Doctrine and Covenants 2

Doctrine and Covenants 2 is a variation on Malachi 4: 4-5 that the angel Moroni told Joseph Smith during his visit in 1823.  The D&C version expands the Bible passage quite a bit, focusing on priesthood, promises, and the importance of family ties. On Talking Scriptures with Mike Day and Bryce Dunford they suggested that while the Book of Mormon revealed the Doctrine of Christ, the Doctrine and Covenants restores the importance of temples and temple work.  In every major settlement of the saints, they are commanded to build a temple.  It has always seemed a little crazy to me that they were asked to build temples when they were in the most dire of circumstances, but now I think that, even though God knew they wouldn't be able to build most of the temples he commanded them to build at that time, the fact that he asked them to build them was a way to underscore their importance.  

Of course, the building of temples is related to this chapter.  Joseph didn't know in 1823 anything about temples and the sealing power. He was just a teenage boy, wondering about his standing with God. Yet, even then, God was planting a seed of an idea in his mind that would grow and develop into an understanding of the importance of the temple ordinance culminating in temple marriage. Since Joseph's Smith's time that understanding has continued to develop so that now almost every talk at conference emphases the importance of temple worship. 

Just one more side thought. 

In that episode of Talking Scriptures, Bryce geeks out a little on Malachi 4:2.  It says, (JKV) "But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings."  What Bryce noted is that in Hebrew the "Sun (שֶׁמֶשׁ)of Righteousness" is not masculine, but feminine.  So it should be translated, "Sun of Righteousness" with healing in "her" wings. Bryce didn't mention this, but I am pretty sure the gender switch came because of the Septuagint.  When the King James scholars translated the Old Testament, they primarily used the Greek Septuagint version of it, instead of the original Hebrew, and in Greek, the word sun, ἥλιος, or Helios, is masculine. Anyway, Bryce was wondering who this feminine "sun of righteousness" represented.  Could it be an example of the divine feminine that the Hebrews worshiped before the reforms during the reign of Josiah?  Or could it represent the church, which is often portrayed as a woman, dressed in glorious robes, as in the book of  Revelation (19: 7-8). The idea of having "healing in her wings" makes me think of the image of the hen gathering her chicks under her wings (Luke 13: 34-35).  Or it could just be that the word, "sun" is feminine in Hebrew and masculine in Greek, and the gender isn't really relevant to the scripture.  Who knows?