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“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.” — Isaiah 1:18
Come, Follow Me · Old Testament 2026 · Week 51
“I Have Loved You, Saith the Lord”
December 14–20, 2026Malachi4 chapters · 55 verses
The last book of the Old Testament opens with the Lord saying “I have loved you” and His people answering, “Wherein?” Malachi calls the people and priests back from careless worship, promises the windows of heaven to those who pay tithes, and ends by promising that Elijah will come to turn the hearts of the fathers and the children.
Chapter
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Study guide
Malachi is short, but it touches some of the most important ideas in the Restoration: tithing, priesthood, temples and the sealing of families.
How to read this week
Follow the arguments. Malachi is built from six disputes. The Lord makes a claim, the people push back with “Wherein?” and the Lord answers. Mark each “Wherein” and you'll see the book's structure.
Picture the setting. The temple has been rebuilt, but worship has gone stale. Priests accept defective sacrifices, tithes go unpaid, marriages break up, and people wonder whether serving God is worth it (3:14).
Start and end with love. The book opens with “I have loved you” (1:2). Even the sharpest rebukes come from a Father who wants His children back (3:7).
Read chapters 3–4 as a preview of the New Testament. The messenger who prepares the way (3:1), the Lord coming to His temple, and Elijah's return (4:5) all reappear in the Gospels.
Notice how Latter-day Saint scripture uses Malachi. Jesus gave chapters 3–4 to the Nephites (3 Nephi 24–25). Moroni quoted chapter 4 to Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39). Elijah came in 1836 (D&C 110).
From Malachi to the Restoration
515 BC — Second temple dedicated (Ezra 6:15–16)
458 BC — Ezra arrives in Jerusalem to teach the law
445 BC — Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls; later restores tithing (Nehemiah 13:10–12)
c. 460–430 BC — Malachi prophesies
c. AD 34 — The risen Lord gives Malachi 3–4 to the Nephites (3 Nephi 24–26)
1823 — Moroni quotes Malachi 4 to Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39)
April 3, 1836 — Elijah restores the sealing keys in the Kirtland Temple (D&C 110:13–16)
Images and ideas to recognize
Passage
Image
What it means
1:7–8
Polluted bread, blind and lame offerings
Giving God leftovers instead of our best.
2:14
The wife of thy youth
Marriage as a covenant the Lord witnesses.
3:1
The messenger
One who prepares the way for the Lord; Jesus identified John the Baptist.
3:2–3
Refiner's fire and fullers' soap
The Lord's coming purifies, burning away the dross and scrubbing out the stains.
3:10
The windows of heaven
Blessings poured out on those who trust God with their tithes.
3:16
The book of remembrance
God records and remembers those who honor Him.
3:17
Jewels
God's people as His treasured possession.
4:1
Neither root nor branch
Cut off from ancestors and descendants: the opposite of a sealed family.
4:2
Sun of righteousness
Christ rising with healing, like the dawn after the night.
4:5–6
Elijah and turned hearts
The sealing power that binds families across generations.
Restoration connections
3 Nephi 24–25 — Jesus gives Malachi 3–4 to the Nephites, since they didn't have it.
Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39; D&C 2 — Moroni's wording: “I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet.”
D&C 13:1 — John the Baptist restores the Aaronic Priesthood “until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”
D&C 110:13–16 — Elijah appears in the Kirtland Temple: “the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands.”
D&C 128:17–18 — Joseph Smith explains the “welding link” between the fathers and the children.
Questions for the week
The people asked, “Wherein hast thou loved us?” (1:2). Where can you see evidence of the Lord's love in your life right now?
Are there ways you offer the Lord “leftovers” instead of your best (1:8)?
How have you seen the windows of heaven open, perhaps in ways you didn't expect (3:10)?
What do you think is written about you in the Lord's book of remembrance (3:16)?
Whose heart is Elijah's spirit turning you toward: an ancestor, a parent, a child (4:6)?
Conference talks & Church resources
Talks the Church's lesson points to this week, plus other Church resources that teach from these chapters.
Scholarly papers
Faithful scholarship from BYU and related publishers, tagged with the chapters each one discusses.
Podcasts & video
Come, Follow Me shows and episodes covering this week's reading.