Temple Sealings and the Atonement

I’m in the Elder Quorum’s presidency at my church, which is a leadership role over the men.  Any presidency in my church typically consists of a president and two counselors, and I am one of those counselors.

I bring this up because I was going to write about something else this Sunday, but on the first Sunday of every month, the presidency is responsible for teaching the Elders, and this month was my turn.  I was given free rein to discuss anything I wanted with the men and halfway through the preparation, I realized that that lesson was what I was going to publish this month.

A lot of this was triggered by one of Christ’s sermons in John 14,

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (John 14:2-4)

There’s some fun imagery going on here.  “In my Father’s house are many mansions” set up a fun visual of God having this grand building covering these millions and billions and trillions of mansions like a giant tent.  But because I can never leave well enough alone, I went searching the dictionary for clarification, and found a less common definition of house meaning a family, especially one goes for generations both past and future.  House, then, has similarities with clan.

So if I reread it as, “In my Father’s family are many mansions,” this adds a new dimension to Christ’s mission.

Another thing to take note, there is no doubt of where Christ will be.  He is in his Father’s house; unlike us, he has never been on shaky ground; there is and always has been a place for him there.  What Christ is doing is so utterly selfless, he spends his time making room for us and that we will be in the same place as he is.  And it’s not a trailer home or apartment that he’s preparing, he is putting us into mansions.  Eternity is grand and it’s his purpose to put us there.

Too often, I feel, we overlook what the reward of our righteousness is.

Christ also makes the bold claim that we know the way that he goes or are on the path.  Well, he was speaking to the disciples, but considering that we’ve walked with him the best we can through study as the disciples did who actually walked with him, I feel comfortable applying his statement to us.

Yet, right in the next verse, Thomas comes to contradict the Lord, saying, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest: and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:5-6)

Christ could not have been more plain before Thomas spoke up, but then, the gospel itself is so plain and clear, and yet the majority of us struggle to comprehend the simple concepts of the gospel message.  I believe this is because we forget so quickly and easily that Christ embodies it all, as he had to remind Thomas of in the previous verses.

What is the gospel?  “Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.  And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.” (3 Nephi 27:13-15)

The gospel is no more and no less than the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and all the principles and ordinances of the gospel are the steps we take to apply the Atonement to ourselves and allow him to save us in his eternal glory.

When I think of baptismal ordinance, the symbols of baptism are centered in Christ’s Atonement.  Paul speaks loud and clear on this subject:

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:3-6)

In simpler language, baptism is a symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection.  When we are buried under the water, we are symbolizing Christ’s death by crucifixion and his burial, and when we arise from the water, it is a symbol of his resurrection.  And in another sense, it also has an additional representation of his Atonement in that when we are baptized, we slay our old man, or bury our sins and are washed clean and rise from the water pure and new because of his grace and atoning sacrifice.

The sacrament ordinance, where we take the bread and water, is a symbol of his Atonement, in that the emblem of bread represents Christ’s body that he sacrificed for us, and the water being a symbol of the blood he shed for us.  It’s a weekly reminder of the Atonement and also has great cleansing power.  For myself, there are few occasions that I feel nearer to the Savior than when I have taken the sacrament worthily and with full purpose of heart.

With all this thoughts about the how the ordinances remind us of Christ, I asked my class the question: How do temple sealings represent Christ’s Atonement?

The highest ordinance that we perform in all of our temples is the sealing ordinance.  In a basic sense, the sealing is the Latter-day Saint marriage covenant, where husbands and wives are sealed for time and for all eternity.  Being married in the temple is a big deal for us.  Civil marriages are fine, but if I may quote a line from the comic Fables, “All contracts end with death.”

In the Lord’s rather lengthy revelation to Joseph Smith on marriage, “All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to held this power…are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.” (D&C 132:7, emphasis added)

Basically, all marriage contracts in the world are made in the world, but when they aren’t sealed, the covenant doesn’t continue past death or into resurrection.  To be sealed, though, is to have that marriage last not just for our time on earth but through the eternities.

“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” (D&C 132:19, emphasis added)

There’s more there than I’m going to discuss in this post, but I wanted to give you the full verse in this case, because this outlines entirely what the temple sealing is about.  To be sealed is not just about being married for eternity, it is about obtaining all the exaltation and glory that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ wish to give us.  It’s a treasure beyond price.

So I thought that my question was a fair one to consider and not one that many of us in the Church think about: how do the sealings remind us of Christ’s Atonement?

I had written some of my thoughts on that, but the class came up with some very intriguing ideas I hadn’t considered.  Those included:

1)      Atonement can be broken down into at-one-ment, or specifically being at one with God.  The sealing can remind us of symbolically of Christ, for as Adam said of marriage, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Gen 2:24, emphasis added)
            As well, Jesus intercessory prayer speaks much of the doctrine of becoming one with him as he is one with the Father.

2)      Christ refers to the Church as being his bride in Revelations, in his parables, and also in modern revelation, which I’ll quote here:  “That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners; And be adorned as a bride for that day when though shalt unveil the heavens… that thy glory may fill the earth;” (D&C 109:73-74)

Those were the standouts and I wish that I had thought of those myself but I’m very grateful that I have such a good class that brought to my attention what I couldn’t do alone.  But here are a couple of my inspirations:

1)      It has always been most thought-provoking to me the role altars play in the temple ceremonies, and no less so in the temple sealing.  Altars anciently were holy places that the saints of God would offer their sacrifices to him, all the way back to the days of Adam.  To sacrifice was a commandment from God after the Fall and casting them out from the Garden of Eden.  No explanation was given at the time of the commandment, but “…after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?  And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.  And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.” (Moses 5:6-7)
            Altars were the place of offering sacrifice to the Lord, much in the way that Christ offered himself in sacrifice.  These days, we are not commanded to sacrifice by the shedding of blood, as Christ was the infinite sacrifice.  But we are asked to “offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (3 Nephi 9:20)  And when we come to the altar at the sealing, are we not offering our whole lives, not only to the Lord but to our spouses for all eternity.  Symbolically, aren’t we showing that we will sacrifice and offer ourselves entirely for the other person, just as Christ offered himself entirely for us?

2)      We believe the sealing to be an eternal covenant, contract, oath, and law.  And how does that not bring to mind the Savior’s Atonement?  “For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice…And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.” (Alma 34:10, 14)

Alma once taught that “all things denote there is a God” (Alma 30:44) and it is my opinion that all things can teach us about the nature of God if we’re willing to open our hearts and ask him to reveal to us how these things can be. 

Before I finish, I’ll have to leave a more personal note than I usually attach to these essays of mine. 

I have never been married and at this time and I currently have no prospects.  I would love for it to happen, but until it does, I take my opportunities to improve myself as much as I can so that I’m a good prospect. 

Part of that has been observing other marriages (of which there are not few in this world) and I’ve seen what works and what hasn’t.  I’ve been fortunate that my parents have had a good marriage; I don’t know if they noticed, but I have been scrutinizing their relationship for years and they’ve set a pattern I hope to follow. 

I’ve paid a lot of attention to the marriages that have failed or had extreme difficulties, and the thing that concerns me greatly is how often pornography has been involved in one way or another.  We’re warned all the time about this plague every General Conference the Church has.  Because of how common and easy it is to access, it has a powerful, invasive force in entering and ruining the lives of those addicted to it.  If you’re not involved, don’t get involved ever.  If you are, seek help.  Ecclesiastical leaders are there to help; I know that the Church’s bishops and branch presidents are there to help those struggling morally and spiritually with anything to deal with the law of chastity. 

With all things in the gospel, these things are only there to help you gain the greatest peace and joy that can be offered here and now, and in the eternities.