Elijah through the Fog

Elijah through the Fog

Elijah – Missionaries – Elder Davis

Recently, I was reading about Elijah and his prophetic ministry. It reminded me of Elder Matthew Davis and a conversation we shared. Mormon teachings include a lot of information about Elijah. Elijah is regarded as a forerunner; he prepares the way for the Lord. Significantly, according to Mormon teachings, he also comes to restore the Priesthood keys. But little has been written about Elijah’s ministry of “seeing through the fog.” Elijah is considered one of the greatest Jewish prophets in the Old Testament, and even today, Jews save a place for him at the Passover Seder, anticipating his return and restorative ministry. But one of Elijah’s special gifts, his ability to point God’s people toward God in the midst of false teachings, garners little attention. This gift of helping others see God through the fog is also definitive of Elijah’s ministry. Elijah’s ability to point God’s people in the right direction when others seek to lead them astray is a precursor of God’s true church.

Much has been written about Elijah; this essay will focus on an aspect of Elijah’s ministry that I feel has been neglected, although it is an essential part of the restoration of the Church of God. It is necessary to begin with Joseph Smith and the problem he faced: He had to determine which denomination or religious group truly represented God. Joseph Smith was confused; all the denominations claimed to represent God and each denomination denounced the others. He was unsure who was right and who was wrong. It was a real dilemma. There was so much confusion in Protestant circles. There were so many choices, so many claiming to speak for God, so many vying for attention, so many claiming to be the only authentic voice of God. Smith became overwhelmed; what was he to do? He turned to God to help him see through the fog, and then God sent Elijah.

In December 2016, I wrote a paper critically reflecting on today’s church culture. At that time, I had never even thought of the Mormon church. I only knew the Catholic and Protestant churches, and my education was based on their theologies. I struggled for many years, trying to find a church which I believed was true. During my education, I formulated beliefs that were outside the bounds of normative Protestant and Catholic teachings, yet distinctively Mormon. I was convicted that God’s commandments and charity should be at the heart of any true church of God and of any true believer. I held to my convictions, and in December 2016, I had decided that I was done looking for a church and would simply move forward on my own. Like Joseph Smith, I was just trying to find God, and I could not find God through all the fog. Then God sent me Elijah in the form of some LDS missionaries, in the form of Elder Davis. God heard my prayers and realized I needed an Elijah, to help me see through the fog.

A distinctive aspect of Elijah the prophet is that he helps one see through the fog and points one in the right direction—and not only in the right direction, but towards the truth, towards the real, towards God. 1 Kings 18 tells the story of how Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal to a contest to demonstrate who actually spoke for and represented God. There were 450 false prophets all claiming to speak for God, all turning the hearts of the people away from the true God and toward false idols. Elijah pointed out that these false prophets had taught the people of God to forsake God’s commandments and had led them away from God. At that time, Elijah was the only one speaking to the people on God’s behalf, but the people could not hear Elijah or God because of all the fog. It was time for Elijah to show the people that he spoke for God and all the others were, in fact, false prophets. So Elijah challenged the false prophets in order to prove to the people that he and only he spoke the actual Word of God. Elijah came so that others could see through the fog, lies, and deception.

When Elijah came to Joseph Smith, it was an answer to Smith’s prayer, in which he asked God to lead him to the true church. Smith wanted to see through the fog. Who was God’s true prophet? Where was God’s true church? Elijah came to point Joseph Smith in the right direction so that Smith could see through the fog, and this is an essential aspect of Elijah’s ministry. Elijah comes in the midst of false doctrine and falsehoods to show us the real God and the true church. Elijah then becomes a precursor to restoration. He is the prophet God uses to help God’s people see through the fog, to see the truth in the midst of lies, to see what is real in the midst of illusions, to see the true God when idols stand in the way. Elijah is necessary to restoration, for, without him, we would all still be blinded by the fog, unable to see God, unable to hear Him or come to Him.

Elijah has now come to point us in the right direction. Like at Mount Carmel, Elijah has challenged all the other false prophets of our day and has led us to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Elijah also comes to restore the commandments of God. This was one of Elijah’s main accusations against the false prophets: They turned the people’s hearts away from God’s commandments. Today’s church must return to the commandments of God, and this is what Elijah’s challenge re-establishes: He brings the people of God back to God through His commandments.

Today, the LDS church seems to be the only church following God’s commandments and insisting that they are necessary for a true relationship with God, just as in Elijah’s day, helping others see God through the fog. Elijah has laid down the challenge, which is also found in Moroni 10:4: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” Elijah is the precursor to restoration. He helps us see through the fog today, leading us to the truth of God found in the Priesthood of His believers, leading us to His true church: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Pray, seek, and find, and let Elijah point the way; after all, he came so that you could see through the fog.

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