7 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.
Today, I’m pondering the permanence of the work we do in temples. If we were each to list all of our activities of the past week and then estimate the longevity of the outcomes of each of those activities, we might be disappointed in the return we are getting on the investment of our time. We might start looking for more activities which resulted in durable outcomes.
As we read in the passage above, God has given power to some of His children whereby they can bless us not only during this life but into eternity. The work we do in temples can last forever, and therefore it is among the most important work we do.
Today, I will remember the long-ranging significance of temple work. As I plan my schedule in the coming weeks, I will remember to prioritize activities which produce results of lasting value, including participating in temple ordinances.
As we read in the passage above, God has given power to some of His children whereby they can bless us not only during this life but into eternity. The work we do in temples can last forever, and therefore it is among the most important work we do.
Today, I will remember the long-ranging significance of temple work. As I plan my schedule in the coming weeks, I will remember to prioritize activities which produce results of lasting value, including participating in temple ordinances.
Thank you for pondering on this topic and having a strong desire to do temple work. This might be a silly question, but in Helaman 10:7 when it says, “whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”, means to rid ourselves of something, correct?
That’s a great question. It seems clear from the context that “loose” in this verse is intended to represent the opposite of “seal.” In a similar passage (Matthew 16:19), Jesus told Peter that whatever he would “bind” on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatever he would “loose” on earth would be loosed in heaven.
I think these verbs can have multiple meanings. For example, Nephi’s first use of this power was to “seal” the heavens, causing a famine (Helaman 11:3-5). The rain only returned when Nephi “loosed” the heavens, persuading God to bring rain again (Helaman 11:9-17). Note that this is the same use of the sealing power which was exercised by Elijah in 1 Kings 17-18. The main point seems to be that Nephi, Peter, Elijah, and others have gained the trust of God to the degree that He has promised to honor their words. When they declare something “sealed,” even though they are mortal, God honors that declaration from heaven. One implication of this is that we can be sealed together as families for eternity, but I believe that is only one manifestation of that power.
I hope that helps.
– Paul