Who Was Gabriel?

“Noah was like a second Adam, the father of all who came after the flood. It is stated in Doctrine and Covenants 27:6–7 that a prophet named Elias holds the keys of ‘bringing to pass the restoration of all things’ in the last days. This Elias is further identified in these verses as the angel who visited Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and who gave him the promise of a son. (See Luke 1:11–13.) Since Luke identifies this angel as Gabriel (Luke 1:19), and Gabriel is Noah, we conclude that the Elias of Doctrine and Covenants 27 is Noah. [D&C 27] It therefore appears that Noah has a major role, under the direction of Adam, in bringing about the restoration of the gospel in the fulness of times; he therefore has a special relationship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (Robert J. Matthews, “The Fulness of Times,” Ensign, Dec. 1989, 50)