Noah and the Restoration

Joseph Smith taught this about Adam and Noah: “The Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it in the Creation, before the world was formed, as in Genesis 1:26, 27, 28. He had dominion given him over every living creature. He is Michael the Archangel, spoken of in the Scriptures. Then to Noah, who is Gabriel; he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God to this office and was the father of all living in his day, and to him was given the dominion. These men held keys first on earth, and then in heaven.” That Noah is the angel Gabriel mentioned in the New Testament is unique to Latter-day Saint theology. This means that it was Noah who visited Mary to tell her of the great mission God had prepared for her as the mother of the Son of God. And it was also Gabriel who announced to Zacharias that Elisabeth would have a son (John the Baptist). Given his importance in ancient times and in the meridian of time, it would make sense that Noah also played an important role in the Restoration. Joseph Smith alluded to this in a letter rejoicing in the blessings of the restoration: “And again, what do we hear?... the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time, all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood; giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little; giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:21) This suggests that Joseph was indeed visited by Noah (Gabriel) and that he declared his dispensation and gave keys to the early church. But do we have any other evidence of that?

                I believe that we do have an indication that Noah may have indeed given keys to the Prophet Joseph as a part of the restoration of the gospel. The Lord said this in a revelation in 1830 to Joseph: “For the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth…. And also with Elias, to whom I have committed the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began, concerning the last days; And also John the son of Zacharias, which Zacharias he (Elias) visited and gave promise that he should have a son, and his name should be John, and he should be filled with the spirit of Elias” (Doctrine and Covenants 27:6-7). Here the Lord said that it was Elias who visited Zacharias as an angel announcing the birth of John; Luke told us that it was the angel Gabriel; Joseph Smith told us that Gabriel was Noah. So this means that the Savior was giving Noah the title of Elias here and highlighted that he had “the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets.” About six years later, just after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, heavenly messengers came to visit the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery to confer upon them keys. One of these was given the name Elias: “After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:12). We know that Elias is both a name and a title, so this doesn’t necessarily mean that this was the same Elias as mentioned in section 27, but I believe it could be. In other words, I think this mysterious Elias may have indeed been Noah who brought dispensation of the gospel of Abraham. The Guide to the Scriptures suggests that this Elias mentioned in section 110 was “a man in Abraham’s dispensation” and that there was “a prophet called Esaias or Elias who apparently lived in the days of Abraham.” (This is referring to a man named Esaias mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 84:11-13 which this assumes must be the same as the Elias of section 110.) The suggestion that the Elias who gave keys of the dispensation of Abraham to Joseph Smith must have lived in the days of Abraham actually does not preclude Noah: Abraham was born 301 years after the flood according to the math of Genesis 11, and Noah died 350 years after the flood according to Genesis 9:28, so their lives overlapped by nearly 50 years. So perhaps it was indeed Noah, referred to as Elias, who came to Joseph Smith in 1836 and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, consistent with Joseph’s remarks in Doctrine and Covenants 128. Surely this would have been a fitting responsibility for the man described in scripture this way: “Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and he walked with God" (Moses 8:27).