3 Ne. 24:1; D&C 110:13-16; 138:47-48; Mal. 4:6; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 172; Doctrines of Salvation, Smith, 3:129-130; Studies in Scripture, Jackson, 8:202-203; Answers to Gospel Questions, Smith, 5:130
“Some members of the Church have been confused in thinking that Elijah came with the keys of baptism for the dead or of salvation for the dead. Elijah’s keys were greater than that. They were the keys of sealing, and those keys of sealing pertain to the living and embrace the dead who are willing to repent.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, p. 130)
“Now, the word turn here should be translated bind, or seal.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 330)
“Now keep in mind this: that when the full measure of Elijah’s mission is understood, that the hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers and the fathers to the children. It applies just as much on this side of the veil as it does on the other side of the veil. If we neglect our families here in having home night and we fail in our responsibility here, how could we feel we are doing our full duty in turning the hearts of our children to their fathers? … So, the hearts of you fathers and mothers must be turned to your children right now, if you have the true spirit of Elijah, and not think it applies merely to those who are beyond the veil. Let your hearts be turned to your children, and teach your children; but you must do it when they are young enough to be properly schooled. If you are neglecting your family home evening, you are neglecting the beginning of the mission of Elijah just as certainly as if you were neglecting your genealogy research work.” (Harold B. Lee, 1973 Annual Priesthood Genealogical Research Seminar)
“This sealing power bestowed upon Elijah, is the power which binds husbands and wives, and children to parents for time and eternity. It is the binding power existing in every Gospel ordinance… . It was the mission of Elijah to come, and restore it so that the curse of confusion and disorder would not exist in the kingdom of God.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Elijah the Prophet and His Mission, p. 5)
“Men, women, and children … honor and respect the divine roles of both fathers and mothers in the home… . In this way, the great sealing keys restored by Elijah, spoken of by Malachi, might operate ‘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’ (Mal. 4:6)… . Perhaps we regard the power bestowed by Elijah as something associated only with formal ordinances performed in sacred places. But these ordinances become dynamic and productive of good only as they reveal themselves in our daily lives. Malachi said that the power of Elijah would turn the hearts of the fathers and the children to each other. The heart is the seat of the emotions and a conduit for revelation. This sealing power thus reveals itself in family relationships, in attributes and virtues developed in a nurturing environment, and in loving service. These are the cords that bind families together, and the priesthood advances their development.” (James E. Faust, Ensign, May 1993, p. 37)