D&C 132:7-12

132:7-12 - Verse 7 is very long and pretty complex but from what I understand the Lord is saying that all contracts, covenants, basically any spiritual agreement “that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise… 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. Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion. Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name? Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?” The IM has a very extensive explanation by Elder Bruce R. McConkie saying, “The Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit; he is the Holy Spirit promised the saints at baptism, or in other words the Holy Spirit of Promise, this exalted name-title signifying that the promised receipt of the Holy Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost, is the greatest gift man can receive in mortality. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to the constant companionship of that member of the Godhead based on faithfulness; it is bestowed with a promise that we shall receive revelation and be sanctified if we are true and faithful and so live as to qualify for the companionship of that Holy Spirit who will not dwell in an unclean temple. The receipt of the promise is conditional! If after we receive the promise, we then keep the commandment, we gain the companionship of this member of the Godhead, and not otherwise. One of the functions assigned and delegated to the Holy Spirit is to seal, and the following expressions are identical in thought content: To be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise; To be justified by the Spirit; To be approved by the Lord; and to be ratified by the Holy Ghost. Accordingly, any act which is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is one in which is justified by the Spirit, one which is approved by the Lord, one which is ratified by the Holy Ghost… As revealed to Joseph Smith, the Lord’s law in this respect is: (D&C 132:7). By way of illustration this means that baptism, partaking of the sacrament, administering to the sick, marriage, and every covenant that man ever makes with the Lord- plus all other ‘contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, associations, or expectations’- must be performed in righteousness by and for people who are worth to receive whatever blessing is involved, otherwise whatever is done has no binding and sealing effect in eternity. Since ‘the Comforter knoweth all things,’ it follows that it is not possible ‘to lie to the Holy Ghost’ and thereby gain an unearned or undeserved blessing, as Ananias and sapphire found out to their sorrow. (Acts 5:1-11.) And so this provision that all things must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, if they are to have ‘efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead,’ is the Lord’s system for dealing with absolute impartiality with all men, and for giving all men exactly what they merit, neither adding to nor diminishing from.” I’ve always wondered what it meant for the Holy Ghost to ratify our covenants, like do we make covenants and then the Holy Ghost will accept it or not? That doesn’t sound right. I’m going to have to think about this more. Or does it mean that we make the covenants but they have to be done through the proper channels, for instance I can make my own promise with God, but if the Holy Ghost doesn’t ratify it, the Lord doesn’t accept it as a covenant, he doesn’t accept what I set forth as h is obligation in my promise, therefore, it is not ratified. That makes more sense. It’s not that the Lord doesn’t accept our covenants when we make them as he’s prescribed, it’s that we can’t just go around making our own contracts, bonds, covenants, etc. and think that he’s going to accept those as binding in heaven. This is the principle that I think explains why some of what David and Solomon did was ok with the Lord, but then some of what they did was not ok with the Lord, even though on the outside it appears to have been the same exact thing. For instance, the Lord approved one plural marriage but not another, maybe one was sealed and one was not. So the phrase “Holy Spirit of Promise” means that the covenants offered to us by him or the Lord is guaranteed to be accepted by heaven, whereas anything else is not guaranteed to be accepted, which makes sense because the Lord asks “will I accept of an offering… that is not make in my name? Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?” He’s referring to us doing our own thing, making up our own program, doing what we want instead of submitting to his counsel. The IM continues with more explanation of the difference between God’s acceptance of worldly programs, saying, “The important truth is here taught that all institutions in this world, not founded on divine law but erected by human ingenuity, (will) cease to exist… Man-made governments are obliterated, as are the sand castles children build on the tide-swept beach. Man-made religions and churches are swallowed up in death. Not a tract of them will be seen on the shores of eternity. Social customs and habits not sanctioned by God, will not continue. On the other hand, all institutions founded on the Word of God will remain throughout all eternity. The Church will remain. The family will remain. All the organizations of which God is the author are eternal.” That was an incredibly powerful statement when I heard it especially because the people in this world that hold power consider themselves to be so important, and when they are wicked it can seem like they are all consuming, because they have the power to end lives, torture, rob, basically make your life incredibly unpleasant, because they are able to do this, it feels like it is all that matters, and at the time, that may seem very real. But to look at it in the eternal perspective and imagine that in the next life, they will hold no power, their opportunities to hurt others will be exceptionally limited, it’s almost impossible to understand here in this life because our issues here are so all consuming. It’s liberating to understand this principle but also I think it’s very difficult to live in that frame of mind because it seems so abstract and such a detachment from reality, here and now.