Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise

Elder David A. Bednar is an Apostle. He said life is like a trip back home to Heavenly Father. To get there, we need ordinances and covenants. An ordinance is a holy act done with priesthood authority, like baptism. A covenant is a promise between us and God.

Elder Bednar told a story. A man wanted to visit his family in another country. He packed his suitcase and flew there on an airplane. When people travel to another country, they need a passport. A passport is a little book that shows who you are. The man had a real passport. But he had not taken good care of it. It was stained and damaged, and a ripped page had been fixed with tape and glue.

At the airport, the officer looked at the man’s passport. Because it was damaged, the officer would not stamp it. The man could not go into the country! He was sad and did not know what to do.

Elder Bednar said the lesson is simple: we have to take care of a passport all the time. Our covenants are like that. We keep taking care of them by keeping our promises with God every day.

Elder Bednar also said that hard things that happen to us that are not our fault do not take away God’s promises.

The Holy Ghost is part of the Godhead. Elder Bednar taught that the Holy Ghost is also called the Holy Spirit of Promise. He is like the officer with the stamp. When we keep our covenants and repent, the Holy Ghost puts God’s stamp of approval on our covenants. This happens little by little, over time.

In the temple, a husband and wife can be sealed. That means they can be a family forever, joined together and joined to Heavenly Father’s big family.

Sometimes a person in a family breaks their promises with God. That can make everyone very sad. Elder Bednar taught that if you keep your covenants, another person’s choices can never take away the blessings God has promised you. Jesus Christ can help us through anything.

Elder Bednar ended with words from King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon. People who keep God’s commandments are blessed, and if they stay faithful, they can live with God and be happy forever.

A scripture for this talk: Doctrine and Covenants 132:7. Our promises with God are sealed by the Holy Ghost so they can last forever.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared a lesson he learned from President Boyd K. Packer: life is a journey back to the presence of God for all of us. President Packer said, “Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into His presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality.”

Elder Bednar told a story about a man who traveled by airplane to visit family in another country. At passport control he handed his passport to a border official. The passport was valid, issued by his government. But he had not taken good care of it. The personal information page was stained and damaged, and a ripped page had been repaired with tape and glue. So the official rejected the passport and would not stamp it, and the man could not enter the country.

“The integrity of a passport must be maintained over time.” Having a valid passport made it possible for him to enter, but it did not guarantee he would be allowed in. Elder Bednar added that the analogy has limits: hardships we experience through no fault of our own do not reduce God’s promises or cancel our covenants.

A covenant is a solemn promise between God and His children. God sets the conditions, and we use our agency to agree to do what He asks. An ordinance is a holy act performed by priesthood authority, like baptism or the sacrament. Covenants and ordinances are spiritual credentials that open the windows of heaven to give us purpose, direction, and strength. But “Ongoing faithfulness is required for those credentials to be valid and for promised blessings to be received.”

The Holy Ghost is called the Holy Spirit of Promise. He confirms, or approves, our righteous acts. Every gospel ordinance and covenant must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise to last beyond this life. That sealing is usually not a one-time event. It comes over time as we repent, honor our covenants, and give our hearts to God. Like the man who needed a stamp in his passport, each of us needs that witness from the Holy Spirit of Promise.

Elder Bednar explained that a temple sealing has two parts: a husband and wife joined to each other, and the couple joined to God’s eternal family and to all generations. Sometimes, sadly, a spouse breaks covenants, and families face sorrow or even divorce. A faithful spouse might ask whether another person’s choices can take away what God has promised. “The answer to this question is an emphatic no!”

Unrighteous choices by one person cannot stop God’s love, strength, and blessings from flowing to another. “The power of the Lord’s infinite and eternal Atonement can overcome all things, all the time, everywhere, for every person who holds fast to their covenants with Him.” Elder Bednar said he does not know exactly how and when every promised blessing will come, but he knows they will come.

He closed with King Benjamin’s testimony about the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. They are blessed in all things, and if they stay faithful to the end, they can dwell with God in never-ending happiness.

Scripture to look up: Doctrine and Covenants 132:7. Covenants must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise to have power in eternity.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles began with a lesson from President Boyd K. Packer: whatever our citizenship, race, occupation, or generation, life is a homeward journey for all of us back to the presence of God. President Packer continued, “Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into His presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality.”

He told of a man who traveled by airplane to visit relatives in a distant country. At passport control he presented a valid passport issued by an authorized agency of his country’s government. But he had not taken good care of it. The personal information page was stained and damaged, and a ripped page had been repaired in an unauthorized manner with tape and glue. The border official rejected the passport and refused the stamp he needed to enter, leaving the man disappointed and perplexed.

“The lesson of this story is quite simple: the integrity of a passport must be maintained over time.” A valid passport made entry possible but did not guarantee it. He noted the analogy’s limits: “Unlike damage to a physical passport, the adversities and afflictions we experience through no fault of our own do not diminish God’s promises to us or invalidate our covenants.” For disciples, receiving priesthood ordinances and entering sacred covenants are essential steps in that quest of a lifetime to align our hearts, minds, and lives with God’s will.

He defined terms. “A covenant is a solemn promise—an enduring commitment between God and His sons and daughters.” God sets the conditions, and His children use their agency to learn about and consent to them. An ordinance “An ordinance is a holy act performed by the authority of the priesthood that has spiritual purpose and eternal significance and is related to God’s laws and statutes.” “The covenants and ordinances of the Savior’s restored gospel are spiritual credentials that can open wide the heavenly windows of opportunity to receive in our lives divine purpose, direction, and strength.” And “Ongoing faithfulness is required for those credentials to be valid and for promised blessings to be received.”

The Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, is also described in scripture as the Holy Spirit of Promise, who ratifies, or confirms as acceptable to God, the righteous acts of His children. As the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, covenants not sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection (Doctrine and Covenants 132:7). “Receiving this ratifying sealing by the Holy Ghost typically is not a one-time event; rather, it comes over time as we repent sincerely and consistently, honor our covenants, and yield our hearts unto God.” Just as the traveler needed an authorized stamp, each of us needs the verifying witness of the Holy Spirit of promise.

He then addressed the temple sealing of a husband and wife, a crowning covenant and ordinance. It has two related parts: the eternal union of husband and wife (a lateral sealing) and the sealing of the couple into God’s eternal family, linking all generations (a vertical sealing). Sometimes a spouse’s sins, infidelity, or apostasy bring contention, alienation, and even divorce. A faithful spouse may ask, “Can the unrighteous exercise of moral agency by another person rob me of what God has promised?” “The answer to this question is an emphatic no!”

“However, unrighteousness by one person cannot hinder or thwart the flow of God’s love, strength, and blessings to another person.” “The power of the Lord’s infinite and eternal Atonement can overcome all things, all the time, everywhere, for every person who holds fast to their covenants with Him.” A spouse who breaks covenants and does not repent gives up the ratifying seal for himself or herself, but a faithful spouse who presses forward remains worthy to receive the seal for the vertical part of the sealing and all other associated individual blessings. Elder Bednar was candid: “I do not know and cannot explain precisely how and when promised blessings are received.” But “No faithful disciple will ultimately be deprived of any eternal blessing God has promised because of another individual’s unrighteous exercise of moral agency.”

He concluded with King Benjamin: Consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual. And if they hold out faithful to the end, they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness (Mosiah 2:41). He joyfully testified of that promise.