The appearance of both Elias and
Elijah to Smith and Cowdery is problematic since Elias is the Greek form of the
Hebrew name Elijah. The same problem exists in Smith’s expansion of his September
1830 revelation, where Elias and Elijah are mentioned as separate individuals.
Smith similarly confused Isaiah and Esaias, also Hebrew and Greek forms of the
same name, claiming that Esaias was a contemporary of Abraham (D&C 76:100;
84:13). In his study of early Mormon doctrine, LDS author Charles R. Harrell
recognized that Smith’s distinction between Elias and Elijah was erroneous and
that “in the KJV, no such distinction exists, nor would it make sense because
Elias and Elijah are one and the same” and “obscures the simple new Testament
idea that Elijah came in the person of John the Baptist who was filled with the
spirit of Elijah.” (Dan Vogel, Charismas Under Pressure: Joseph Smith
American prophet 1831-1839 [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2023], 555-56)
On
the Elijah/Elias issue: For someone who prides himself on the religious debates
and concepts contemporary with, and even before, Joseph Smith, Vogel is unaware
that “Elias”/”Elijah” were used to denote a forerunner, such as Alexander
Campbell, E.W.
Hengstenberg, and J.R.
Dummelow. Furthermore, related to this issue, the JST project reveals that
Joseph knew that OT
Isaiah, Noah, Shem, and Hosea were the same individuals as NT Esais, Noe, Sem,
and Osee.
In
reality, Joseph did know that OT Elijah and NT Elias were the same person, and
as with his others, including his contemporaries, used “Elias” as a generic
term for a “forerunner.” On this, see:
“Elias”
as a “Forerunner” in LDS Scripture
On
Esaias in D&C 84:
