The great sin of David, apart from the murder of Uriah, was, that he had taken from another man that which the Lord had given him, and stepped outside of his own covenant limits.
Whether the prophet Malachi held the keys of this power or not, he evidently saw in prophetic vision, that it would be taken from the earth, and be restored again, that the broken links of past generations might be welded together. For the Lord said, through him, "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;" 4. 5, 6. Or as it is rendered in P. of G. P., page 50, "And he shall plant in the hearts of the children, the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
Evidently a very important part of these promises was, that the children would open up the way of salvation to the fathers, through the ordinances of the Gospel, and through them the broken links of past generations would be connected.
Centuries of darkness passed away in which we hear nothing of the order of the holy Priesthood, or of any saving ordinances for the dead, when an obscure man, Joseph Smith, Jun., appeared in the United States of America, and claimed that to him was committed the authority to open up the Dispensation of the fulness of times, in which all the keys and powers of the holy Priesthood should be restored to the earth.
He professed to be a fulfiller of prophecy, and numerous facts, which have become a part of history, prove him to be what he professed. He asserts that in the temple in Kirtland, Ohio, Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the "Gospel of Abraham," "Saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blest." In this we see the needed preparatory work for sealing, upon men the power of eternal lives, through the everlasting covenant of marriage, through which Abraham sought "To be a father of many nations."
Then at the same place appeared Elijah, and said, "Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands;" Doc. & Cov. 110. 11-16. Thus we see that the way has been opened for the complete reunion and salvation of all the generations or men, through the keys of the Holy Priesthood which have been bestowed upon Joseph Smith, Jun. This is the designed glorious culmination of the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage—the eternal union of the generations of the righteous in bonds never to be broken.
In Doc. & Cov. sec. 128. Joseph, the Seer, gives instructions for restoring the past; in sec. 132, he tells the world how future generations may come forth in unbroken succession, each succeeding intelligence, the heritage of its fathers, worlds without end.
PLURALITY OF WIVES.
Plural marriage is a very ancient institution. Although generally ignored by peoples professing modern Christianity, it is still customary among a large portion of the family of man. Many customs of modern Europe and America are modeled after those of pagan Greece and Rome, instead of after the primitive patriarchs, or after the examples recorded in the history of ancient Israel.