Sealing Power and the Voice of the Lord

Introduction: A Response to Elder Bednar

As I sat next to Carol yesterday morning watching Elder David A. Bednar’s April 2025 General Conference address, The Times of Restitution of all Things, I was moved—deeply moved. His clarity, conviction, and testimony of the Restoration stirred something in me that caused me to marvel. Elder Bednar is a man of spiritual depth and doctrinal rigor. I have admired him for many years. I thank him for his witness of Christ, for his faithfulness, and for his diligent efforts to defend the foundational claims of the church. I take his testimony seriously.

And yet, as I listened, one question remained in my heart. It is not a new question. I have pondered it for years, written about it extensively, and fasted and prayed about, seeking a definitive answer: What about the transition of authority, especially the sealing power, from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young?

In Elder Bednar’s address, he bore solemn witness that Elijah conferred the sealing power upon Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 (as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 110). He also declared that this authority has remained within the church ever since. This is, of course, the traditional view of church history and doctrine. But is it true? Can it be fully sustained by the historical record? And does it square with the scriptures?

Section 1: My Marriage to Carol and the Sealing Question

Let me begin with something deeply personal: my marriage to Carol. We were married and sealed in the Los Angeles Temple in July of 1982. At the time, I believed—wholeheartedly—that we had been sealed for time and all eternity by one who held the sealing power. I still cherish that day. And yet, years later, I came to understand that being married in the temple does not mean that one is sealed in heaven.

To say, “We are sealed,” is to make a claim that should not be made lightly. In my understanding, the only true sealing is when God Himself declares it. That declaration, I believe, comes through the Holy Spirit of Promise—not by church ordinance alone, not by policy, not by paperwork, and certainly not by virtue of being in the right place at the right time.

If Carol and I are to be together forever, it will be because God declares it so. Not because I submitted a request to the First Presidency, not because I went through a membership council to be reinstated, and not because an Area Authority Seventy laid his hands on my head to restore blessings I’m not sure were ever given to me to begin with.

Over the years, I have written many blog posts about this topic (see sidebar and endnotes). In those posts, I quoted Joseph Fielding Smith, Bruce R. McConkie, and Elder Bednar himself on the conditional nature of all ordinances, which must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. I also studied the lectures and writings of Denver Snuffer, who clarified for me that the sealing power cannot be passed from man to man, but must come by the voice of the Lord.

Section 2: What Denver Snuffer Taught Me

In The Mission of Elijah Reconsidered (Oct 2011), Denver presents compelling evidence that section 110 was a posthumous addition to the Doctrine and Covenants, written in the third person by Warren Cowdery and not included in the original editions of Joseph’s revelations. More importantly, he notes that Joseph Smith himself continued to teach and preach that Elijah’s mission was yet future—even as late as March 1844.

This contradicts the idea that Elijah conferred sealing keys in 1836. More crucially, it challenges the LDS Church’s claim that this authority was then passed to Brigham Young and subsequent church presidents.

If Denver is right—and I believe he is—then the sealing power was never transferred institutionally. Instead, Joseph received it directly from the Lord. He exercised it in Nauvoo, but it was lost after his death. Any man who claims it today must receive it as Joseph did: by hearing the voice of God.

Section 3: Historical Inconsistencies and Personal Discipleship

As I shared in past blog posts (linked below), I have met with former temple presidents and faithful LDS leaders to explain my views. In those conversations, I have affirmed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, my love for the Saints, and my respect for the temple as a place of symbolism and preparation. But I also confessed my doubts about Brigham Young’s claims to sealing authority.

Brigham himself said he never saw the Lord. He admitted he had no visitations from higher beings. He was ordained by the Three Witnesses in 1835—before section 110 allegedly took place—and he never received the sealing power by direct ordination from Joseph or by hearing the voice of the Lord.

This matters. A lot. Because millions of Latter-day Saints today believe they are sealed to their spouses and families based on the assumption that this power has been continuously held by the church. If that’s not true, then many ordinances performed today are not yet ratified in heaven.

Section 4: My Witness and My Prayer

I have shared publicly a prayer I wrote in 2021 asking the Lord for greater understanding of these things. That prayer remains sacred to me. In it, I reaffirmed my love for Carol and my desire to be with her forever. I acknowledged our differences in belief, especially regarding the authority claims of the LDS Church. But I also affirmed that I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit of Promise, and in a God who knows our hearts.

I do not believe my marriage is sealed by the LDS Church. I believe it can only be sealed by God. I continue to pray for that assurance.

I know this is a sensitive topic. It touches the deepest hopes of faithful men and women—myself included. And so, I share this not to diminish anyone’s faith, but to invite honest reflection. What does it mean to be sealed? Who has the power to do it? And how can we know for sure?

To Elder Bednar: thank you again for your powerful testimony. I receive it in the spirit it was given. But I ask—respectfully and sincerely—will the Church ever reckon with the full historical and scriptural record? Will it ever confront the question of whether the sealing power has truly remained since Joseph Smith’s day?

Sidebar: Two Views on Sealing Authority

Selected Posts and Prayers on the Sealing Power

• The Elephant in the Room (10 Dec 2014)
• The Holy Spirit of Promise (30 Nov 2014)
• A Prayer for Understanding of Sealing (21 Mar 2021)
• Thoughts on Personal Revelation and Sealing Power (28 May 2024)
• According to LDS Doctrine, I Have Lost Everything (3 Sep 2024)

Conclusion

I do not claim to know all things. I’m not an authority. I’m just a man trying to understand what God requires of me, and what He asks of Carol and me if we are to be together forever. I remain hopeful. I continue to pray. I welcome further light and truth.

And I invite anyone reading this to do the same. Ask God. Study the history. Read the scriptures. Be open to hearing His voice. If we are to be sealed for eternity, it will only be by the authority of Him whose word is Eternal.