POWER TO SEAL ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN 1

In chapters 8 through 10 of the book of Helaman in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Nephi the son of Helaman writes about two events which could not be further apart on the extreme ends of a continuum.

At one extreme he writes the about corrupt leaders of the Nephite nation and at the other extreme he writes about Nephi the son of Helaman receiving the sealing power of the Priesthood.

Hardly a day goes by that we are not witnesses to or something is written about some leader abusing their office somewhere in the world. We don’t need to say a good deal about that particular signpost written as a warning to those who would receive Nephi’s words in the latter days.

As far as the sealing power which was given to him, God says unto Nephi: Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people. (Helaman 10:7)

To help us further understand the gift of sealing power which is given to benefit both those who receive their ordinances while living as well as those who receive these ordinances by proxy having not had the opportunity while living on earth, which was given to Nephi the son of Helaman I add the following excerpts from the Doctrine and Covenants section 128:8-18.

Now, the nature of this ordinance consists in the power of the priesthood, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven… whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona, or by the means of their own agents, according to the ordinance which God has prepared for their salvation from before the foundation of the world, according to the records which they have kept concerning their dead.

…in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power has always been given. Hence, whatsoever those men did in authority, in the name of the Lord, and did it truly and faithfully, and kept a proper and faithful record of the same, it became a law on earth and in heaven, and could not be annulled, according to the decrees of the great Jehovah…

And again, for the precedent, Matthew 16:18, 19: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven…

Herein is glory and honor, and immortality and eternal life—The ordinance of baptism by water, to be immersed therein in order to answer to the likeness of the dead, that one principle might accord with the other; to be immersed in the water and come forth out of the water is in the likeness of the resurrection of the dead in coming forth out of their graves; hence, this ordinance was instituted to form a relationship with the ordinance of baptism for the dead, being in likeness of the dead…

And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect.

And now, in relation to the baptism for the dead, I will give you another quotation of Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:29: Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? And again, in connection with this quotation I will give you a quotation from one of the prophets, who had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood, the glories to be revealed in the last days, and in an especial manner this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, namely, the baptism for the dead; for Malachi says, last chapter, verses 5th and 6th: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times.

These words from section 128 speak of the ordinance of baptism and hint at ordinances which are sealed by priesthood power which provide a link between husbands to wives, parents to children, generations to generations and dispensations to dispensations. In the following verse from Doctrine and Covenants 132:7 we find these sealings apply not only to all people, but all ordinances necessary for salvation and exaltation.

And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.

Today the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, like Joseph Smith Jr., is the only person on the earth to hold the keys to seal on earth as well as in heaven, but he also has the power to authorize others to administer the sealing ordinances. I was blessed to actively participate as one of those who the living Prophet of God authorized to perform these sealing ordinances. In the coming week I hope to share some of the understandings and impressions I had as I was privileged to participate in the binding ordinances of the gospel.

(To be continued)


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY

❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO ➡️ GENTLENESS + KINDNESS + CARING + GENEROSITY ➡️ HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE ➡️ INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞