2 Kings 2-7

<p>The work goes forward&mdash;and one prophet succeeds another.</p> <p>Joshua succeeded Moses, who had laid his hands upon him and ordained him (Deut. 34:9). And then the Lord said:</p> <p>"There shall not any man be able stand before thee [Joshua], all the years of thy life: as I was with Moses I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Josh. 1:5).</p> <p>Upon Elisha fell the mantle of Elijah (2 Kgs. 2:12-15).</p> <p>And likewise, the mantle of Joseph Smith fell on Brigham Young when seemed to be transformed before the people who seemed to hear the voice of Joseph and see the person of Joseph. This remarkable miracle was attested to by great numbers of people. The mantle of Joseph fell from Brigham to John Taylor, to Wilford Woodruff, to Lorenzo Snow, to Joseph F. Smith, to Heber J. Grant, to George Albert Smith, and to our Prophet today, President David O. McKay.</p> <p>Revelations have continued: Brother Merrill, president of the Logan Temple, received a comforting manifestation; Elder Melvin J. Ballard's call, as told by President Grant, was remarkable. President Joseph F. Smith's vision in 1918 on the redemption of the dead was most comprehensive; the temple work for the signers of the Declaration of Independence is illuminating; President Grant's Arizona experience is remarkable; Heber C. Kimball's experience of unusual discernment in the Endowment House&mdash;these and numerous experiences of latter-day authorities all are testimony that, as George Q. Cannon said, there has never been a single minute since 1830 when the people were left without the revealed guidance of the Lord (JD, Vol. 26, p. 64).</p> <p>The Almighty is with this people. We shall have all the revelations that we shall need if we will do our duty and keep the commandments of God. If men could just realize that there may be sound even though few ears hear it. There are revelations even though most minds be materialistic and most hearts impenetrable.</p>

<p>Beth-el was the location of Jacob&rsquo;s vision of the ladder or stair to heaven. As Elijah was about to take a route into heaven, it might be significant that he visited Beth-el first.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>&ldquo;From thy head&rdquo; is an interesting phrase, but in Hebrew, like often in English, the leader of an organization is called a &ldquo;head.&rdquo; Thus this phrase might be better translated as &ldquo;the Lord will take away thy master as the head of your group today.&rdquo;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>Three times at three different places&mdash;Gilgal, Beth-el, and Jericho&mdash;Elijah told Elisha to stay, and Elisha responded with an oath that he would not leave Elijah. Whether the locations have any significance to the story is unknown.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>In the Israelite tradition, when a man died his sons would divide his possessions into the number of sons he had plus one. The extra portion, or double portion, would go to the eldest son. This was the case when Joseph accepted the double portion from Jacob but passed a portion to his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, in Genesis&nbsp;48. Elisha desired to be a true heir to Elijah and receive the double portion. Depending on how you count them, the number of miracles performed by Elisha doubled the number performed by Elijah.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>Fire here might just be the heavenly association or glorious nature of the chariots and horses. The Hebrew word for &ldquo;whirlwind&rdquo; probably deserves some discussion since it is a rare word occurring only about two dozen times in the Old Testament. Most of the usage has reference to divine weather. It is worth noting that the word used here is not the word for &ldquo;great and strong wind&rdquo; used in 1&nbsp;Kings 19:11, especially since that verse also tells us &ldquo;the Lord was not in the wind.&rdquo;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>This very interesting passage has puzzled many faithful readers since Elisha seemingly displays too much cruelty for a prophet of God. There are various theories and justifications for Elisha&rsquo;s actions, including that the Hebrew word translated as &ldquo;mocking&rdquo; in the King James Version might be interpreted as &ldquo;stoning,&rdquo; meaning that the people attempted to kill Elisha. &ldquo;Children&rdquo; should be read as &ldquo;young boys&rdquo; or &ldquo;juveniles.&rdquo; The number of juveniles, forty-two, matches the number of people slain by Jehu in 2&nbsp;Kings 10:14. Rabbis have pointed out the extra miracles of this passage: that Beth-el is not an area frequented by bears and that, in fact, there are no nearby woods the bears could have come from. Finally, some have speculated that the insult &ldquo;thou bald head&rdquo; might refer to the mantle of Elijah, which may have been made of some kind of fur. Mocking Elisha as bald might have implied that the juveniles thought Elisha did not have the authority and power of Elijah.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>Carmel is where Elijah confronted the priests of Baal. After Elisha received the prophetic mantle, he went to Jericho, Beth-el, and then Carmel, so in addition to reproducing some of Elijah&rsquo;s miracles Elisha was also visiting some of Elijah&rsquo;s old domains.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Ryan Combs<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>