Elijah was a prophet in the kingdom of Israel in the ninth century B.C. who opposed the worship of Baal promoted by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. He prophesied a drought, was fed by ravens, and met the widow of Zarephath, whose supply of oil and meal did not fail. On Mount Carmel he challenged the prophets of Baal, calling down fire from heaven to consume his offering after theirs went unanswered.
After fleeing into the wilderness in despair, Elijah heard the voice of God as a still, small voice on Mount Horeb. He did not die: he was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, accompanied by a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11).
The Book of Mormon records a prophecy of Malachi, quoted by the resurrected Christ to the Nephites, that Elijah would be sent “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” to turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest the earth be smitten with a curse (3 Nephi 25:5-6). Christ specifically commanded the Nephites to write these Malachi chapters because they were scriptures the Nephites had not previously had, given by the Father for future generations (3 Nephi 24:1; 26:2). On April 3, 1836, Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple and conferred on them the sealing keys of the priesthood.