D&C 2 is only three verses long, but it carries a startling claim: without what Elijah would restore, the whole earth would be wasted.
That is a serious sentence. Moroni gave it to Joseph Smith in 1823, years before priesthood keys were restored in the Kirtland Temple and years before temple work for the dead was fully explained. The Lord was telling Joseph, right at the start, where this Restoration was going. It was going toward families, covenants, and ordinances that bind on earth and in heaven.
If D&C 1 shows that God still speaks, D&C 2 shows one reason He speaks: He is gathering His family on both sides of the veil.
What Does D&C 2 Teach About Elijah?
It teaches that Elijah’s return was not a minor footnote in prophecy. It was part of the structure of the Restoration itself.
Moroni quoted Malachi to Joseph Smith and gave the prophecy a Restoration setting. Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. He would reveal priesthood authority. He would plant promises in the hearts of the children. He would turn hearts across generations.
“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.”
That prophecy was fulfilled on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, when Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and restored sealing keys (see D&C 110:13-16). So D&C 2 is both prophecy and preview. It points forward to temple work before the Saints fully understood what temple work would become.
Elijah matters in LDS doctrine because he restored the authority that makes eternal family bonds possible. Without those keys, marriage would end at death, family lines would remain broken, and temple ordinances for the dead could not be performed with binding force.
Why Is Elijah Important in LDS Doctrine?
Because sealing power sits near the center of God’s work for His children.
Latter-day Saints do not see salvation as a lonely transaction between one person and God. The gospel saves people into covenant relationships. D&C 2 pushes against the small idea that religion is only private belief plus personal morality. It says God means to bind generations together.
That helps explain why the Restoration came in stages. First came revelation. Then priesthood authority. Then scripture. Then temples and temple keys. The order was not random. Moroni was preparing Joseph Smith for a work that would reach backward to the dead, forward to future generations, and upward to heaven.
You can feel that same pattern in Moses 1 and the truth about who you are. God reveals identity before He assigns work. D&C 2 does something similar for the Church. It reveals the family shape of the work before the Saints could see the whole picture.
Elijah is important because he restored:
- sealing authority in the priesthood
- the power to bind on earth and in heaven
- the keys needed for temple ordinances for the living and the dead
- the authority that links generations instead of leaving them cut off
That is why family history in the Church is not a hobby with better filing. It is tied to priesthood keys and temple covenants. It has spiritual weight.
What Does Turning Hearts to Fathers Mean?
It means more than becoming curious about your ancestry, though it includes that.
When the hearts of the children turn to the fathers, people begin to care about those who came before them. They search for names. They carry those names to the temple. They feel a pull toward family stories, family promises, and family covenants. The dead stop feeling abstract.
The phrase also moves in the other direction. The hearts of the fathers turn to the children. D&C 128 and D&C 138 both support the idea that the dead are not absent observers. The redemption of the dead is part of the living work of Christ.
President Russell M. Nelson has spoken often about gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, and D&C 2 helps explain why that phrase matters. The work is not only institutional. It is personal. Very personal. Names belong to real people. Family lines belong to real souls. Temple work is not abstract theology wearing white clothes.
“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.”
The word “plant” is good here. The Lord does not describe this as a passing thought. He describes it as something set down in the heart so it can grow. Many Saints know exactly what that feels like. A name starts to matter. A story hits harder than expected. A temple ordinance feels less routine and more like reunion.
What Are the Promises Made to the Fathers?
They are the covenant promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the faithful across generations. Those promises include posterity, priesthood blessings, covenant inheritance, and the possibility of eternal life in family order through Jesus Christ.
D&C 2 does not unpack every part of that in detail, but later revelations do. D&C 110 connects Elijah’s keys with earlier restorations in Kirtland. D&C 132 ties Abrahamic promises to eternal increase and sealing covenants. D&C 128 explains the welding link between generations.
So when D&C 2 says those promises will be planted in the hearts of the children, it is saying that later generations will feel drawn back into covenant history. They will not see themselves as isolated people making private spiritual choices. They will see themselves as part of a family work God has been carrying forward for a very long time.
That matters in ordinary life too. Parents who tell family stories, keep records, pass on testimony, and bring children to the temple are doing more than preserving nice memories. They are helping plant covenant memory into the next generation.
When Did Elijah Restore Keys in LDS History?
The fulfillment came on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, recorded in D&C 110. Moses came first with keys of gathering. Elias came with the gospel of Abraham. Elijah came with the sealing keys.
The timing matters. Moroni quoted the prophecy in 1823. The fulfillment came thirteen years later. The Restoration was moving line upon line, and Joseph had to grow into doctrines that would have sounded enormous at the start because they were enormous.
D&C 2 helps readers avoid one common mistake. We sometimes treat temple work as if it showed up late in the Restoration, once the Church was organized and stable. That is backward. Temple work was in the blueprint early. Moroni put it in front of Joseph before Joseph even had the plates.
If you want a practical way to read this chapter, try this short list:
- learn one family story you do not know yet
- take one ancestor’s name to the temple if you can
- record your own testimony for those who come after you
- pray for your heart to turn, not just your habits
D&C 2 is brief, but it points to one of the biggest claims in restored doctrine: families can be bound together by priesthood power through Jesus Christ, and the earth itself was made with that work in view.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the significance of Doctrine and Covenants 2?
D&C 2 records Moroni’s quotation of Malachi’s prophecy to Joseph Smith in 1823. It announces Elijah’s future return and lays the doctrinal base for temple work, sealing ordinances, and eternal families.
What does it mean to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers?
It means people begin to care about their ancestors in a covenant way. That turning shows up in family history work, temple ordinances, and a deeper sense that generations belong to each other before God.
When did Elijah restore the sealing keys?
Elijah restored the sealing keys on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple. That event is recorded in D&C 110:13-16.
What are the promises made to the fathers in D&C 2?
They are the covenant promises God made to the patriarchs, especially the blessings tied to Abraham’s covenant. Those promises include priesthood blessings, posterity, covenant inheritance, and eternal family relationships through Christ.
Why would the earth be utterly wasted without Elijah’s return?
Because the earth’s purpose includes giving God’s children a place to receive bodies, covenants, and eternal family bonds. Without sealing authority, that family work would remain unfinished and the full purpose of mortality would be left hanging.
D&C 2 leaves you with a simple choice. You can treat family history and temple work like side projects, or you can see them the way heaven sees them. Moroni’s message makes the better view pretty clear.