Saturday, January 15, 2022

John Taylor (October 1880) Understanding OT Elijah and NT Elias as the Same Person

In a sermon on the Aaronic Priesthood (October 9, 1880), John Taylor evidences a knowledge of OT Elijah and NT Elias being one and the same person, as well as recognition that the “Elias” who appeared to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration was not John the Baptist but the OT Elijah, the same person who appeared in the Kirtland Temple in fulfillment of Mal 4:4-5:

 

John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Christ, and baptized him as stated. "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."--Matt. iii, 1347. On inquiry being made, Jesus said of John the Baptist, "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."--Matt. xi, 11. Again Jesus said, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (vers. 14, 15.) But they would not receive it: they beheaded John and crucified Jesus; hence the restoration, the mission of Elias was postponed until he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. (Doc. and Cov. Sec. cx, p. 405.) At which time Elijah came, as Malachi says: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."--Mal. iv, 5, 6. (John Taylor, Items on Priesthood Presented to the Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Company, 1881], 16)

 

Further Reading

 

“Elias” as a “Forerunner” in LDS Scripture