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 their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

3rd Nephi, chapter 25, verses 5 through 6.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses

the question, why did Maroni quote Malachi about Elijah's coming?

When Moronai visited Joseph Smith on the night of September 21st, 1823, he did more than just tell him about a book deposited

written upon gold plates, though that was the primary purpose of his visit.

He also quoted various biblical prophecies, indicating that they were soon to be fulfilled.

Among those prophecies was Malachi chapters 3 through 4.

But Joseph remembered that when quoting Malachi, there was a little variation from the way that it reads in our Bibles.

Moronai's adaptation of Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 through 6 was canonized as Doctrine and Covenants Section 2.

Moronai may have first learned of Malachi's prophecy while helping his father,

Mormon, as he abridged the Nephite records. The Savior had quoted Malachi chapters 3 through

4 to the Nephites during his ministry at Bountiful. But his quotation didn't include the variant

expressions in the text given by Moronai to Joseph Smith. Instead, the text in Third Nephi closely follows the King James Version.

However, after quoting the words of Malachi,

Jesus expounded or interpreted them in ways that are not included in Mormon's report of the Savior's explanations.

Mormon and Moronai likely knew from additional records available to them what the Savior taught on this occasion.

The context in Third Nephi suggests that the resurrected Jesus spoke to His 12 about covenants, priesthood, and sealing.

Thus, when speaking to Joseph Smith, Moronai's variation in Malachi's words may well have been based directly on the clarifications and teachings of the Lord that aren't found in the Book of Mormon.

Indeed, no one captures the essence of Elijah's promised return better than does Moronai's inspired unfolding of Malachi's words.

...