I started with the reading assignment of Joseph Smith History 1:29-39 and the Bible Dictionary article on "Elijah" in the LDS edition of the Bible, page 664. When reading JS-H 1:36-39 there were a few things that I had questions about. Joseph Smith stated that the angel Moroni (the last author in the Book of Mormon) quoted Malachi to him.
- I thought it notable that an 18 year old boy was familiar enough with the scriptures to recognize that it was Malachi and that it was slightly different than what was written in the King James version.
- In Malachi 3:2 it states, "and grow up as calves of the stall." Sometimes I get distracted by small phrases like this one that I wonder what in the world that means. This is what prompted the more in depth study today.
- This phrase is used again in 1 Nephi 22: 24 "And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great glory." But what does it mean?
Malachi was written approximately 400 BC. And the name Malachi in Hebrew means "My [God's] Messenger". I usually don't Google when studying my scriptures but I did Google Malachi to see when it was written and ended up on Wikipedia. I also read this statement on Wiki where they were explaining how Malachi and other books were compiled to create the ending of the Bible. I'm always looking for symbolism so I thought this was interesting: "The present division of the oracles results in a total of twelve books of minor prophets—a number parallelling the sons of Jacob who became the heads of the twelvetribes of Israel."
Malachi 4:1 "aFor, behold, the bday cometh, that shall cburn as an oven; andall the dproud, yea, and all that do ewickedly, shall be fstubble:and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord ofhosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor gbranch."
(34-15) Malachi 4:1. “All the Proud, Yea, and All That Do Wickedly, Shall Be Stubble”
Malachi stated that “the day cometh” when there would be great destruction of the wicked (v. 1). Elder Theodore M. Burton said:
“When Malachi prophesied of the second coming of Christ, he spoke of ‘the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly.’ Of whom was he speaking? First, of those who rejected Christ because of the pride of their hearts, and second, of those who, having accepted Jesus, were not valiant in keeping his commandments.
“Malachi went on to say they ‘shall burn as stubble.’ This means that they shall be destroyed. By whom? Malachi explains, ‘They that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts.’” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1967, p. 81.)
Every corruptible and impure thing, including human and animal, fish and fowl, will be cleansed from the earth (see D&C 64:24, 101:24–25).
(34-16) Malachi 4:1. “It Shall Leave Them Neither Root nor Branch”
Each person belongs to a family tree. Our “roots” are the ancestors from whom we descend, and our “branches” are those who descend from us. To be “left with neither root nor branch” is to be cut off from one’s ancestry and posterity eternally. That is precisely the condition of those for whom the sealing blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood have not been performed or for those who, having had the ordinances performed, fail to live worthy of claiming their blessings. To prevent this great catastrophe, Elijah was sent to earth in the latter days with the sealing powers (see D&C 110:13–16).
This verse in Malachi 4:1 interestingly was the subject of a conversation I had with a lovely woman of the Jehovah's Witness faith that comes to speak with me about once a month on her missionary work. We always have great conversations and she has always been respectful of my beliefs while remaining strong in hers. Interestingly though, she informed me this last meeting that she was raised in the Mormon Church and then converted to Jehovah's Witness when she was 19. She asked me about the earth being burned and this scripture is just what we were discussing.
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