The Sealing Power

Volume Two—Chapter Eleven THE SEALING POWER

#What Is the Sealing Power?

The Lord made a most interesting promise to the prophet Nephi, the son of Helaman: “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 his apostles in the western hemisphere, he made an apparently similar promise: “And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you” (3 Nephi 27:28). Students of the New Testament will recognize the wording in these verses as being almost identical to Matthew 16:19 wherein the Lord said to Peter, “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.” Also in Matthew 18:18, Jesus taught the Twelve: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Each of these verses records an instance wherein the Lord gave to his earthly servants the sealing power. This may seem like a question with an all-too-obvious answer, but what precisely is the sealing power?

There are three distinct answers to this question. The sealing power consists of three separate parts:

1. In the first, the root “seal” in “sealing power” means to connect. The sealing power is the power to connect people together in families for eternity. Specifically, “sealing” refers to the marriage of a husband and wife and the joining together of children and parents in relationships that may endure forever. The sealing together of husband, wife, and children in eternal family units is the culminating ordinance of the priesthood. All other ordinances are preparatory to this. It must be performed by one holding the “sealing power.” In our church vernacular, we refer to this individual as a “sealer” or a “temple sealer.”

2. In the second definition, to “seal” means to certify as authentic. Signets and “seals” have been used for centuries to indicate authenticity or proper authority. In the secular world licenses, diplomas, and legal documents bear seals. These officially attest to their authenticity. So it is with matters of the eternities.

This sealing power is given to the Lord’s authorized servants to validate certain human acts on earth and have them recognized as valid and binding in heaven. The word “seal” is used this way many times in the scriptures. Jesus Christ was “sealed” by the Father (John 6:27). Paul reminded ancient saints that God had anointed and “sealed” them (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) and told others they “were sealed with that Holy

Spirit of promise, which is the earnest [assurance] of our inheritance until the redemption” (Ephesians 1:13-14). John spoke of the servants of God being sealed in their foreheads (Revelation 7:3).

This is the same authority by which “all covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations” can be “made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise” and receive “efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection of the dead” (D&C 132:7). Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “All things that are not sealed by this power have an end when men are dead. Unless a baptism has this enduring seal, it will not admit a person to the Celestial Kingdom . . . All things gain enduring force and validity because of the sealing power” (Mormon Doctrine, 615-16).

The Holy Ghost holds the sealing power and exercises it regularly. In this role, we know him as “the Holy Spirit of promise.”1

3. There is a third, interesting meaning of sealing power. Consider the accounts in those verses quoted above wherein the Lord gave to Nephi, the son of Helaman, to his twelve Nephite disciples, and to Peter the “sealing power.” What is this power the Lord bestowed upon these brethren? It is defined in the verses that follow:

And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done. And if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done. And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass. And now behold, I command you, that ye shall go and declare unto this people, that thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty: Except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto destruction (Helaman 10:8-11).

So, this awesome power is simply the power possessed by its recipient to ask for anything he feels is appropriate, and it shall be brought to pass by divine mandate. How did Nephi qualify to receive this great blessing? The Lord previously explained to him: “I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for [I know that] thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will” (Helaman 10:5, italics mine). The bestowal of this power is a manifestation of the Lord’s ultimate confidence in its recipient. He knows the power will not be misused. The prophet Elijah, who also possessed this sealing power at the time of the wicked Israelite king Ahab, sealed up the heavens so there would be no rain: “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).

#The Sealing Power Today

The complete sealing power was restored to the earth in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, by the prophet Elijah, who was the ancient custodian of this power (D&C 110:13-16). It is now here in its entirety, in all three of its forms. The president of the Church holds and exercises the keys and powers of sealing on earth. He is authorized to seal in accordance with all its three vital parts. The president can delegate parts of this power to others for the purpose of the administration of the Kingdom of God on the earth. For example, general authorities of the Church, the presidencies of temples, and a limited number of officiators in each temple receive part of this sealing power during their tenure. After an individual is approved by the First Presidency to receive the sealing power, the president of the Church, one of his counselors, or a member of the Twelve Apostles specifically designated by the president confers it upon him by the laying on of hands. This is the specific authority to perform the temple sealing ordinances, the eternal connecting together of families.

It makes sense that such power would have been given to faithful prophets in the Old Testament, to the Nephite prophets, and to apostles of the New Testament. One might well wonder if the original and unspoiled Old Testament may have contained such promises. Our current version of the Old Testament does not.

1 See “His Titles” in chapter 5, The Holy Ghost.