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bishop to work with my secretary tofind the best date.

Imagine my surprise and delightwhen the father told me in church thatthe sealing is set for April 3. That wasthe day in 1836 when Elijah, the trans-lated prophet, was sent to the Kirtland

Temple to give the sealing power toJoseph Smith and to Oliver Cowdery.Those keys reside in the Church todayand will continue to the end of time.3

It is the same divine authorizationgiven by the Lord to Peter, as He hadpromised: And I will give unto theethe keys of the kingdom of heaven:and whatsoever thou shalt bind onearth shall be bound in heaven: and

whatsoever thou shalt loose on earthshall be loosed in heaven.4

The return of Elijah blessed all whohold the priesthood. Elder Harold B.Lee made that clear as he spoke ingeneral conference, quoting President

Joseph Fielding Smith. Listen carefully:I hold the priesthood; you brethren

here hold the priesthood; we havereceived the Melchizedek Priesthood

which was held by Elijah and by otherprophets and by Peter, James and John.But while we have authority to baptize,

while we have authority to lay on handsfor the gift of the Holy Ghost and toordain others and do all these things,

without the sealing power we could donothing, for there would be no validityto that which we did.

President Smith went on:

The higher ordinances, the greaterblessings which are essential to exalta-tion in the kingdom of God, and whichcan only be obtained in certain places,no man has a right to perform except ashe receives the authority to do it fromthe one who holds the keys. . . .

. . . There is no man upon theface of this earth who has the right togo forth and administer in any of theordinances of this gospel unless the

Wonderful changes continued as hewent to the holy temple for an endow-ment that the Lord described to those

whom He empowered in the firsttemple in this dispensation. It was inKirtland, Ohio. The Lord said of that:

Wherefore, for this cause I gaveunto you the commandment that ye

should go to the Ohio; and there I willgive unto you my law; and there youshall be endowed with power fromon high;

And from thence, . . . for I have agreat work laid up in store, for Israelshall be saved, and I will lead them

whithersoever I will, and no powershall stay my hand.2

For my recently activated friendand for all the priesthood, a great

work ahead is to lead in saving the

part of Israel for which we are orwill be responsible, our families. Myfriend and his wife knew that requiresbeing sealed by the power of theMelchizedek Priesthood in a holytemple of God.

He asked that I perform the sealing.He and his wife wanted it done assoon as possible. But with the busytime of general conference approach-ing, I left it to the couple and their

By President Henry B. EyringFirst Counselor in the First Presidency

Iappreciate being gathered with

you in this meeting to which all theholders of the priesthood of God in

the earth are invited. We are blessedto be presided over by President

Thomas S. Monson. As the Presidentof the Church, he is the one man alive

who is responsible for the keys that

seal families and all those priesthoodordinances necessary to attain eternallife, the greatest of all the gifts of God.

There is a father listening tonightwho has come back from inactivitybecause he wants the assurance ofthat gift with all his heart. He and his

wife love their two small children, aboy and a girl. Like other parents hecan foresee heavenly happiness whenhe reads these words: And that samesociality which exists among us here

will exist among us there, only it willbe coupled with eternal glory, whichglory we do not now enjoy. 1

That father listening with us tonightknows the path to that gloriousdestination. It is not easy. He alreadyknows that. It took faith in JesusChrist, deep repentance, and a changein his heart that came with a kindbishop helping him feel the Lordsloving forgiveness.

Families under

CovenantThere is nothing that has come or will come into your family

as important as the sealing blessings.

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President of the Church, who holdsthe keys, sanctions it. He has givenus authority, he has put the sealingpower in our priesthood, because he

holds those keys.5That same assurance came from

President Boyd K. Packer as he wroteof the sealing power. Knowing these

words are true is a comfort to me, asit will be to the family I will seal on

April 3: Peter was to hold the keys.Peter was to hold the sealing power, . . .to bind or seal on earth or to loose onearth and it would be so in the heavens.

Those keys belong to the President ofthe Churchto the prophet, seer, and

revelator. That sacred sealing poweris with the Church now. Nothing isregarded with more sacred contempla-tion by those who know the signifi-cance of this authority. Nothing is moreclosely held. There are relatively fewmen who [hold] this sealing power uponthe earth at any given timein eachtemple are brethren who have beengiven the sealing power. No one canget it except from the prophet, seer, and

revelator and President of The Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.6

At the coming of Elijah, not onlywas power given to the priesthood,

but also hearts were to be turned:The spirit, power, and calling of Elijahis, that ye have power to hold the keyof the revelation, ordinances, oracles,powers and endowments of the full-ness of the Melchizedek Priesthoodand of the kingdom of God on theearth; and to receive, obtain, andperform all the ordinances belongingto the kingdom of God, even untothe turning of the hearts of the fathersunto the children, and the hearts of

the children unto the fathers, eventhose who are in heaven.7

That feeling of his heart turning hasalready come to my friend and to hisfamily. It may have come to you in thismeeting. You may have seen in yourmind, as I have, the face of your fatheror your mother. It may have been asister or a brother. It may have been adaughter or a son.

They may be in the spirit world

or continents away from you. But joycame from a feeling that connections

with them are sure because you are orcan be bound to them by priesthood

ordinances that God will honor.Melchizedek Priesthood holders

who are fathers in sealed families havebeen taught what they must do. Thereis nothing that has come or will comeinto your family as important as thesealing blessings. There is nothing moreimportant than honoring the marriageand family covenants you have made or

will make in the temples of God.The way to do that is clear. The Holy

Spirit of Promise, through our obedi-

ence and sacrifice, must seal our templecovenants in order to be realized in theworld to come. President Harold B. Leeexplained what it means to be sealedby the Holy Spirit of Promise by quot-ing Elder Melvin J. Ballard: We maydeceive men but we cannot deceive theHoly Ghost, and our blessings will notbe eternal unless they are also sealedby the HolySpirit of promise. The HolyGhost is one who reads the thoughts

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and hearts of men, and gives his sealingapproval to the blessings pronouncedupon their heads. Then it is binding,efficacious, and of full force.8

When Sister Eyring and I weresealed in the Logan Utah Temple, I didnot understand then the full signifi-cance of that promise. I am still tryingto understand all that it means, but my

wife and I decided at the start of ournearly 50 years of marriage to invitethe Holy Ghost as much as we could

into our lives and into our family.As a young father, sealed in thetemple and with my heart turned tomy wife and a young family, I metPresident Joseph Fielding Smith forthe first time. In the First Presidencycouncil room, where I had beeninvited, came an absolutely sure wit-ness to me as President Harold B. Leeasked me, indicating President Smith,

who was sitting next to him, Do you

believe that this man could be theprophet of God?

President Smith had just enteredthe room and had not yet spoken a

word. I am eternally grateful that I wasable to answer because of what camedown into my heart, I know he is, andI knew it as surely as I knew the sun

was shining that he held the priesthoodsealing power for all the earth.

That experience gave his wordsgreat power for me and my wife when,

in a conference session on April 6,1972, President Joseph Fielding Smithgave the following counsel: It is the

will of the Lord to strengthen andpreserve the family unit. We plead withfathers to take their rightful place as thehead of the house. We ask mothers tosustain and support their husbands andto be lights to their children.9

Let me suggest four things you cando as a priesthood father to lift and

lead your family home again to bewith Heavenly Father and the Savior.

First, gain and keep a sure witnessthat the keys of the priesthood are withus and held by the President of theChurch. Pray for that every day. Theanswer will come with an increase indetermination to lead your family, in

your feelings of hope, and with greaterhappiness in your service. You will bemore cheerful and optimistic, a greatblessing for your wife and family.

The second imperative is to loveyour wife. It will take faith and humil-ity to put her interests above yourown in the struggles of life. You havethe responsibility to provide for and tonurture the family with her while serv-ing others. That can at times consumeall the energy and strength you have.

Age and illness may increase yourwifes needs. If you choose even thento put her happiness above your own,I promise you that your love for her

will increase.

Third, enlist the entire family tolove each other. President Ezra TaftBenson taught:

In an eternal sense, salvation is afamily affair. . . .

Above all else, children need toknow and feel they are loved, wanted,and appreciated. They need to beassured of that often. Obviously, thisis a role parents should fill, and mostoften the mother can do it best.10

But another crucial source for that

feeling of being loved is love fromother children in the family. Consistentcare of brothers and sisters for eachother will come only with persistenteffort by parents and the help of God.

You know that is true from experi-ence in your own families. And it isconfirmed each time you read of thefamily conflicts faced by righteousLehi and his wife, Sariah, in the Bookof Mormon record.

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The successes they won provide aguide for us. They taught the gos-pel of Jesus Christ so well and sopersistently that children and evensome descendants over generationshad hearts softened toward Godand toward each other. For instance,Nephi and others wrote and reachedout to family members who had beentheir enemies. The Spirit at timessoftened the hearts of thousands andreplaced hatred with love.

One way for you to reproduce thesuccesses of Father Lehi is by the way

you lead family prayers and family time,such as family home evenings. Givechildren opportunities to pray, whenthey can pray, for each other in the cir-cle who need blessings. Discern quicklythe beginnings of discord and recog-nize acts of unselfish service, especiallyto each other. When they pray for eachother and serve each other, hearts willbe softened and turned to each otherand to their parents.

The fourth opportunity to lead yourfamily in the Lords way comes whendiscipline is needed. We can meet ourobligation to correct in the Lords wayand then lead our children towardeternal life.

You will remember the words, butyou may not have seen their powerfor a Melchizedek Priesthood holderpreparing his family for living in thesame sociality that they will have inthe celestial kingdom. You rememberthe words. They are so familiar:

No power or influence can orought to be maintained by virtue ofthe priesthood, only by persuasion,by long-suffering, by gentleness andmeekness, and by love unfeigned;

By kindness, and pure knowledge,which shall greatly enlarge the soulwithout hypocrisy, and without guile

Reproving betimes with sharpness,when moved upon by the Holy Ghost;and then showing forth afterwards anincrease of love toward him whomthou hast reproved, lest he esteemthee to be his enemy;

That he may know that thy faith-fulness is stronger than the cordsof death.11

And later the promise comes of

great worth for us as fathers in Zion:The Holy Ghost shall be thy con-stant companion, and thy scepter anunchanging scepter of righteousnessand truth; and thy dominion shall bean everlasting dominion, and without

compulsory means it shall flow untothee forever and ever.12

That is a high standard for us,but when we with faith control ourtempers and subdue our pride, theHoly Ghost gives His approval, andsacred promises and covenantsbecome sure.

You will succeed through your faiththat the Lord sent back the keys of thepriesthood, which are still with us

with a sure bond of love with yourwife, with the Lords help in turningthe hearts of your children to eachother and to their parents, and withlove guiding you to correct and exhortin a way that invites the Spirit.

I know that Jesus is the Christ andis our Savior. I testify that President

Thomas S. Monson holds and exer-cises all the keys of the priesthood onthe earth today. I love and sustain him.I love and pray for you. In the sacredname of Jesus Christ, amen.

NOTES

1. Doctrine and Covenants 130:2. 2. Doctrine and Covenants 38:3233. 3. See Joseph Fielding Smith, Sealing Power

and Salvation,Brigham Young UniversitySpeeches of the Year ( Jan. 12, 1971),speeches.byu.edu.

4. Matthew 16:19. 5. Joseph Fielding Smith, quoted by Harold B.

Lee, in Conference Report, Oct. 1944, 75. 6. Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple,

LiahonaandEnsign,Oct. 2010, 34. 7. Teachings of Presidents of the Church:

Joseph Smith(2007), 11. 8. Melvin J. Ballard, quoted by Harold B. Lee,

in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 111. 9. Joseph Fielding Smith, Counsel to the Saints

and to the World,Ensign,July 1972, 27.10. Ezra Taft Benson, Salvationa Family

Affair, Tambuli,Nov. 1992, 3, 4;Ensign,July 1992, 2, 4.

11. Doctrine and Covenants 121:4144.12. Doctrine and Covenants 121:46.

To watch the video of PresidentEyrings address, scan thisimage with a QR-enabledsmartphone.

Tirana, Albania