Around 400 BC, the Lord told the prophet Malachi that Elijah would be sent in the latter-days to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6). We, as Latter-day Saints, are extremely familiar with this particular prophecy. We know all about the coming of Elijah to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland temple. But there is a second part to this prophecy that we are less familiar with, which states that had the Lord not sent Elijah, “the whole earth [would have been] smitten with a curse” (D&C 110:15; Malachi 4:6). What curse was the Lord referring to? What exactly would have happened to the world had Elijah not been sent?

Neither Root nor Branch

This curse is actually introduced a few verses earlier, in Malachi 4:1, which reads: 

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (Malachi 4:1).

Here, the Lord states that in addition to being burned at the Second Coming, the wicked will also be left with “neither root nor branch” (Malachi 4:1). While this punishment might sound strange at first, it is extremely descriptive once we learn that trees are often used throughout the scriptures to represent God’s children, and this particular prophecy is no exception. Elder Theodore M. Burton explained:

“What is meant by the word root? Why, my roots are where I came from. My roots are my parents, my progenitors or ancestors in a direct bloodline…. What then is meant by the word branch? If I consider myself as the trunk of the tree, nourished and supported by my roots, then the branches constitute that which comes from me. My branches are my children and my grandchildren, etc.”[1]

The full explanation of this curse will be discussed momentarily, but first, here are a few other occasions where the Lord has used trees to represent mankind.

The Allegory of the Olive Tree

Perhaps the first example that comes to mind is the allegory of the olive tree, as recorded in Jacob 5. In this example, “the house of Israel,” according to the text, was “liken[ed]…unto a tame olive tree” (Jacob 5:3). The branches of this tree, just like the Israelites, were constantly being scattered and gathered. Furthermore, when the Israelites were wicked, the tree produced bitter fruit, and when righteous, the fruit was good and desirable.

The Fruitless Fig Tree

A second example is found in the New Testament. During the last week of Christ’s mortal ministry, Jesus cursed a fig tree because it bore no fruit (see Mark 11:14). At first glance, one might assume that Jesus was upset with a mere fig tree for not providing breakfast one morning; however, once we come to understand that the fig tree represented the nation of Israel as a whole, we soon realize that Jesus was mainly upset with the Jews for not bearing good fruit. “In many respects,” writes Dr. Skousen, “[the tree] was like the scribes and Pharisees, all foliage, no fruit.” Here, again, we find a tree representing people.

The Tree of Life

Perhaps the most powerful example of a tree representing one of God’s children comes from Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life. It is this authors opinion that the Tree of Life represents Jesus, and that the fruit of the tree represents the Atonement. According to the Book of Mormon, the tree represented the “love of God” (1 Nephi 11:22), and according to John, the love of God is Jesus (see John 3:16). Furthermore, Lehi tells us that the fruit of this tree filled his soul with “exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:12), which is very similar to how Alma the younger described the Atonement of Christ (see Alma 36:21).

Another clue comes from the opening verses of 1 Nephi 11. Here the Spirit asked Nephi if he believed that his father saw a tree. After Nephi responded that he did, the angel said, “blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son” (1 Nephi 11:6), which implies that the tree and the Son are one and the same. In fact, Elder Jeffery R. Holland confirmed this association when he said:​

“The Tree of Life and its precious fruit are symbols of Christ and his redemption…. The life, mission, and atonement of Christ are the ultimate manifestations of the Tree of Life, the fruit of the gospel, the love of God.”[3]

From all that we have discussed above, there seems to be sufficient correlation to conclude that the Tree of Life represents Jesus, and the fruit of the tree represents Christ’s Atonement.

Trees of Righteousness

​Another example of a tree representing a person is illustrated in Psalms 1, which reads:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither (Psalms 1:1-3; emphasis added).

In other words, those who study the scriptures, according to the Psalmist, will become like a tree. If we apply our Tree of Life interpretation to this verse, we might say that those who study the scriptures will become like Christ. In a similar way, Isaiah tells us that those who turn their lives over to Christ will be called “trees of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:3).

​This interpretation also falls right in line with Alma’s proposed experiment as recorded in Alma 32. In this sermon, those who are willing to plant the word of God in their souls are promised by Alma that if they nourish it, this seed will eventually grow to “be a tree springing up unto everlasting life” (Alma 32:41). Those who reach this stage may “pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white” (Alma 32:41-42). In other words, those who follow the Savior will become like the Savior, the ultimate Tree of Life.

The Axe is Laid at the Root of the Tree

As we have just learned, we are all trees in the sight of God, producing either good or bitter fruit, and “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). For the time being, the Lord is allowing those who are producing bitter fruit to continue their course. However, the Lord has said on several occasions that “the ax is laid at the root of the trees,” and the time will come when “every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire” (D&C 97:7; Matthew 3:10; Alma 5:52).

This brings us back full circle to the curse found in Malachi. Here, the Lord says that at the second coming, the axe will fall upon the wicked, and when this occurs, the wicked will be left with “neither root nor branch” (Malachi 4:1). In other words, they will be severed from their ancestors (roots), their spouse, and their descendants (branches).

Fig Leaves

It is interesting that when Adam and Eve partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they immediately made aprons of fig leaves and adorned them. What is more interesting, however, is that Adam and Eve adorned these aprons right after they received the power to multiply and replenish the earth. This is significant because in many ancient cultures, as well as in the scriptures, the color green, figs, aprons, and loins, all represent fertility and reproduction.[4]

Is it a coincidence that Adam and Eve adorned these aprons as soon as they fell and became capable of having children? Hardly! These fig leaf aprons represented their new power of procreation and thus, a step towards Godhood. In fact, you could say that by putting on these aprons, Adam and Eve were becoming trees themselves.[5] And as trees, they were taking the first step towards becoming like Christ, who is the Tree of Life. They were taking their place at the head of the human family and would soon have roots and branches of their own with their new found ability to reproduce and have children.

But at the Second Coming, as we learn from Malachi, only those who follow Christ get to keep these roots and branches in the next life. And to take it one step farther, the Lord said a few verses later that had he not sent Elijah to restore the sealing power, “the whole earth [would have been] smitten with a curse” (D&C 110:15; Malachi 4:6).

In other words, had Elijah not been sent, the sealing powers of the priesthood would not have been restored to the earth, and no one, not even the righteous, would have been exempt from this curse of being severed from their roots and branches. No sealing power means no temple ordinances, which also means no eternal families—for the righteous or wicked. Moroni phrased it this way: had Elijah not come, “the whole earth [including the righteous] would be utterly wasted at his coming” (Joseph Smith–History 1:39).

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​Notes:
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[1] Burton, God’s Greatest Gift, pp. 194-95.

[2] Skousen, Days of the Living Christ, 2:595.

[3] Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, pp. 160-62.

[4] See for example, Gaskill, The Lost Language of Symbolism, pp. 51-52, 62-64, 93-96, 342.

​[5] Gaskill, The Lost Language of Symbolism, p. 342.