Messengers of the Covenant: Mormons Doctrinal Use of Malachi 3:1 in Moroni 7:2932

by Matthew L. Bowen

Overview

Abstract: Although not evident at first glance, shared terminology and phraseology in Malachi 3:1 (3 Nephi 24:1) and Moroni 7:29–32 suggest textual dependency of the latter on the former. Jesus's dictation of Malachi 3–4 to the Lamanites and Nephites at the temple in Bountiful, as recorded and preserved on the plates of Nephi, helped provide Mormon a partial scriptural and doctrinal basis for his teachings on the ministering of angels, angels/messengers of the covenant, the "work" of "the covenants of the Father," and "prepar[ing] the way" in his sermon as preserved in Moroni 7. This article explores the implications of Mormon's use of Malachi 3:1. It further explores the meaning of the name Malachi ("[Yahweh is] my messenger," "my angel") in its ancient Israelite scriptural context and the temple context within which Jesus uses it in 3 Nephi 24:1.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940161387658
Publisher:	Interpreter Foundation
Publication date:	01/31/2019
Series:	Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship , #31
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	369 KB

About the Author

Matthew L. Bowen was raised in Orem, Utah, and graduated from Brigham Young University. He holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and is currently an assistant professor in religious education at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He is also the author of Name as Key-Word: Collected Essays on Onomastic Wordplay and The Temple in Mormon Scripture (Salt Lake City: Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2018). He and his wife (the former Suzanne Blattberg) are the parents of three children: Zachariah, Nathan, and Adele.