Commentary for Doctrine and Covenants: Section 2

 

Section 2

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 [notice that his is phrased differently than in the Old Testament] 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.

Breaking down the passage

• Verse 1: Before the coming of the Lord, Elijah will reveal Priesthood
• Verse 2: The coming of Elijah is to 1) plant a promise made to the fathers in the hearts of the children AND 2) turn the hearts of the children to their fathers. 
• Verse 3: If the priesthood is not revealed by Elijah, then the whole earth would be wasted at the Lord's coming 
• The referent for "it" is likely referring to the Priesthood because the it is singular instead of plural (it v. these). The reason being is that the Priesthood is necessary element for the planting of promises and turning the hearts -- it's what allows the planting and turning to happen. 

Plant in the hearts: 

• Compare the two verses; 
• Doctrine and Covenants 2:2 -- And he [Elijah] 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.
• Adds an additional phrase "he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers." 
• D&C 2 reverses the order. The D&C verse has the children first. Instead of the father's heart turning, it is the children hearts turning to their fathers. 
• Moreover, it is the children, not the fathers, who are performing the action of turning. Whereas Malachi 4:6 has both the children and fathers turning their hearts -- in a reciprocal relationship.  
• Adds the word promises
• Compare: Malachi 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.
• Jospeh Smith, in regard to this verse, explain 
• The Bible says, "I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Now, the word turn here should be translated bind, or seal. But what is the object of this important mission? or how is it to be fulfilled? The keys are to be delivered, the spirit of Elijah is to come, the Gospel to be established, the Saints of God gathered, Zion built up, and the Saints to come up as saviors on Mount Zion.
• Notice that the fulfilling of this promise occurs not with the establishing of a temple, but when Zion is established. The result of Zion creates "saviors on Mount Zion." 
• Joseph Smith goes on to teach: 
• "But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah. And I would to God that this temple was now done, that we might go into it, and go to work and improve our time, and make use of the seals while they are on earth." (330)
• The temple is not the end but the means by which we become "saviors on Mount Zion." The end goal is to not only perform ordinances on the behalf of our dead progenitors, but it is to also redeem them. 
• At another time, Jospeh Smith taught: 
• The world is reserved unto burning in the last days. He shall send Elijah the prophet, and he shall reveal the covenants of the fathers in relation to the children, and the covenants of the children in relation to the fathers. (TPJS, 321) 

The Coming of Elijah

• As I've explained in another post, our conventional understanding of this verse may not be accurate. In Doctrine and Covenants 110, I will explain in depth the Elijah doctrine and how it's full scope and purpose may refer to future events. 
• However, one important fact is that Joseph Smith, after the events in Doctrine and Covenants 110, made additional references about Elijah. Those references were also pointing towards a future event. (e.g, Elijah shall...; instead of Elijah has...). This is important because he made this comments after Elijah had come to the Kirtland temple.

Who Are The Fathers? 

• We often interpret fathers to refer to our deceased ancestors. But here's a challenge to that conventional thought -- or a least a wrinkle: What if fathers doesn't refer to earthly fathers, but to heavenly fathers? 
• Case in point: Abraham, in the book of Abraham, states that seek for the blessing of the fathers to receive greater happiness and peace and rest. 
• 2 And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; 
• From this verse, we know when Abraham says that he seeks for the blessing of the fathers it is not referring to his biological father. How? Because his father was wicked. And being wicked, his father couldn't provide blessings of happiness. Thus the reference to fathers must refer to something else
• Abraham also expresses a desire to become a "father." 
• ...having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.
• From here, we see that the word father is also a title and a position. 
• On this point, Joseph Smith, again, taught: 
• "I wish you to understand this subject for it is important & if you will receive it this is the spirit of Elijah that we redeam (sic) our dead & connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven & seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection & here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those which dwell in heaven." (Words of Joseph Smith, p. 329)

Questions to Ponder: 

• Why would angel Moroni use the word plant a promise instead of give or bestow? Why might that difference mean? When you plant something (say, a flower seed) what does that convey. Alma referred to the word of God like a seed planted in the heart? What's the relationship between Moroni's expression and Alma the Younger's? 
• Moroni states the planting is that of a promise. What might that promise be? Is there anywhere in the scriptures where promises are given to "fathers"? 
• Common interpretation is that this is referring to temple work. Perhaps this can be justified from the Malachi 4 translation. But if Moroni's version is referring to temple work, why are the children the one's turning their hearts? If the vicarious ordinances are being done for those who did not receive the gospel, wouldn't the hearts of the fathers have to turn to the children?