Gabriel Reveals Birth and Mission of John

Luke 1:13; 13. Thy prayer is heard] Obviously Zacharias, faithful and devout servant that he was, had prayed in faith that Elizabeth would give him a son. John] Literally, "Jehovah is gracious."

Luke 1:15; 15. Filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb] John alone, of all the prophets, as far as our present scriptures record, was the recipient of this promise. (D&C 84:27.) Implicit in this divine assurance is the prophecy that John would be true to his mission as a witness of Christ and would endure all his days in faith and righteousness. Otherwise he would not remain filled with the Spirit. Because of this special endowment, John, yet unborn and while literally in his mother's womb, recognized and saluted Mary the mother of Jesus. (Luke 1:39-45.)

Luke 1:17; 17. Spirit and power of Elias] An Elias is a forerunner. Acting in the power and authority of the Aaronic Priesthood, he prepares the way for a greater and more glorious work which is later to be done in all the glory and beauty of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Joseph Smith, for instance, served as an Elias from May 15, 1829, when he received the lesser priesthood, until sometime in June of that year, when the higher order was conferred upon him. (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 203-206.) John the Baptist was the greatest Elias of all the ages, for his mission was to lay the foundation upon which the Lord himself in his personal ministry would build.

Luke 1:17; Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children] This whole passage appears to be a paraphrase of some of the same language the Lord used in revealing to Malachi that Elijah the Prophet would return before the Second Coming to restore the sealing power so that vicarious ordinances could be performed for the dead. (Malachi 4:5-6.) As here used by Gabriel, however, the meaning is that John, as our Lord's forerunner, was to point the attention of the "disobedient" children to the wisdom of their "just" fathers who, in repeated majestic Messianic prophecies, had foretold what to them was the future mission and ministry of the Lord in mortality. The hearts of the fathers—the prophets and patriarchs of former ages—had been centered on their children when these great Messianic prophets were recorded. Such of the children of the prophets as believed the witness of John and the utterances of their inspired ancestors would attain unity of heart with their forebears. The hearts of all men, of whatever age, who believe and obey the same everlasting gospel truths are always united perfectly in one, whether those men are on earth, in the paradise of God, or in the kingdoms of glory.

Luke 1:19; 19. Gabriel] Noah. (Teachings, p. 157.)