Sunday School Lesson – Malachi

Tammy’s Sunday School Lesson – Malachi

12/18/2022

 

Malachi means my messenger (Lord’s messenger)

 

Malachi is quoted in all four standard works - Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price.

 

Malachi 1: (the people offer blemished animals as sacrifice)

2 I have ^aloved you, saith the Lord.

 

How have you felt the Lord’s love for you?

 

Malachi 3: (compare third Nephi 24)

7 ¶ Even from the days of your ^afathers ye are gone away from mine ^bordinances, and have not kept them. ^cReturn unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

 

How do we return to the Lord?

 

8 ¶ ^aWill a man ^brob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In ^ctithes and offerings.

9 Ye are ^acursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

 

How does our attitude in paying tithes and offerings show our feelings for the Lord?

 

10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in mine house, and ^cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not ^dopen you the ^ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

 

What does open the windows of heaven mean?

 

11 And I will ^arebuke the ^bdevourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

 

Is anyone willing to share an example of being blessed by paying tithing?

 

Malachi 4: (compare third Nephi 25)

*1 ^aFor, behold, the ^bday cometh, that shall ^cburn as an oven; and all the ^dproud, yea, and all that do ^ewickedly, shall be ^fstubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor ^gbranch.

 

What does Malachi mean when he says that the wicked who burn will have neither root nor branch?

 

2 ¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the ^aSun of righteousness ^barise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the ^cstall.

3 And ye shall ^atread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

 

*5 ¶ Behold, I will ^asend you ^bElijah the prophet ^cbefore the coming of the ^dgreat and dreadful ^eday of the Lord:

 

*6 And he shall ^aturn the ^bheart of the ^cfathers to the ^dchildren, and the heart of the ^echildren to their fathers, lest I come and ^fsmite the ^gearth with a ^hcurse.

 

Doctrine and Covenants Section 2 compare Malachi 4:5-6

 

An extract from Joseph Smith’s history relating the words of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith the Prophet, while in the house of the Prophet’s father at Manchester, New York, on the evening of September 21, 1823. Moroni was the last of a long line of historians who had made the record that is now before the world as the Book of Mormon. (Compare Malachi 4:5–6; also sections 27:9; 110:13–16; and 128:18.)

 

*1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of ^aElijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and ^bdreadful day of the Lord.

 

Compare verse one with Malachi 4:5

Differences?  (Elijah will come to reveal the priesthood– more specifically the sealing power)

 

*2 And ^ahe shall plant in the hearts of the children the ^bpromises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

*3 If it were not so, the whole ^aearth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

 

Compare verse two and three with Malachi 4:6

Differences?  (Plant promises vs. turn; utterly wasted vs. smite with curse)

 

For reference only:

Joseph Smith History – 1

Moroni appearing to Joseph Smith – September 21, 1823
36 After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the ^athird chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:

37 For behold, the ^aday cometh that shall ^bburn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as ^cstubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the ^aPriesthood, by the hand of ^bElijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the ^cLord.

39 He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the ^achildren the ^bpromises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

 Jews set an extra place setting for Elijah at Passover. And open the door to see if he will come in. 

Has the prophecy of Elijah’s return been fulfilled? 

Elijah appeared to Joseph and Oliver in the Kirtland Temple April 3, 1836 (Easter and Passover)

[Sunday, May 27, 1836 the Kirtland temple is dedicated]

 In a meeting held in the temple a week later, on Sunday, April 3, manifestations of extraordinary significance occurred. After the Prophet assisted other Church leaders in administering the sacrament, he and Oliver Cowdery retired to the pulpit behind lowered curtains and knelt in solemn prayer. As they rose from prayer, the Savior Himself appeared to them and proclaimed His approval of the temple: “Behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house” (D&C 110:7).

After this vision closed, Joseph and Oliver saw three separate visions in which ancient prophets appeared to them to restore priesthood keys necessary for the latter-day work of the Lord. The prophet Moses appeared and committed to them “the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth.” Elias came and committed to them “the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham.” (See D&C 110:11–12.)

 *Then, in another glorious vision, Joseph and Oliver saw the prophet Elijah (see D&C 110:13–16). The coming of Elijah was so important that the ancient prophet Malachi had prophesied of it centuries earlier, and the Savior had repeated the prophecy to the Nephites (see Malachi 4:5–6; 3 Nephi 25:5–6; 26:1–2). Elijah came to commit to Joseph and Oliver the keys of sealing—the power to bind and validate in the heavens all ordinances performed on the earth. The restoration of the sealing power was necessary to prepare the world for the Savior’s Second Coming, for without it, “the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming” (Joseph Smith—History 1:39).

–        Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, chapter 26, Elijah and the restoration of the sealing keys

 

The Prophet Joseph Smith said the following in a letter to the Saints, later recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 128:8–9: 

“The nature of this ordinance [baptism for the dead] consists in the power of the priesthood, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. …

“It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power has always been given. Hence, whatsoever those men did in authority, in the name of the Lord, and did it truly and faithfully, and kept a proper and faithful record of the same, it became a law on earth and in heaven, and could not be annulled, according to the decrees of the great Jehovah. This is a faithful saying. Who can hear it?”

How do we turn our hearts to our fathers?

In what ways are we blessed when we do family history work?

handout:

At the end of the lesson Lisa took 10 minutes to give a Christmas lesson.  Which included a four minute video from President Nelson which was just released this morning.  Then we gave our kids a stocking full of goodies with a present.

Merry Christmas!

Our gift including present, hand out, and candy

Our present included in the stockings that Lisa meticulously wrapped (3 inch Christus statue)