"Promises Made to the Fathers"

On the night of Sept 21st, 1823, while a 17 year old Joseph Smith was praying to his Heavenly Father, the angel Moroni appeared to him, and delivered a message from God and gave him counsel and warning. Among the many things he told Joseph, he quoted the Prophet Malachi saying, "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."

To me, there are several interesting aspects of this scripture. First, the "revealing" of the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the Prophet. What is really being said here, since the Priesthood was restored under the hands of John the Baptist (Aaronic), and then later Peter, James and John (Melchizedek). If the Priesthood was already restored, then what was Elijah to "reveal?"

He was revealing the Priesthood keys to seal and bind. Up until this time, the Priesthood that was conferred on Joseph and Oliver had the power to baptize and to ordain and heal the sick, but they did not have the sealing keys to make things permanent, especially the sealing and endowing of couples for eternity.

Elder Boyd K Packer said, "Thirteen years after Moroni appeared, a temple had been built adequate for the purpose, and the Lord again appeared and Elijah came with Him and bestowed the keys of the sealing power. Thereafter ordinances were not tentative, but permanent. The sealing power was with us. No authorization transcends it in value. That power gives substance and eternal permanence to all ordinances performed with proper authority for both the living and the dead."

The second aspect of Elijah's visit I find very interesting, is the union or relationship that he refers to with "plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers." What promises is he referring to, and what significance is there with the hearts of the children turning to their fathers?

This promise goes back to the promise God made with Abraham, "...In thee shall all nations be blessed. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:8, 18, 29)

This promise ties into the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. As the Lord "reveals" the great promises we receive from the Priesthood covenants we make in the temple:

33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the  magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the  elect of God.
35 And also all they who receive this priesthood  receive me, saith the Lord;
36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore  all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. (D&C 84:33-38)

So all that the Father hath (Kingdoms, thrones, principalities, domains, power), shall be ours (Husband and wife), through our faithfulness, throughout the eternities. It is hard to comprehend.

Another statement of this promise and its great blessings is found in D&C 132:19, 20:

 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and thee keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

Is it any wonder that this was the most important message that Moroni could deliver to Joseph Smith that night? In fact it was so important that it was repeated four times within a 24 hour period. This sealing power, along with the promise, was necessary to fulfill God's plan "...to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

His whole goal is for us to become like Him and have what He has. The "promises made to the fathers" is that of a life like God. And the only way we can receive this is through the "revealed" sealing powers of the Priesthood that Elijah restored to this earth.

For me, it is hard to imagine that 10,000 years, a million years, or even a billion years from now, your Mom and I will be ruling a kingdom with billions of spirit children, preparing a way for them to receive bodies and become like us. So I have to ask myself this question,  "Am I doing all in my power to live a life so that I can become like God?" Some sobering thoughts.

Some sobering thoughts for you as well.

Love, Dad