Elijah's Mission | Truman Madsen on the Power That Turns Hearts — BYU 1977 (LDS)

Send us Fan MailWhy did the prophet Elijah have to come — and what would have happened to the earth if he hadn't? In this landmark 1977 BYU devotional, Truman G. Madsen, one of the most beloved Latter-day Saint teachers of the 20th century, unfolds the mission of Elijah with a depth and emotional force that has made this talk a favorite for nearly fifty years. Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836 — the second day of Passover, the very night Jewish tradition sets an empty chair and a full goblet of wine at the table in expectation of his return. He came to turn hearts to hearts, not merely minds. And had he not come, Joseph Smith taught, the whole earth would have been "utterly wasted" at Christ's coming — wasted in both senses: it would have been a waste to create a world meant for family if no true family existed on it, and all mankind would literally be laid waste, unable to endure His presence without the sealing power to prepare them. Madsen teaches two principles that make the mission of Elijah personal: forgiveness and sacrifice. "It may be difficult to forgive your enemies," he says, "but it's even more so to forgive your loved ones" — and yet the hearts of children will never turn to the fathers without it. Drawing on Jacob's allegory of the tame and wild olive tree (Jacob 5), he teaches that a single righteous branch grafted into a wild family tree can, if strong enough, "heal and regenerate to the very roots" — sanctifying even one's forebears. "To be that kind of branch and achieve that kind of transformation backward and forward is the greatest achievement of this world." The talk closes with a moment Madsen witnessed in an airport: a returned missionary, whose father had died during his service, walking off a plane toward his waiting mother — and an embrace that, he testifies, "is precisely what you and I were sent into the world to make possible.""To be that kind of branch and achieve that kind of transformation backward and forward is the greatest achievement of this world. But to do it, one must be mighty. One must be something like a savior." — Truman G. MadsenQ: Why did Elijah have to come, according to LDS doctrine?A: Without Elijah's restoration of the sealing power, the earth would have been "utterly wasted" at Christ's coming (Doctrine and Covenants 2; Malachi 4). Truman Madsen explains this means two things: it would have been a waste to create a world meant for family if no true, sealed family existed on it — and all mankind would literally be unable to endure Christ's presence without the sealing power to prepare them. Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836 — the second day of Passover — to restore that power.Q: What does "turn the hearts of the children to the fathers" really mean?A: More than genealogy research. Madsen teaches it means a transformation of feeling — forgiveness, sacrifice, and genuine familial love across generations. Drawing on the olive tree allegory in Jacob 5, he teaches that one righteous person grafted into a broken family line can, if strong enough, "heal and regenerate to the very roots" — even sanctifying ancestors. "You are not alone. There is no way you can regain solitary and neutral ground. You are in it, in involvement."Q: How does forgiveness relate to temple and family history work?A: Madsen teaches that hearts cannot truly turn to the fathers without forgiveness — and that forgiving loved ones is harder than forgiving enemies. The Savior's instruction is to pray *for* those who have hurt us: "You may choke in the effort. But as you keep going, the time comes when you mean it." He cites Doctrine and Covenants 64: refusing to forgive a sinner "is a worse sin than whatever sin the sinner has committed."Q: Are those who have died aware of us?A: Joseph Smith taught that spirits in the spirit world are not far from us: "Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us. They know our thoughts, motions, and feelings, and are often pained therewith." Madsen adds: "They are not merely idle spectators in the last days." The spirit world is not a remote galaxy — it is here, it is near, and those bound to us "yearn over us."📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODETruman G. Madsen, "Elijah's Mission," BYU Devotional, 1977Doctrine and Covenants 2; 45; 88; 98; 133Malachi 4:5–6Jacob 5 (Allegory of the Olive Tree)3 Nephi 9:19–20 (sacrifice of a broken heart)Brigham Young's dream of Joseph Smith, Winter Quarters 1846▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? 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