All four standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints¹ contain the ominous curse² that the whole earth would be utterly wasted³ if Elijah failed to restore the sealing power⁴ before the great and dreadful day of the Lord's Second Coming.⁵ Elijah's return is so significant that the Jews still look forward to his return by setting a place for him at their annual Passover feast.⁶ The Jews and the rest of the world fail to recognize that Elijah already returned when he came to the Kirtland Temple as a resurrected person⁷ to restore the sealing power on April 3, 1836.⁸

Had Elijah not come in 1836, the earth would have been wasted in the sense that it would not fill the measure of its creation.⁹ That is, the earth would fail to provide a place¹⁰ where people can work out their salvation¹¹ (exaltation)¹² to become as God is.¹³ Now that Elijah has returned with the sealing power, the earth will become a celestial kingdom¹⁴ and eternal residence¹⁵ for those worthy of celestial glory¹⁶ and thereby fill the measure of its creation.

The sealing power restored by Elijah enables mankind to perform earthly ordinances that are binding on earth, in heaven, in the next life, and throughout all eternity.¹⁷ These include temple ordinances for both the living and the dead.¹⁸ By this power, all people will have the ability to qualify for celestial glory and exaltation.¹⁹ If the sealing power held by Elijah had not been restored during the sixth seal (in 1836),²⁰ then the whole earth would be utterly wasted because the salvation of countless people to the celestial kingdom could not be accomplished.²¹

About 400 years before the birth of Christ,²² the prophet Malachi prophesied that Elijah would return to restore the sealing power.²³ Even though Malachi's prediction was made long before the birth of Christ, it describes Elijah's return to earth in the last days before Christ's Second Coming.²⁴ In other words, Malachi's prophecy looked far beyond the Mount of Transfiguration when Elijah restored the sealing power to Jesus Christ in the company of Peter, James, and John.²⁵ Malachi looked beyond Elijah's appearance on the Mount of Transfiguration because the earth would only be wasted if Elijah failed to return in the last days.²⁶ This truth is self-obvious based solely on the number of people that will be saved by Elijah's return in the last days as compared to his appearance on the Mount in the meridian of time.²⁷ The sealing power has a much greater impact during the sixth seal (today) than at the time of Christ's mortal ministry during the fifth seal.²⁸ This truth is self-evident because vicarious ordinances for the dead were never performed during Christ's mortal ministry.²⁹ Furthermore, relatively few gospel ordinances were performed to save the living or the dead after Christ's ministry because gospel teachings and ordinances were quickly corrupted with the onset of the Great Apostasy.³⁰

Today, by contrast, exalting ordinances for both the living and the dead are taking place at unprecedented rates³¹ in temples throughout the world.³² The spirit of Elijah has motivated this work since his return in 1836.³³ People on both sides of the veil (in heaven and on earth) are served by the large number of temples in this dispensation of the fullness of times.³⁴ These many latter-day temples fulfill Paul's prophecy to the Ephesians that the Lord would "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth."³⁵

The importance of the sealing power extends beyond temple work in the latter days. For example, the restoration of the sealing power in this dispensation³⁶ may give efficacy to gospel ordinances performed in earlier dispensations³⁷ when the sealing power was absent from the earth.³⁸ Elijah was chosen to restore the sealing power because he was the last prophet of the Old Testament to hold the keys.³⁹ Thus, his keys for the sealing power cross the lines of gospel dispensations before, during, and long after the time of Christ's mortal ministry.⁴⁰

Since Elijah's return in 1836, the Lord's latter-day servants have been endowed⁴¹ with the sealing power⁴² to proclaim the fullness of the gospel for the last time.⁴³ The fullness of the gospel includes the sealing ordinance that exalts worthy men and women in the celestial kingdom.⁴⁴ However, the sealing power also has an equal and opposite use. Through the keys of the sealing power, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are empowered to "bind up the law, and seal up the testimony, leaving this generation without excuse, and the earth prepared for the judgments which will follow."⁴⁵ By this power, wicked people are sealed up to suffer the wrath of God's judgments,⁴⁶ while the righteous are sealed up to eternal life.⁴⁷

The sealing power is closely related to the seal of the living God that John describes in Revelation chapter 7. This seal will provide physical and spiritual protection⁴⁸ to righteous people in the days of tribulation and destruction⁴⁹ both before, and especially at the time of, the Second Coming.⁵⁰ The destruction at the Second Coming is typified by several events in history,⁵¹ including: (1) the flood in the days of Noah,⁵² (2) the three days of physical calamities among the Nephites at the time of Christ's crucifixion,⁵³ and (3) the genocidal killing of Jews and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.⁵⁴ Physical and spiritual protections against such calamities will come to those that receive the seal of the living God⁵⁵ during the extended period of the sixth seal as predicted by John.⁵⁶

The sealing power is critically important to all facets of the Lord's work during the final years of the sixth seal. This does not mean, however, that the Lord's work will be complete by the time the sixth seal ends, and the seventh seal begins. Temple work, for example, will not be complete during the sixth seal.⁵⁷ Many temple ordinances⁵⁸ for both the living and the dead will be performed during the millennium.⁵⁹ In fact, more temple ordinances will be performed in temples during the millennium than at any other time in history.⁶⁰ Thousands of temples will dot the earth during the millennium⁶¹ to accommodate this large and ongoing volume of temple work.⁶² The paradisaical conditions of the millennium⁶³ will allow more people⁶⁴ to spend more time performing more work in temples than ever before.⁶⁵ Angels will make genealogical information available to mortals on earth.⁶⁶ They will identify those whose names are written in the book of life⁶⁷ so that their temple work can be completed.⁶⁸ Temple work in the millennium will grow exponentially⁶⁹ from the rather modest beginnings during the latter-days of the sixth seal.⁷⁰

The modest beginnings of the Lord's restored church and kingdom during the sixth seal will serve as the foundation for the immense work of salvation during the millennium. This is why Elijah's return was so critical before the great and dreadful day of the Lord's Second Coming. Elijah had to return with the sealing power before the Second Coming so that the 144,000 Servants could be sealed in their foreheads as seen by John in Revelation 7:3-4.⁷¹ These 144,000 Servants will form the nucleus⁷² of Christ's millennial government.⁷³ They must be sealed during the sixth seal to stand with Christ on mount Zion at the Second Coming where they will begin to rule with him as exalted kings and queens, and priests and priestesses.⁷⁴ This preparatory work is made possible during the sixth seal because Elijah returned in 1836 with the sealing power.⁷⁵ Without the restoration of Elijah's sealing power during the sixth seal, the preparatory work for the millennium would have been impossible⁷⁶ and the earth would be truly wasted at Christ's Second Coming.