fathers: Adam, Noah,  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The promises made to them have to do with the Abrahamic Covenant and are namely eternal promises of land and children and blessings of the priesthood.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said that not only has God made these promises to the ancient patriarchs but that we 'undoubtedly made them to our own lineal fathers and mothers, those who came to earth before the gospel was restored but whom we promised to provide its saving ordinances' (Christ and the New Covenant 1977, p. 297)

Why are these promises so important?  Because without the blessings of the priesthood our time on this earth would be wasted.  What are the blessings of the priesthood?  Saving ordinances and sealing power which binds families together.  One of the primary purposes of life on earth is to establish eternal family relationships.  Without the sealing power, this would be impossible.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught that without the sealing power, "no family ties would exist in the eternities, and indeed the family of man would have been left in eternity with 'neither root (ancestors) nor branch (descendants)'.  Inasmuch as ... a sealed, united, celestially saved family of God is the ultimate purpose of mortality, any failure here would have been a curse indeed, rendering the entire plan of salvation utterly wasted". (Christ and the New Covenant, p 297-98)

But our time on this earth and the plan of salvation will not be 'utterly wasted' at the Saviour's coming (D&C 2:3) because the sealing power of the priesthood was restored to the earth by Elijah through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple in 1836.

"The story of Elijah's return can be found in D&C 110.  Obviously there is no need to wait for him any longer.  This became the subject of conversation between Elder LeGrand Richards and the Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek.  Elder Richards had just dedicated the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden on the Mount of Olives.  After the ceremony, the two conversed as they ate their lunch:
Elder Richards said:  "Mayor, I want to tell you something".
"What's that?" asked the Mayor.
Looking Mayor Kollek directly in the eye, the apostle said:
"Ten years ago I was here in Jerusalem and one day I went into three synagogues and hanging up on the wall in one of them was a large armchair.  I asked the rabbi what it was there for (I knew but I wanted him to tell me, which he did).  He said that it was so that if Elijah comes 'we can lower the chair and let him sit in it'.  Now Mayor, I want to tell you something and what I tell you is the truth.  Elijah has already been.  On the third day of April 1836 he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple".
The Mayor said:
"I guess I better tell them to take that chair down."
(Beloved Apostle, p.301)

 It has always amazed me that people all over the world are infected with the family history fever, seeking out their ancestors and finding their roots.  But we need not be amazed for this is the spirit of Elijah at its work.  The world at large knows very little of proxy work for the dead but we know and we must act in haste for the time is getting so short.  This message comes out loud and clear through the leaders of the Church over and over again.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said this regarding family history:

"What we do here is so vital, but it is actually a preparation for our labours in paradise in the spirit world.  The scope in that spirit world is ten times as large as the demographics of this world."
("Our Preparation for Work in the Spirit World", excerpt from Neal A. Maxwell's address to Religious Educators: Salt Lake Tabernacle, 2 February 2001)

There is another aspect of the spirit of Elijah which affects us on daily basis within our families.  In a world full of violence where families are turning on each other we need this spirit now more than ever before.  Elder James E. Faust talked about this spirit in April 1993 conference:

"Perhaps we regard the power bestowed by Elijah as something associated only with formal ordinances performed in sacred places.  But these ordinances become dynamic and productive of good only as they reveal themselves in our daily lives.  Malachi said that the power of Elijah would turn the hearts of the fathers and the children to each other.  The heart is the seat of the emotions and a conduit for revelation.  This sealing power thus reveals itself in family relationships, in attributes and virtues developed in a nurturing environment and in loving service.  These are the cords that bind families together, and the priesthood advances their development."
(James E. Faust, May Ensign 1993)

Studying about family history this time around has brought me to a wider view of this work.  This is not just gathering of names and learning about your ancestors.  This is about uniting the whole of the human family, the work of the plan of salvation.  The Saviour has made all this possible.  He has not left us subject to the sting of death but has redeemed us both body and soul through one amazing selfless act.

"For this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"
(Moses 1:39)