Old Testament - Malachi 4 - December 16, 2022

12/16/2022 - Malachi 4

Malachi ends his messages by prophesying that before the Second Coming, the Lord will send Elijah to the earth once more to do a great work. And that great work will include turning “the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers”.  This is so important to the Lord, for He tells us if we do not follow Elijah’s teachings, then He will “come and smite the earth with a curse.” (v 6) The JST of this verse uses the word ‘bind’ instead of ‘turn’= “bind the hearts of the fathers to the children”. When Christ came to the Kirtland Temple, He conferred the sealing keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, and the Melchizedek Priesthood includes the sealing keys. We can be sealed in the temples. But for those who were born before the time of temples, they can be sealed by proxy—thus the deep importance of genealogy in our lives. Since my retirement, I’ve been able to give so much more time to genealogy. I love my hours at the computer as I search records for the children, or the parents, or the spouses of all the people I have found through my searching, and through all the amazing search engines that I have access to. And then Bob and I have the honor of going through the temple for those I have found, which thrills my heart, and also helps me grow and learn more and lean more on Christ and my Heavenly Father.

Henry B Eyring: “Many of your ancestors died never having the chance to accept the gospel and to receive the blessings and promises you have received. . .  There are more temples across the earth than there have ever been. More people in all the world have felt the Spirit of Elijah move them to record the identities and facts of their ancestors’ lives. There are more resources to search out your ancestors than there have ever been in the history of the world. The Lord has poured out knowledge about how to make that information available worldwide through technology that a few years ago would have seemed a miracle. . .  When you were baptized, your ancestors looked down on you with hope. Perhaps after centuries, they rejoiced to see one of their descendants make a covenant to find them and to offer them freedom. In your reunion, you will see in their eyes either gratitude or terrible disappointment. Their hearts are bound to you. Their hope is in your hands. You will have more than your own strength as you choose to labor on to find them” (“Hearts Bound Together,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 77, 79–80). 

I remember reading an article on genealogy where they had a picture of a tree. They labeled the trunk of the tree, the branches of the tree, and the roots of the tree. It was almost like a mirror had been placed where the trunk met the earth for both the branches and the roots were widely spread out. I love bringing my family’s roots to light as I find their names, and often learn more about their doings. I love this work!

But Malachi also prophesied of what would happen to the people of the earth at Christ’s Second Coming. He tells us of what the fate of the wicked will be and what the fate of the righteous will be. The wicked will be burned and will then have “neither root nor branch” (v 1) That does not sound good. But He describes what will become of the righteous: “…unto you that fear my name shall the Sun [what stronger light do we know?] of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall.” (v’s 2-3) 

We have been warned that there will be perilous times before His Second Coming. So even if life gets very hard for us, if we can simply continue staying close to our Heavenly Father, He will aways give us the strength or the knowledge or the comfort we need. But His Second Coming will be a final healing for all who searched for Him.

I am so thankful for the way the Lord has laid a path for us to follow. And so far in my life, which has now been 72 years, I have only found strength and knowledge and comfort and guidance from Him. I am so thankful that Elder Strong and Elder Emery found our house in Muskogee Oklahoma, and that my mother opened the door to them, and that my father asked them back…mostly because he loved a good debate. Without both of them, I would have had to find another pathway into the gospel—but I am so fortunate that my parents paved the way for me, and for Phyllis.