The Message of Malachi

In the Old Testament at Malachi 4: 5-6 it says:

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.

The same prophecy is recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 2: 1-3:

1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand ofElijah 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.

Again the prophecy was cited in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 27: 9, where is states:

9 And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;

 Yet another reference to this same prophecy is made in Joseph Smith--History, Chapter 1: 38-39, where is states:

38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: 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.
39 He also quoted the next verse differently: 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.

Elijah showed up as predicted as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 110: 13-16:

13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
14 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—
15 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—
16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

 If repeating this same prophecy was not enough, it is repeated in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 138: 47-48:

47 The Prophet Elijah was to plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to their fathers,
48 Foreshadowing the great work to be done in the temples of the Lord in the dispensation of the fulness of times, for the redemption of the dead, and the sealing of the children to their parents, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse and utterly wasted at his coming.

I am not sure what the difference is between being cursed or utterly wasted, but I suppose both are pretty bad. But the real question here is the meaning of the verses and what, if anything, we need to do to prevent the bad consequences? I might also point out that there are very few prophecies that are repeated six or more times in the scriptures.

It is most commonly supposed that there is a connection between family history or genealogy and these quoted verses. The last quote from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 138 is a clarification of the other verses. To further our understanding, it helps to learn about the mission Elijah fulfilled when he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. Here is part of the account:

Then, in another glorious vision, Joseph and Oliver saw the prophet Elijah (seeD&C 110:13–16). The coming of Elijah was so important that the ancient prophet Malachi had prophesied of it centuries earlier, and the Savior had repeated the prophecy to the Nephites (see Malachi 4:5–6; 3 Nephi 25:5–6; 26:1–2). Elijah came to commit to Joseph and Oliver the keys of sealing—the power to bind and validate in the heavens all ordinances performed on the earth. The restoration of the sealing power was necessary to prepare the world for the Savior’s Second Coming, for without it, “the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming” (Joseph Smith—History 1:39).

We should not take these promises and warnings lightly. Each of us has a solemn duty to seek after our ancestors. In the end, let us follow the admonition of the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 123:17:

17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully bdo all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.