I like permanent things.
So much of what we experience in life is temporary, even the things we anchor ourselves to, like our job, our calling, or our house.
It’s important to let go of things, but we don’t have to let go of everything. We need to let go of temporary things and keep hold of eternal things.
Nephi understood this. He observed that his neighbors’ motivation was “to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver” (Helaman 7:21), “instead of laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt” (Helaman 8:25; see also Matthew 6:19-21, 3 Nephi 13:19-21). Given this focus on permanance, Nephi must have had a particular appreciation for the promise God subsequently made to him.
“I give unto you power,” God said, “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; compare with the Savior’s words to Peter in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18). Nephi exercised this power soon after by calling for a famine, a request which God honored. (See Helaman 11:4-5.) But the implications of this power went far beyond this life, stretching into the eternities.
Joseph Smith taught:
It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, 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.
Doctrine and Covenants 128:9
Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained:
We tend to think of the sealing authority as applying only to certain temple ordinances, but that authority is necessary to make any ordinance valid and binding beyond death. The sealing power confers a seal of legitimacy upon your baptism, for example, so that it is recognized here and in heaven.
“The Sealing Power,” General Conference, October 2023
So the sealing power is really the power to make things permanent, by placing God’s seal of approval on promises which endure beyond this life. As President Russell M. Nelson recently taught,
Priesthood keys distinguish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from any other organization on earth. Many other organizations can and do make your life better here in mortality. But no other organization can and will influence your life after death.
“Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” General Conference, April 2024
Today, I will be grateful for the sealing power. I will be grateful that God has entrusted to his children the ability to make eternal promises which He recognizes and will fulfill. I will be grateful for the ability to enter into permanent covenants with Him and to build permanent relationships with other people.