Sealing Power and Temple Blessings

Have you ever wondered why you are the only one in the family with curly hair, or blue eyes or that you are shorter/taller than the others? If you found yourself "hooked" on family history, you might find the answers to the things you've always wondered about. Yes, the LDS church used to admonish us to do genealogy but a few years ago changed it to family history. As one who did genealogy, I found myself surrounded by family history which makes those names and dates appear as individuals who made my life possible. You are no different.
Sister Buchan presented lesson 17 with the help of many sisters and their experiences in researching.
“Elijah came to restore to the earth … the fulness of the power of priesthood. This priesthood holds the keys of binding and sealing on earth and in heaven of all the ordinances and principles pertaining to the salvation of man."
There was a great story at the beginning of the lesson that refers to JF Smith's account of meeting someone who had a goal of documenting everyone who had lived in Essex county , MA before 1700. The account continued as the man commented that once he got started he couldn't let go of this urge.  He could not stop his work. JF Smith explained (with consent) about Elijah's call to us and our responsibility to save our dead. The man thought it a funny story and couldn't believe it but realized there was something that drove him on his quest. For those of you have done a bit of family research, now is the time to jump in as the age of computers has made the hunt so much easier. That man you found had a wife and family and maybe they relocated across the ocean or country and farmed somewhere or died on a ship and never made it but left a family to carry on. These people are waiting for us to discover them and make it possible through our temples for them to be united with their families for eternity. Yes, we are a part of those families.  The comment was made that what will our ancestors say when we pass through the veil and haven't helped them with their temple work? "I've been waiting and you didn't - - -  -" How much joy will you experience when you pass through the veil and people rush to greet you with love and thank you for doing their temple work? Which would you prefer?
Elijah had a calling to fulfill and the following scriptures explain it.

"Malachi, the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, closed his predictions with these words:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Mal. 4:5–6.)

It seems to be most fitting that the last of the old prophets should close his words with a promise to future generations, and in that promise predict a time to come when there would be a linking of the dispensations past with those of later times. …

We have a much clearer interpretation of the words of Malachi given by the Nephite prophet Moroni, who appeared to Joseph Smith September 21, 1823. This is the way the angel quoted them:

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

“If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” (D&C 2:1–3.)"

The only place these eternal ordinances can be performed is on this earth. It is here that we can help those who did not have the opportunity to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ participate in the promised blessings, the saving ordinances. It is in our temples where these sealing ordinances can be performed for the living and the dead.  The challenge is for all the ordinances to be completed, not just baptism but all those that will enable our family members to go to the celestial kingdom if they so choose.

"If you want salvation in the fullest, that is exaltation in the kingdom of God, … you have got to go into the temple of the Lord and receive these holy ordinances which belong to that house, which cannot be had elsewhere. No man shall receive the fulness of eternity, of exaltation alone; no woman shall receive that blessing alone; but man and wife, when they receive the sealing power in the temple of the Lord, shall pass on to exaltation, and shall continue and become like the Lord. And that is the destiny of men, that is what the Lord desires for His children."

 I think the following statement is straight to the point and a good reminder of how we are all linked together. "'the fact that the entire work of salvation is a vicarious work, Jesus Christ standing as the propitiator, redeeming us from death, for which we were not responsible, and also redeeming us from the responsibility of our own sins, on condition of our repentance and acceptance of the gospel. He has done this on a grand infinite scale and by the same principle he has delegated authority to the members of his Church to act for the dead who are helpless to perform the saving ordinances for themselves."

I think that is enough said. Our class had great discussion and several experiences shared that testified of the spirit of Elijah being active in our ward and elsewhere.

Try family history for a bit. Maybe you can only start with a small step of something wonderful about your mother/father or grandparents that you could write and share with others in your family. Those gems are family treasures no one can buy! The next step could be a name to take to the temple as a gift to that long dead great grandparent.

Your family history hooked bloggess,

Janice