Calling and Election Made Sure

Volume Two—Chapter Sixteen CALLING AND ELECTION MADE SURE

#Introduction

The topic of having one’s “calling and election made sure” or “being sealed up to eternal life” is seldom discussed in church settings, perhaps because of its unusually sacred nature. Joseph Smith, in referring to this principle, said: “This principle ought (in its proper place) to be taught, for God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what he will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them” (TPJS, 149).

Each person tends to seek for security and reassurance in whatever situation he may find himself. Each yearns to feel certain his own needs, and the needs of those he cares about, will be met. Each yearns to be free of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. This is true in spiritual as well as in secular matters. Those spiritually inclined cannot help but wonder about their eternal future. Will they live on following this mortal experience? If they do, what kind of a life will it be? Will they be happy, comfortable, and associated with people they love?

In the Church today we are blessed with considerable specific information about our eternal future. Having access to this information, the central question becomes: Will we be exalted? Will we return to the celestial presence of the Father and the Son? We yearn to feel that our exaltation is sure. Joseph Smith, particularly during the latter years of his mortal ministry, repeatedly exhorted the saints to press forward with that steadfastness in Christ. Such, he taught, would enable them to make their calling and election sure. “I am going on in my progress for eternal life,” he said of himself. Then in fervent pleading to all saints, he exclaimed: “Oh! I beseech you to go forward, go forward and make your calling and your election sure” (TPJS, 366).

Might we, in fact, have the opportunity to come to know our exaltation is certain? Is it realistic to think that we “common” members of the Church, while we are still on earth, might receive this great blessing? We will consider this question. First, let us define a few pertinent words.

#Calling and Election

To be called is to be designated, asked, or invited to do a certain work or to fill a particular role, purpose, or responsibility. We commonly use this expression when an individual is called to a certain position in the Church. When an individual is foreordained to a certain work, he is called to that work. In the context of having one’s calling and election made sure, this “calling” or foreordination was made by the Father in the premortal world. We were called or foreordained to one day return to God’s presence. It would not be surprising to learn that this calling or foreordination was

accomplished by the laying on of hands. This was a conditional call for each of us to one day receive the gift of eternal life (D&C 14:7).1

Several passages of scripture speak of “callings.” In most of these, the callings were made in the premortal sphere and then repeated here on earth. For example, the apostle Peter told some of the convert saints of his day that they had been “called . . . out of darkness” into the “marvellous light” of the gospel (1 Peter 2:9). Peter taught the saints they were “called” to suffer in the cause of righteousness, that thereby they “should inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 2:21; 3:9). Peter also taught them their call came from God, by his grace, through “Christ Jesus,” and was a call unto “eternal glory” (1 Peter 5:10). The apostle Paul spoke of members of the Church as “the called of Jesus Christ” and as those who are “called to be saints” (Romans 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). Paul said of the saints, they are “called . . . into the grace of Christ” (Galatians 1:6); “called unto liberty” (Galatians 5:13); “called . . . to peace” (1 Corinthians 7:15, 17); “called” to “the fellowship of Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:9); “called” to “holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7; Hebrews 3:1); and “called” to the Lord’s “kingdom and glory” (I Thessalonians 2:12). When Paul taught that these calls come by “grace” (Galatians 1:15), he implied that the contingent blessings based on the successful fulfillment of the calling far outweigh the performance required to earn those blessings.

Both Peter and Paul taught that the saints are called to “eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12). They are called to “the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). Paul explained further that the Lord’s calls or foreordinations grow out of faithfulness in the pre-existence: “God hath from the beginning,” that is, from before the foundations of the world, “chosen you [his saints] to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; see also 2 Timothy 1:8-9).

To be elected is also the same as being called or foreordained. Election carries the additional meaning of a special honor in receiving that foreordination. In one sense, the elect or election, applies to the house of Israel. In another, more special, sense, Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: “The elect of God comprise a very select group, an inner circle of faithful members of the Church. . . . They are the portion of church members who are striving with all their hearts to keep the fulness of the gospel law in this life so that they can become inheritors of the fulness of gospel rewards in the life to come” (Mormon Doctrine, 217). Elder McConkie seems to separate out a special group of people inclined, by their premortal gifts, to live particular lives of diligent obedience and righteousness. Their foreordination or election is to that end. This election, and all other types of election, are also conditional blessings.

The saints were foreordained in the councils of eternity to believe the truth, to be sanctified, and to be exalted. Then, in this life they are called to that gospel whereby these eternal promises can be fulfilled. In another glorious passage, Paul taught: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). That is, the Lord longs to be involved in the mortal lives of those whom he, in his infinite foreknowledge, hath called to be his people. And then: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [foreordain] to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate [foreordain], them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

#What Does It Mean to Have One’s Calling and Election Made “Sure”?

All blessings promised in premortal foreordinations (callings and elections) are conditional. They are provided to men contingent upon obedience to the laws upon which their receipt is predicated (D&C 130:20-21). “For all who will have a blessing at my hands,” the Lord says, “shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world” (D&C 132:5).

When an individual does comply with the laws and receives the blessings of the promised foreordination, we say that he has been chosen. Not all of those called and elected (foreordained) will be so chosen. Thus we read: “Many are called but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14; D&C 95:5-6; 121:34-37). It follows, then, that when the law has been lived to the full, the promised blessing is guaranteed. “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10). Accordingly, when a man lives the law that qualifies him for eternal life, the Lord is bound by his own law to confer that greatest of all gifts upon him (D&C 14:7). And if by a long course of trial and obedience, while yet in this life, a man proves to the Lord that he has and will abide in the truth, the Lord accepts the exhibited devotion. He then issues his decree that the promised blessings will be received. The blessings contingent upon the foreordination, that up to that time were provisional, are then “made sure.” The receipt of the promised blessings is no longer conditional. The blessings are guaranteed. We say that the individual is “sealed up” to receive the promised blessings.

To have one’s calling and election made sure, then, is to be sealed up unto eternal life. It is to have the Lord’s unconditional guarantee of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world. It is to receive the assurance of godhood. It is to have the day of judgment advanced. Thus, an inheritance of all the glory and honor of the Father’s kingdom is assured prior to the day when the faithful actually enter into the divine presence to sit with Christ at his throne.

Is Having One’s Calling and Election Made Sure the Same as Being Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise?

One of the titles for the Holy Ghost is the “Holy Spirit of Promise.” This title refers to his sealing power. Here on earth he acts as a judge, and whatever he chooses to seal or ratify (certify as valid) here on earth will be binding in the eternities. Any act sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is one approved by the Lord. One of the Spirit’s prerogatives in his role as judge is to seal a man up to eternal life. This is referred to as “being sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise” (see D&C 132:7).

When the Holy Spirit of Promise places his ratifying seal upon a baptism, or a priesthood ordination, or an eternal marriage covenant, or any covenant, except that of having one’s calling and election made sure, the seal is a conditional approval or ratification. It is only binding in eternity if there is subsequent obedience to the terms and conditions of that specific covenant. But when the ratifying seal of approval is placed upon someone who’s calling and election is made sure, it is not conditional. There are no more conditions to be met by the obedient person. Thus, to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is to be sealed up unto eternal life, and to be sealed up unto eternal life is to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.

Is Having One’s Calling and Election Made Sure the Same as Receiving the Second Comforter?

We have established what it means to have one’s calling and election made sure. Let us now define the term “Second Comforter.” There are three divine, lightgiving and potentially comforting entities spoken of in the scripture:

1. The promptings of the Holy Ghost. These are available to all peoples of the earth. They are guaranteed, at least in small measure, as a spiritual entitlement, the spirit or light of Christ. The primary mission of the Holy Ghost is to facilitate all communication that occurs between the spiritual realm and earth. It is impossible for any individual to receive and respond to a heavenly prompting without the influence of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 2:14). The Spirit’s influence is dynamic and varies depending on a few factors including the righteousness (wholesomeness or goodness), motivations, and desires of the individual. A distinctive characteristic of the truths of salvation is that they are attended by a spirit of comfort and peace. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to lift burdens, give courage, strengthen faith, grant consolation, extend hope, and reveal whatever is needed to those worthy of his sacred companionship (Moses 6:61).

2. The “first Comforter.” This is the same as the gift of the Holy Ghost or a special and enhanced right to the promptings of the Holy Ghost received only under the hands of a servant of the Lord holding the Melchizedek Priesthood. It exists only among the Lord’s people within the confines of the Lord’s earthly kingdom.3

3. The “Second Comforter.” This is the Savior himself. Receiving the Second Comforter implies a personal visit from Jesus Christ here in mortality.

The Prophet Joseph taught of the first and Second Comforters:

There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost [actually, the gift of the Holy Ghost], the same as given on the day of

Pentecost, and that all Saints receive after faith, repentance, and baptism. This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. . . .

The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter [the Second Comforter], which the Lord hath promised the saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses.

Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last [Second] Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even he will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God (TPJS, 149-151).

Receiving the Second Comforter is, on occasion, the privilege of those who have their calling and election made sure, meaning those who are “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). Elder McConkie commented:

The Lord Jesus Christ himself, the Second Comforter, will appear personally to the faithful. Mortal men have power while in this life to see God. “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1). The Brother of Jared, among others, is one who complied with this law and thereby saw the Lord. “Because of the knowledge of this man,” the record says, “he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew, that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting. Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him” (Ether 3:19-20) (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:738).

In November 1831 the Lord spoke to those whose calling and election would in due course be made sure, and whose “privilege” it would then be to receive the Second Comforter. He said: “Verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me” (D&C 67:10-14).

The Second Comforter will appear only to those who have had their calling and election made sure. However, having one’s calling and election made sure is not synonymous with receiving the Second Comforter. The reason is that only some— probably only a few—of those sealed up to eternal life will have the privilege and blessing of receiving a personal visit from the Savior.

#The Relationship of Celestial Marriage to One’s Being Sealed Up To Eternal Life

Within the celestial heaven, there are three degrees (D&C 131:1-4). In order to receive the highest degree, a man and a woman must be sealed to each other in the temple. Baptism opens the door and starts repentant persons traveling on the path leading to the celestial kingdom. As baptism is to the celestial heaven, so celestial marriage is to the highest heaven in the celestial kingdom. Those sealed together in the temple are promised an inheritance of glory, honor, power, and dominion in the kingdom of God. However, all these promises are conditional and contingent upon the subsequent faithfulness of the participating parties. If they keep the commandments after celestial marriage, their union continues in the life to come. If they do not conform to the standards of personal righteousness, their marriage is not of force when they die. They revert to their separate and single status.

D&C 132:19 has caused some confusion. It reads:

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

This verse has been interpreted by some to suggest that if a couple is sealed by proper authority in the temple, then their calling and election is made sure with the only other requirement being that they not commit murder (see D&C 132:26). This, of course, is illogical and untrue. The Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit of promise, knows the hearts of all people and will seal or ratify eternally only those relationships worthy of such ratification. Exaltation will occur only if both keep all their gospel covenants. If one or both members of the partnership fail to live up to their covenants, the Spirit will withdraw the seal, and the eternal relationship (and exaltation) will be null and void.

#The Relationship of the Melchizedek Priesthood to One’s Being Sealed Up to Eternal Life

Another vital ingredient, for a man, necessary for being sealed up to eternal life is receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and magnifying his calling in that priesthood. This priesthood is received by sacred covenant referred to as “the oath and covenant of the priesthood.” Since men are foreordained to their exaltation, and since no man can be exalted without the priesthood, it is inescapable to conclude that worthy brethren were also foreordained to receive the priesthood. In his discourse on the priesthood, the prophet Alma taught that those who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood in this life were “called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God” (Alma 13:1-12). Joseph Smith said, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world [and this includes all who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood] was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council” (TPJS, 365).

What If Those Whose Calling and Election Has Been Made Sure Thereafter Commit Grievous Sins?

In a previous chapter we discussed the sequence of covenants the Lord would have us enter into here in mortality.4 These begin with the baptismal covenant, include the covenant of receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood, and culminate with those most sacred covenants made in the temple, including the sealing of a man to a woman for eternity and being sealed up to eternal life. We also discussed that with each successive covenant, the individual is under an increasingly solemn obligation to obey the Lord and keep the covenant. There exist increasingly grave penalties for breaking a covenant as an individual progresses through the sequence.

There is a certain level of “light” or spiritual progress in this life that imposes an exceedingly solemn obligation upon an individual. The individual who has reached this lofty level of spiritual development has entered into and fulfilled all the covenants of the gospel including celestial marriage. He has also been sealed up to eternal life by the Holy Spirit of Promise. He has had his calling and election made sure. This individual thereby finds himself in a different category. “For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation” (D&C 82:3). He has entered into the most sacred covenant that can be entered into in this life. Consequently, he is qualified to receive, under certain tragic circumstances, the most serious penalty that can be received by mortal man. He is capable of becoming a son of Perdition and being cast into outer darkness forever. But, exactly who among this “sealed up” group would actually be assessed that penalty?

Surely there are many levels of sin and wickedness. Let us explore the consequences of various levels of sin that might be committed by those who have had their calling and election made sure.

There are two categories or two levels of sin that are easy to comment upon— the two extremes.

That all men commit sin before and after their calling and election is made sure is self-evident. There has been only one Sinless One, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important that the person who is sealed up to eternal life who continues to sin (as will every person who has been sealed up to eternal life), maintain the spirit of active repentance. He is under greater obligation than one who has not been sealed up. He must be introspective about his needs for repentance. He must remain close to the Spirit of God. He must be constantly striving to repent. He must be diligent in striving to build the kingdom of God on earth. Obviously the laws of repentance still apply to him. The more enlightened a person is, the more he seeks the gift of repentance. He strives mightily to free himself from sin as often as he falls short of the divine will and becomes subject in any degree to the Master of Sin who is Lucifer.

It follows that the sins of the God-fearing and the righteous are continually remitted because they repent and seek the Lord anew every day and every hour. The added blessing of having one’s calling and election made sure is itself an encouragement to avoid sin and a hedge against its further commission. By that long course of obedience and trial that enabled them to gain so great a blessing, sanctified saints have charted a course and developed a pattern of living that avoids sin and encourages righteousness. Almost invariably, such a man will continue on to his exaltation.

At the other extreme, if a man whose calling and election has been made sure were to lose the Spirit and become an enemy to the Church, coming out in open rebellion against the Church and the Savior, then he has committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, the unpardonable sin. He will never achieve exaltation or any degree of salvation. He is guilty of “shedding innocent blood,” the innocent blood of Christ, and assenting unto the Savior’s death. He crucifies the Son of God afresh. There is no redemption possible for this man. He will become forever a son of perdition, consigned forever to outer darkness.

But what about those levels of sin between these two? What about the man who is sealed up to eternal life and then looses the Spirit, leaves the Church, and never returns. He does not become any enemy of the Church, but completely abandons the Lord’s earthly kingdom. Or, what about the individual who commits adultery or murder? What will become of all these unfortunate individuals? Can they repent? Will the Lord forgive them?

Special mention should be made of the murderer. There are obviously various degrees of murder. President Spencer W. Kimball explained: “Even among willful murderers there are grades and categories. . . . There are those who kill in drunkenness, in rage, in anger, in jealousy. There are those who kill for gain, for power, for fear. There are those who kill for lust. They certainly will [all] suffer different degrees of punishment hereafter” (Miracle of Forgiveness, 129-30). The individual who deliberately, and with forethought, sheds innocent blood is in serious trouble whether or not he has been sealed up to eternal life. This sin is said to be “unforgivable” and, in part, falls outside the Lord’s atonement. He must begin to pay the penalty himself. He “shall be destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption” (D&C 132:26). This is the basis of the so-called “blood atonement doctrine.” Does this mean that such a person should be put to death by the Church by the shedding of his blood? Certainly that meaning is implied, and perhaps that would be done if a righteous theocracy governed the earth. Today, however, the Church does not have legal authority for such actions. It is not the doctrine of the Church that such persons should be executed. We simply leave the eventually possibility of their salvation to the Lord. We are taught that such an individual, even when sincerely repentant, will never receive above a telestial glory.

As for all other grievous sins between the common lesser sins mentioned above and murder, those who commit them are also in serious trouble, though exaltation does remain a possibility. If they sincerely desire to repent, it is possible for them to achieve exaltation through a very difficult and hazardous procedure. By falling from their lofty state, they have rejected and forsaken Christ’s atonement. Therefore, they must pay the penalty themselves. They also may be “destroyed in the flesh, and . . . delivered unto the buffetings of Satan” until the Lord’s coming (D&C 132:26).

Can you imagine how awful and frightening it must be to be turned over to the “buffetings of Satan”?! The important point to emphasize is that through the process of being destroyed in the flesh and being turned over to Satan, the individual may only be exalted if he successfully and completely repents of his sins and does so under difficult and trying circumstances. It seems likely that only a few of such sinners will be successful.

Adultery, of course, is one of these grievous sins, and when it is committed by one whose calling and election has been made sure, his plight is especially difficult. There is available forgiveness to the point of exaltation, but the prophet Joseph Smith, apparently referring to the man who has been sealed up to his exaltation, wrote: “If a man commit adultery, he cannot receive the celestial kingdom of God. Even if he is saved in any kingdom, it cannot be the celestial kingdom” (HC, 6:81). This statement has caused some adulterers to despair in hopelessness. President Spencer W. Kimball offered hope to the adulterer when he observed: “Going back to the Prophet’s original statement, had he inserted in it the three words I believe it implies: ‘and remains unrepentant,’ this statement would fit perfectly in the program as given in the numerous scriptures, many of which came through the Prophet himself” (Miracle of Forgiveness, 350). In stating this, President Kimball emphasized that he did not intend to minimize “the seriousness of the sexual sins or other transgressions but merely to hold out hope to the transgressor, so that men and women of sin may strive with all their power to overcome their errors, wash themselves ‘in the blood of the Lamb’ and be purged and purified, and thus be able to return to their maker” (Ibid., 351).

#How Is One’s Calling and Election Made Sure?

It is clear that many of the saints in all ages and all dispensations have attained and will yet obtain the high spiritual status of being sealed up to eternal life while still in mortality. When an individual first becomes aware that he has received such an honor, we may say that he receives “the more sure word of prophecy” (D&C 131:5). This term is found in 2 Peter and means the same as “having one’s calling and election made sure.” Other similar expressions are: “being sealed up unto eternal life,” “receiving the other (Second) Comforter,” and having one’s life “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

But how is this accomplished? How is the individual actually informed that he or she has achieved this blessed level of spiritual accomplishment? It would seem that there are four ways an individual might receive “the more sure word of prophecy”:

1. Personal revelation. The Lord taught the prophet Joseph Smith that “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance” (D&C 131:6). This verse is commonly used alone and taken out of context. It is sometimes applied to all knowledge, both spiritual and secular. This is probably defensible in the context of referring to knowledge of the things of God, as the Prophet Joseph also taught, “A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth” (HC, 4:588).

D&C 131:6, however, when taken in context, has reference to the “more sure word of prophecy,” and not simply to the acquisition of any intellectual knowledge. In other words, no man will be exalted in ignorance of prior confirmatory knowledge that he has made it into the celestial kingdom. This knowledge is received through the ministration of the Holy Ghost by personal revelation. The prophet Joseph Smith received such communication from the Lord through the Spirit, and it was recorded in scripture: “I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father” (D&C 132:49).

Those who fully accept the gospel and abide in its truths may be gradually granted by the Spirit of the Lord a blessed state of growing peace and security during this life. This comes to an individual incrementally, over time. It is freedom from the confusion and fear engendered by false and apostate religious doctrines. It is a comfortable assurance you have found the truth. It is the blessed knowledge and confidence that you are considered worthy of exaltation. This comfortable state is sometimes referred to in scripture as the “rest of the Lord.” This knowledge, or rest, can only come by personal revelation from the Spirit of God. This is also the gift of hope.5

2. By invitation of the living prophet—by priesthood ordinance. The prophet/president of the Lord’s Church has the prerogative of inviting righteous individuals to be sealed up to eternal life by sacred priesthood ordinance.

3. A visit from the Second Comforter. A righteous individual may become a candidate for a personal visitation from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Such a blessing is accorded only those who are sealed up to eternal life.

4. At the partial judgment. In his book Gospel Doctrine, Joseph F. Smith taught of a “partial judgment” which precedes the final judgment and occurs at the time of our death (448-49).6 In this judgment, meted out by the “gatekeeper,” Jesus Christ himself, all will be assigned to either paradise or prison. This is a vital judgment since all assigned to paradise will be sealed up to eternal life and will continue on to their exaltation.

There is an irony applicable to those who are worthy to be sealed up to eternal life. It is that the person worthy of such a blessing is less inclined to be concerned over when or where they might receive confirmation of such a blessing. The individual fully qualified for such an honor is likely to be more concerned about others and their spiritual and temporal welfare than he or she is about self.

If the reader desires a review of the concept of foreordination, please review the preceding chapter, Foreordination.

2 For a review of the title “Holy Spirit of Promise” and the other titles of the Holy Ghost, see chapter 5, The Holy Ghost.

3 For more discussion of the gift of the Holy Ghost see, “The Baptism of the Spirit” in volume 1, chapter 18, Baptism, the Ordinance that Brings Spiritual Growth.

See chapter 3, Covenants and Covenant Making.

For further discussion of the gift of hope, see “The Fruits of Faith,” in volume 1, chapter 11, Other Notes on Faith.

For a discussion of the partial judgment, see “The Partial Judgment,” in chapter 13, The Spirit World.