Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Twenty-Two

Elijah Came and Hearts Turned to Families

The hearts of children began to turn to their fathers in 1836 – On April 3, 1836 Elijah came to the Prophet Joseph in the Kirtland Temple and restored the sealing keys.  (See D&C 110:13-16). This is one of the most important events in our dispensation.  President Joseph Fielding Smith had an inspired understanding of the mission of Elijah which he wrote extensively about. The following is from his Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2, Elijah; His Mission and Sealing Power:  

“Before the year 1836 there was very little, if any, research being made anywhere in this world in behalf of the dead….There were no genealogical societies…genealogical organizations…anywhere in the world….One year after this revelation was given and these keys were bestowed Great Britain passed laws compelling the preservation of duplicate records of the dead….

“In 1844, the year of the martyrdom, the New England Historical and Genealogical Society was founded in Boston.  In 1869, in the city of New York, another society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, was organized.  Since that day societies have sprung up all over the land. There are hundreds of them along the Atlantic border. The state of Massachusetts is full of them. We find the same thing in Virginia, in the Carolinas, and along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Georgia, where the first settlements in this country were made. The hearts of the children have since that day turned to their fathers, and they are searching out the records of their dead….

“In Great Britain, genealogical societies have been organized in practically every county in that land and in Scotland. These records have been kept and filed also in other countries in Europe, the countries from which the Latter-day Saints have come. The spirit has taken hold of the people, not only in the Church, but also of many who are not of the Church, and they too are searching the records, and compiling them, of the dead.”

Evidence that Elijah came – That a great amount of family history is done by those who have no connection to our church is additional evidence that Elijah came.  President Smith observed:

“Here, then, is this vast array of witnesses, who are engaged in genealogical research, scattered throughout our own land and all over the civilized world, bearing record to the fact that Joseph Smith spoke that which was true, when he said Elijah came to him and bestowed upon him the keys of his priesthood, which turned the hearts of the children to their fathers…

“One of the greatest evidences of the truth of the story told by the Prophet Joseph Smith that Elijah came to him and Oliver Cowdery is the fact that people who are not connected with this Church, who have no sympathy with the Church are gathering records of the dead.”

Testimony – Today Satan has stepped up his attack on the family. Many good people who love their families are uncertain about the future.   To Christians and Jews the prophesy concerning the return of Elijah found in Malachi 4:5-6 is a most enigmatic (perplexing; mysterious) passage of scripture.  

For those who understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored, it is different.  After the atonement, our testimonies of the fulfillment of the Elijah prophesy is central to our hope and vision of the future.  Young children can understand the implication of Elijah’s coming if they are taught that families are eternal.  As they mature they receive a greater understanding of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ so that when it is time to marry, only a temple marriage is acceptable.

For each of us the future cannot be brighter as long as we follow our prophet and keep our covenants. This is the greatest legacy we can pass on to our grandchildren and their children.