1. Malach i

2. How does the Lord say, “I love you”?

3. The book of Malachi is a book of chastening. Elder D. Todd Christofferson made this statement about the Lord’s chastening: “Correction is vital if we would conform our lives. Paul said of divine correction or chastening, ‘For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth’ (Hebrews 12:6). Though it is often difficult to endure, truly we ought to rejoice that God considers us worth the time and trouble to correct” (“As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten,”Ensign, May 2011, 97–98).

4. Why were the people chastened? Malachi 1:7-8? In what ways do people offer less than their best to the Lord ? How do you feel when you give your best to Him? Look at Malachi 2:7-8: Is there anything in your actions that might cause others to stumble?

5. Scripture chain for Malachi 1:7-8: – Proverbs 13:24 – Psalms 94:12 – Revelation 3:19 – D&C 90:36 – Alma 62:41 Malachi 3:2-3 What is the Lord preparing us for through His chastening?

6. Stage I: The Breaking —The refiner breaks up the natural ore.

7. Stage II: The Crucible —The refiner places unrefined silver into a crucible (a fireproof melting pot)

8. Stage III: The Dross —The refiner places the crucible in the heated furnace to remove dross.

9. Stage IV: The Heat —The refiner raises the temperature to higher degrees.

10. Stage V: The Reflection —The refiner sees a clear image of himself.

11. Only when the refiner looks into the crucible and sees a clear reflection of himself is the process complete. That event describes our Refiner’s loving intentions for allowing us to be in our own “furnace of affliction.” As we trust Him to use our trials to cleanse our character and purify our hearts, we will begin to see the “silver lining.” – Isaiah 48:10 is a great cross reference for Malachi 3:3

12. “The fierce flames, the fervent heat, the burning fires of the Second Coming that destroy the wicked shall also cleanse the righteous. … Evil and sin and dross will be burned out of their souls because they qualify to abide the day” (The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [1982], 543–44).

13. Malachi 3:7-10 What principle does the Lord teach about the purging process? Name some latter-day devourers. How might the promise to “rebuke the devourer” be fulfilled in our day? In what ways have you or your family been blessed for faithfully paying tithing? Why is tithing one of the best ways to rebuke devourerers? (Hint: think of other times the Lord has limited supplies and provisions and what blessings came as a result)

14. Elder David A. Bednar : “A subtle but significant blessing we receive is an increased spiritual and temporal capacity to do more with less. As well, the spiritual gift of gratitude will enable our appreciation for what we have and constrain desires for what we want. A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment (see Luke 12:15)” (“The Windows of Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 18). Malachi 3:3-10

15. Elder Dallin H. Oaks: “During World War II, my widowed mother supported her three young children on a schoolteacher’s salary that was meager. When I became conscious that we went without some desirable things because we didn’t have enough money, I asked my mother why she paid so much of her salary as tithing. Malachi 3:3-10

16. “I have never forgotten her explanation: ‘Dallin, there might be some people who can get along without paying tithing, but we can’t. The Lord has chosen to take your father and leave me to raise you children. I cannot do that without the blessings of the Lord, and I obtain those blessings by paying an honest tithing. When I pay my tithing, I have the Lord’s promise that he will bless us, and we must have those blessings if we are to get along’ ” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1994, pp. 43–44; or Ensign, May 1994, p. 33). Malachi 3:3-10

17. “James E. Talmage once imagined the Lord saying: ‘“You have need of many things in this world—food, clothing, and shelter for your family …, the common comforts of life. … You shall have the means of acquiring these things; but remember they are mine, and I require of you the payment of a rental upon that which I give into your hands. However, your life will not be one of uniform increase … [so] instead of doing as mortal landlords do—requiring you to pay in advance, whatever your fortunes or prospects may be—you shall pay me only when you have received. If it so be that in one year your income is abundant, then your 10 percent will be a little more; and if it be so that the next year is one of distress and your income is not what it was, then your 10 percent will be less. Whatever your circumstance, the tithe will be fair. Have you ever found a landlord on earth who was willing to make that kind of contract with you? When I consider the liberality of it all, I feel in my heart that I could scarcely raise my countenance to Heaven if I tried to defraud God out of that which is rightfully His’” (“Like a Watered Garden,” Ensign, Nov. 2001, 34–35). Malachi 3:3-10

18. Mormon Messages video “Flecks of Gold”“Flecks of Gold”

19. Malachi 3:3-10 Mormon Messages video “Flecks of Gold”“Flecks of Gold”

20. If the trunk of the tree represents you, what might the branches and roots represent? Malachi 4:1

21. Timeline Signs of the Times Adam Ondi Ahman Armageddon Appearance in Jerusalem Righteous Caught Up Appearance to the World Millennium Begins Satan Bound 1000 years Resurrection of the TerrestrialResurrection of the Telestial Resurrection of the O.D. Final BattleFinal Judgment Wicked Destroyed Three Degrees of Glory (O.D.)

22. Malachi 4:5-6 5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6. 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. D&C 2 1. Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 2. 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. 3. If it were not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at His coming.

23. Show Elder Bednar’s General Conference Talk, “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn,” October 2011 General Conference OR The Youth video “Now I’m Converted” (4:21)

25. What did Moroni tell joseph? JSH 1:33-35, 42

26. Malachi 4:5-6 Who? What? Where? When? Why? How are hearts turned to children? How are hearts turned to fathers? “The word turn here could be translated bind, or seal” ( Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 472). How do you think our ancestors feel toward us fordoing this work for them? What experiences have you had with doing family history and temple work for your own ancestors?

27. ca 900 BC1 Kings 17:1 Elijah has sealing power 897 BC2 Kings 2:11-12 Elijah is translated 420 BCMalachi 4:5-6 Malachi prophecies Elijah’s return AD 33Mathew 17:3 Elijah gives the sealing power to Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration 21 Sep. 1823D&C 2 Moroni appears to Joseph Smith and repeats Malachi’s prophecy 3 April 1836D&C 110:13-16 Elijah returns and gives the sealing power to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland temple. 11 June 1998 Eric and Megan Richards are sealed in the San Diego Tempe Sealing Power Time Line

28. Malach i