Class Member Study Guide: Lesson 28
Ensign Article: Elijah the Prophet by Howard W. Hunter
Elijah: The Lord Acts Through His Prophet
Elijah Is Sustained By the Lord
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley said:
“I draw strength from
a simple statement made concerning the Prophet Elijah, who warned King Ahab of
drought and famine to come upon the land.
But Ahab scoffed. And
the Lord told Elijah to go and hide himself by the brook Cherith, that there he
should drink of the brook, and that he would be fed by the ravens.
And the scripture
records a simple and wonderful statement: ‘So he went and did according unto
the word of the Lord.’ (1 Kings
17:5.)
“There was no
arguing. There was no excusing. There was no equivocating. Elijah simply ‘went
and did according unto the word of the Lord.’
And he was saved from the terrible calamities
that befell those who scoffed and argued and questioned” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1971, 159; or Ensign,
Dec. 1971, 123–24).
The Lord Will Sustain Us in Times of Need
Elder Holland said that the widow’s response when Elijah asked her for food was an
How Does the Lord Sustain Us in Times of Need?
How Can We Put God First in Our Lives
God Conveys His Will Through A Very Still, Very Small Voice. How Can We Hear Him?
Elder Holland said that the widow’s response when Elijah asked her for food was an
“expression of
faith—as great, under these circumstances, as any I know in the scriptures. …
Perhaps uncertain what the cost of her faith would be … , she first
took her small loaf to Elijah, obviously trusting that if there were not enough
bread left over, at least she and her son would have died in an act of pure
charity” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1996, 39; or Ensign, May 1996, 29).
How Does the Lord Sustain Us in Times of Need?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:
“I know we can each
do something, however small that act may seem to be. We can pay an honest tithe
and give our fast and freewill offerings. … And we can watch for other ways to
help.
To worthy causes and needy people, we can give
time if we don’t have money, and we can give love when our time runs out. We
can share the loaves we have and trust God that the cruse of oil will not fail”
(in Conference Report, Apr. 1996, 41; or Ensign, May 1996, 31).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell said:
“The stirring words
of various prophets … urge us to choose, to decide, and not to halt. … Elijah’s
message has tremendous relevancy today, for all must finally choose between the
gods of this world and the God of eternity” (That My Family Should Partake [1974], 22).
When a news reporter asked President
Hinckley how he communicates with God, the prophet responded,
“I think the best way
I could describe the process is to liken it to the experience of Elijah as set
forth in the book of First Kings. Elijah spoke to the Lord, and there was a
wind, a great wind, and the Lord was not in the wind. And there was an
earthquake, and the Lord was not in the earthquake. And there was a fire, and
the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still, small voice, which I
describe as the whisperings of the Spirit” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1996,
71; or Ensign, Nov. 1996, 51).
How Can We Press On When the Road Seems Impossible?
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“When [Elijah] . . . was there,
the Lord called upon him and asked him what he was doing there; and in his
sorrow, because of the hardness of the hearts of the people, he told the Lord
the condition, that he alone remained, that they sought his life to take it
away.
But the Lord showed
him that there were others who had remained true unto him, even 7,000.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:106.)
Why Do We Talk of the Spirit of Elijah?
Latter-day Saints often talk about the
Spirit of Elijah. This phrase refers to the work we do “to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers” (D&C
110:15).
This work includes family history research
and temple work for the living and the dead.
We call it the Spirit of Elijah because
Elijah restored the keys of the sealing power of the priesthood to Joseph Smith (D&C
110:13–16).
Through this power, sealing ordinances can
be performed that unite families for eternity.
Joseph Smith said:
“The spirit, power,
and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the
revelations, ordinances, oracles, powers and endowments of the fulness of the
Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth; and to receive,
obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of God, even unto
the turning of the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the hearts of
the children unto the fathers, even those who are in heaven. …
