The Rest of the Story About Elijah: Lesson 28

Elijah and worship of the only true God-1 Kings 18

After his sojourn with the widow and her son in Zaraphath, the Lord commands Elijah to confront Ahab.

• In the third year of the famine, the Lord commanded Elijah, “Go [show] thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 18:1). How did Ahab react when he saw Elijah? (See 1 Kings 18:17. Point out that Ahab blamed Elijah for the famine.) What was the real cause of the famine? (See 1 Kings 18:18.)
• As Elijah had requested, Ahab gathered all of Israel and 850 false priests at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:19–20). When the people gathered to hear Elijah speak, he asked them, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21). What do you think it means to halt between two opinions? How do we sometimes halt between two opinions? (See Matthew 6:24. Point out that the word mammon refers to worldliness.)
  Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “The stirring words of various prophets … urge us to choose, to decide, and not to halt. … Elijah’s message has tremendous relevancy today, for all must finally choose between the gods of this world and the God of eternity” (That My Family Should Partake [1974], 22).
  
  What was Elijah’s purpose in challenging the priests of Baal? (See 1 Kings 18:36–37.) How did the people react to the Lord’s display of power? (See 1 Kings 18:38–39.) How were they blessed for acknowledging the Lord and his power? (See 1 Kings 18:45.) How can we more fully acknowledge the Lord and his power? (See 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18; Alma 34:38; Moroni 7:33–39.)
  
  

   Interesting story: 

  A few weeks ago, I woke in the morning and before doing anything else, I opened my computer I had left on the hearth in the bedroom.  I was checking my e mail for some reason, when I suddenly realized that I was kneeling before my computer!  My first thought had been about my e mail.  I was shocked into awareness that I had an idol before me and that I was, in a sense, worshiping it.  My first thought in the day was about e mail and not about the only true God.  I have been repenting ever since!
  
  What is our first thought in the morning and our last thought at night? Is it about God, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, or are we preoccupied with things "of the world"?
  Are we caught up in idolatry? Good self-evaluation question...
  
  

  Elijah is comforted by the Holy Ghost and instructed to continue in God’s work. 1 Kings 19

  Angry about Elijah’s victory over the priests of Baal, Jezebel sought to kill him. Elijah fled into the wilderness and cried to the Lord, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4). The Lord blessed Elijah by sending an angel with food and water. You may want to point out that even prophets can experience despair and need the comfort and guidance that only God can provide.
• Why was Elijah discouraged? (See 1 Kings 19:10, 14. Despite the people’s response to God’s spectacular display of power, Elijah felt that he was the only Israelite left who worshiped the true God.) What did he do to gain peace? (See 1 Kings 19:4, 8. He prayed and fasted.) What can we learn from Elijah’s experience to help us if we feel discouraged, depressed, or despairing?
• How did God comfort Elijah on Mount Horeb? (See 1 Kings 19:9–13.) What can we learn from this about how God communicates with us? Why do you think God communicates more often through the “still small voice” of the Holy Ghost than through loud and spectacular displays of power? How can we discern the whisperings of the Holy Ghost?
  When a news reporter asked President Hinckley how he communicates with God, the prophet responded, “I think the best way I could describe the process is to liken it to the experience of Elijah as set forth in the book of First Kings. Elijah spoke to the Lord, and there was a wind, a great wind, and the Lord was not in the wind. And there was an earthquake, and the Lord was not in the earthquake. And there was a fire, and the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still, small voice, which I describe as the whisperings of the Spirit” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1996, 71; or Ensign, Nov. 1996, 51).
  President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “Do you take time to listen to the promptings of the Spirit? Answers to prayer come most often by a still voice and are discerned by our deepest, innermost feelings. I tell you that you can know the will of God concerning yourselves if you will take the time to pray and to listen” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1977, 46; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, 32).
• Besides being the Comforter, the Holy Ghost is also a teacher (John 14:26; 2 Nephi 32:5). What did the Lord—through the Holy Ghost—instruct Elijah to do? (See 1 Kings 19:15–16.) How can serving the Lord help us when we are discouraged?
• One way the Lord comforted Elijah was by telling him that there were still many Israelites who had not adopted the worship of Baal (1 Kings 19:18). How can fellowship with other faithful Latter-day Saints comfort us? What influences do you have around you that help you know you are not alone? What can you do to help others when they feel alone?

 The legacy of Elijah

"The deep impression Elijah made upon the life of the Israelites is indicated in the fixed belief that prevails that he will return, as spoken of in Malachi 4:5. References in the New Testament show that many mistook Jesus for Elijah returned.  Among the Jews he is still an invited guest at the passover, for whom a vacant seat is reserved and the door is opened.
As a result of Elijah's ministry, Baal worship was greatly reduced as a threat to Israel.
We learn from latter-day revelation that Elijah held the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood and was the last prophet to do so before the time of Jesus Christ.
As demonstrated by his miraculous deeds, the power of Elijah is the sealing power of the priesthood by which things bound or loosed on earth are bound or loosed in heaven. Thus the keys of this power are once again operative on the earth and are used in performing all the ordinances of the gospel for the living and the dead." Bible Dictionary