Parental Sealing Power Able to Raise to Celestial?
Q.
My friend and I had a discussion the other day about the sealing power. He seems to believe that righteous parents who seal their children to themselves, have the power to bring their children up to the Celestial kingdom who may have fallen short and are able to do this because of the power of the "sealing power". What are your thoughts on this?
A.
I've heard this optomistic claim before. Before getting into it, I would have to say that it doesn't sit right with free agency. It also opposes righteous judgement, by making some in better positions only because of someone else's righteousness. Someone could argue, "well, what about Christ and his atonement for us, doesn't his action rob justice occuring to us?"
That is true, but we still must change from that time forth and become sanctified through a process, to be a true saint (perfect person). Whereas this idea is proposing that a person doesn't need to change their character.
In regard this, Doctrine and Covenants 88:21 says _
"And they who are not sanctified throught the law which I have given to you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestirial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom."
So sanctification (which is done by the Holy Ghost through a lengthy process) is necessary to gain the Celestial Kingdom. Also to live in a particular kingdom you must be prepared to abide the law of that kingdom.
In spite of popular belief, people won't change afterward. Alma 34:34-35 presents the following _
"You cannot say, when you are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. No, you cannot say this; for that same spirit which does possess your bodies at the time you go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For look, if you have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, see, you have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he does seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord has withdrwan from you, and has no place in you, and the devil has all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked."
What Alma is saying is that our spirit will not be any different in the resurrection. If we were not willing to live a righteous lifestyle in this time then we will not be willing to do so later either. Who our parents were will make no difference to that.
Note it says that the devil will seal you his.
A further thought is given in Alma 12:11 _
"And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell."
If a person refuses to learn the mysteries of the kingdom now, a binding upon them will be by the devil, with "the chains of hell."
1 Nephi 15:33 states _
"... they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they also must be filthy; and if they are filthy it has to be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if they can then the kingdom of God must be filthy also."
So for a person to be able to live in the Celestial Kingdom he cannot be doing things that are filthy.
My friend and I had a discussion the other day about the sealing power. He seems to believe that righteous parents who seal their children to themselves, have the power to bring their children up to the Celestial kingdom who may have fallen short and are able to do this because of the power of the "sealing power". What are your thoughts on this?
A.
I've heard this optomistic claim before. Before getting into it, I would have to say that it doesn't sit right with free agency. It also opposes righteous judgement, by making some in better positions only because of someone else's righteousness. Someone could argue, "well, what about Christ and his atonement for us, doesn't his action rob justice occuring to us?"
That is true, but we still must change from that time forth and become sanctified through a process, to be a true saint (perfect person). Whereas this idea is proposing that a person doesn't need to change their character.
In regard this, Doctrine and Covenants 88:21 says _
"And they who are not sanctified throught the law which I have given to you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestirial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom."
So sanctification (which is done by the Holy Ghost through a lengthy process) is necessary to gain the Celestial Kingdom. Also to live in a particular kingdom you must be prepared to abide the law of that kingdom.
In spite of popular belief, people won't change afterward. Alma 34:34-35 presents the following _
"You cannot say, when you are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. No, you cannot say this; for that same spirit which does possess your bodies at the time you go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For look, if you have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, see, you have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he does seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord has withdrwan from you, and has no place in you, and the devil has all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked."
What Alma is saying is that our spirit will not be any different in the resurrection. If we were not willing to live a righteous lifestyle in this time then we will not be willing to do so later either. Who our parents were will make no difference to that.
Note it says that the devil will seal you his.
A further thought is given in Alma 12:11 _
"And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell."
If a person refuses to learn the mysteries of the kingdom now, a binding upon them will be by the devil, with "the chains of hell."
1 Nephi 15:33 states _
"... they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they also must be filthy; and if they are filthy it has to be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if they can then the kingdom of God must be filthy also."
So for a person to be able to live in the Celestial Kingdom he cannot be doing things that are filthy.
posted by Doug Towers at 6:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home