Mormon High Priests grant salvation?

Question

Doctrine & Covenants 68
12 And of as many as the Father shall bear record, to you shall be given power to seal them up unto eternal life. Amen.

15 Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood,

Joseph Smith said, "The order of the High-Priesthood is that they have power given to them to seal up the Saints unto Eternal Life" (October 1831 General Conference meeting in Orange, Ohio.)

How do Mormons invoke this power? ...must be in the secret temple ritual somehow... shouldn't everyone know this, though?

This is Mormon scripture: "you shall be given power to seal them up unto eternal life. "
This is my question - what is the power, where does it come from, what does it do if eternal life isn't salvation?

LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie (Mormon Doctrine p 670) :
"Full salvation is attained by virtue of knowledge, truth, righteousness, and all true principles. Many conditions must exist in order to make such salvation available to men. Without the atonement, the gospel, the priesthood, and the sealing power, there would be no salvation"
There it is again, the sealing power... no salvation without it - the high priests grant this salvation.

Answer 1

according to #12 in your question, the power is given only to "seal" up to eternal life those persons identified by the God the Father, in otherwords, God is directing the process, and anything contrary to what He appoints doesn't count. - sealing is not really the same thing as granting salvation. Salvation comes through the Lord.

As for temple rites, they are not secret. They are SACRED. that means very special and important, and of God - so they ought not to be spoken of carelessly. everyone is welcome to go to the temple, as soon as they have prepared.

[as for that stuff on tv, etc (that some individuals answering earlier have referred to) - please. that stuff is so not true. and the people perpetuating those false ideas know it. and God knows it, and he knows they know it.

if you want to learn about mormonism, inquire from current authorities in mormonism. to use an analogy, what kind of information about american history or culture do you think you would get if, instead of talking to americans, you asked Al Qaida? come on, now, people.]

God lives. He is concerned about my welfare and yours, and wants us to do well and be happy. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on our behalf, and who was resurrected, so that we would have the opportunities of salvation. Only through Christ we all will live again, and we can, if we follow him, obtain joy and happiness for eternity.

Best Wishes on your journey.

Answer 2

What everyone needs to know is the facts below. Keep an open mind and look at this. It is facts none of it made up.

This is a quick guide to archived discussions from Recovery from Mormonism related to polygamy and the wives of Joseph Smith. Many Mormons are unaware of Joseph Smith's wives. Mormons innocently believe these women were only sealed to him after his death. They are unaware of his relations with women as young as 14. One of his young wives was Helen Kimball. Be sure to read her article.

Just look at the facts. You may wonder how so many people could be wrong for so long. But that is the hard truth of it. And the really sad part of it is that the mormon religion is not alone in being a false religion teaching false teachings. Joseph Smiths actions do not even make him appear to be a Christian. He could not have been a prophet from Jesus Christ our true one and only Saviour. Be sure to look at the information provided in the sites below. You can also take a look at my blog at http://supplytheword.blogspot.com/...... I try my best to put something on there every morning for anyone that would like to know the truth. Coming from The Holy Bible kjv
God Bless You

Answer 3

You read it , but you do not understand it.
and Worse, you make assumption about it.

Just as husband and wife can be seal as Eternal couple, the reality and given of such blessing depends on their true committment. "Sealing" just gave you the "pass" through that door way. Seal to eternal life is no different
The power mention is the Priesthood power, God's power.
Even in the Bible, God has granted power to those that is loyal and faithful, Christ even granted power to Peter James and John.

I know is hard for you to accept, and would not expect you to accept, since you could not accept our basic doctrine.

Answer 4

I hate it when people say you should ask a Mormon authority if you want to know about Mormonism. That's like saying you should ask a toyota salesman if you want to know about toyotas. I'm sure you'll hear all sorts of great things. If you want an objective answer (about cars or religion) you should ask an independant researcher who is unbiased.

There is a lot of contradiction between what was said in the early days of the church and what the current church teaches. That quote from Joseph Smith was no doubt given when he hadn't completely decided what the role of a high priest should be. That is certainly not something that is taught in church now days.

Answer 5

What happens in the temple is SACRED not secret we hold them in very high regard. And as far as becoming a high priest thing the Melchizedek Priesthood was given to Joesph Smith by Peter James and John. He then passed it on. Read verse 14 too. realize that when it says "Amen" it's talking about something else now! About what? Your Question holds no structure! it is like my arch of my foot in my least favorite shoes! NO support at all! these verses have rarely anything to do with your title question and your next questions come out of the blue! please help me understand where you are coming from!

and to JC
if you are getting your sense of reality from HBO you've got other problems far from Mormons and just to correct you That show is about FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints) instead of LDS(Latter-Day Saints) or Mormons.

Answer 6

The power you are wondering about is the Priesthood, it is esentially the power of God on earth, performed through men who worthily hold it. Not just any person in the church who holds the Priesthood can perform a sealing. My husband holds the Melchezidek (sp?) Priesthood. He can give blessings to the sick, father's blessings, bless & pass the sacrament, baptize and confirm, and go to the temple. He must be worthy to hold it and have faith that when he uses it, his blessing will be fulfilled. He was given the Priesthood by his father, who holds the same. Any other questions, go to LDS.org and search priesthood.

Answer 7

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

As you can see...Jesus is the mediator and the holy Spirit of God seals us.....the Mormons are false teachers.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Answer 8

Sorry, no; no mortals can grant salvation, regardless of denomination. To believe so is to be decieved, and to perish. Same goes for praying to dead mortals; Christ said so, I believe in Matthew. Just because a church decides hundreds of years later them to be saints, doesn't make them so. You're a 'saint' when you receive salvation.

The best way to hide a nugget of gold is to put it in a pile of fool's gold. There's a good reason Mormons and Jehova's Witnesses exist, and it's not salvation. More like the Pied Piper. I'm sorry, but it's true.

Answer 9

After watching that series show on HBO about Mormons having so many wives, I have decided Mormons are a little too strange for me...I don't bother with learning more about their religion. I know the show was for drama, but there was a lot of fact-based issues covered as well.

I have heard of what you've mentioned, and I agree, it sounds like they have to summon or invoke a way to do that, and it does not sound like something realistic at all, or everyone would know this, as you said.

Answer 10

wow since I couldn't have said it better I will copy and paste sara's answer just incase you did not catch it the first time


according to #12 in your question, the power is given only to "seal" up to eternal life those persons identified by the God the Father, in otherwords, God is directing the process, and anything contrary to what He appoints doesn't count. - sealing is not really the same thing as granting salvation. Salvation comes through the Lord.

As for temple rites, they are not secret. They are SACRED. that means very special and important, and of God - so they ought not to be spoken of carelessly. everyone is welcome to go to the temple, as soon as they have prepared.

[as for that stuff on tv, etc (that some individuals answering earlier have referred to) - please. that stuff is so not true. and the people perpetuating those false ideas know it. and God knows it, and he knows they know it.

if you want to learn about mormonism, inquire from current authorities in mormonism. to use an analogy, what kind of information about american history or culture do you think you would get if, instead of talking to americans, you asked Al Qaida? come on, now, people.]

God lives. He is concerned about my welfare and yours, and wants us to do well and be happy. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on our behalf, and who was resurrected, so that we would have the opportunities of salvation. Only through Christ we all will live again, and we can, if we follow him, obtain joy and happiness for eternity.

Best Wishes on your journey.

oh yeah but I cant forget to add these questions