Roots and Branches

Tonight in my scripture study I was reading 3 Nephi 25 (compare Malachi Chapter 4). It's a very short chapter; only six verses all together, but very important. At this point in the history, the Savior was coming to the conclusion of his visit to the Nephites and was teaching them before he left. This chapter records what he taught about the return of Elijah. The Savior taught the Nephites that in the last days, he would send his prophet Elijah to restore the sealing keys to the earth and "turn the hearts of the children to their fathers."

Verse 1 of this chapter reads: "For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."

I admit that I read my scriptures too late at night when I'm too tired and should probably find a better time to study because I passed over these verses and just kind of thought, "Yeah, Elijah. Genealogy. Sealing powers. I know all this." SO... its a good thing I study with the Book of Mormon Student Manual. It expounded a little on the significance of the symbols "root" and "branch". Now, you've probably already figured it out for yourself, but here's the way Theodore M. Burton explains it (from God's Greatest Gift, pp. 194-95):

"What are my roots? Why, my roots are where I came from. My roots are my parents, my progenitors or ancestors in a direct bloodline....What then is meant by the word branch? If I consider myself as the trunk of the tree, nourished and supported by my roots, then the branches constitute that which comes from me. My branches are my children and my grandchildren, etc. In other words, my branches are the posterity that comes from me as branches spring from the trunk of a tree."

I love this metaphor! Love, love, love it. And I completely missed it at first - even as obvious as it is. So, the idea is, if we want to keep our roots and branches with us after the resurrection and judgement, we have to complete necessary ordinances. And this is where Elijah comes in. Elijah restored the keys of authority to administer in all the ordinances of the Priesthood - including the higher, sealing ordinances. The sealing ordinances make it possible for our roots and branches to remain a part of our trunk. In other words, the sealing ordinances make it possible for my progenitors and my posterity to remain a part of me and my family forever.

Joseph Fielding Smith taught "The higher ordinances, the greater blessings which are essential to exaltation in the kingdom of God, and which can only be obtained in certain places, no man has a right to perform except as he receives the authority to do it from the one who holds the keys...Elijah restored to this Church and, if they would receive it, to the world, the keys of the sealing power; and that sealing power puts the stamp of approval upon every ordinance that is done in this Church and more particularly those that are performed in the temples of the Lord" (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:129-30).

The more I study, the more I see that the Savior never wastes a symbol. (I know in this instance, he's actually quoting Malachi, but the way I see it, Malachi spoke for the Savior, so when the Savior quotes Malachi, he's really kind of quoting himself, right?) Anyway, I don't know why I still pass symbols by without trying to see what they really stand for - what a superb teacher he is! That's why I love my study companion books and why I hate to ever miss a Sunday School lesson. I still need a little help seeing those deeper things.