A Chariot of Fire

In the most recent general conference Elder Christofferson taught, “The validity that the sealing power gives to priesthood ordinances includes, of course, vicarious ordinances performed in the place designated by the Lord—His temple. Here we see the majesty and sacredness of the sealing power—it makes individual salvation and family exaltation universally available to the children of God wherever and whenever they may have lived on the earth. No other theology or philosophy or authority can match such an all-inclusive opportunity. This sealing power is a perfect manifestation of the justice, mercy, and love of God.” We see mention of this supernal sealing power in several different passages of scriptures. The earliest is with the Prophet Elijah: “Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1). As the summary of these verses says, “Elijah seals the heavens.” From the Old Testament alone we see only that this power could control the physical elements, but when Elijah came to visit Peter, we learn that it was more expansive than that. The Savior said to Peter, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). This power to seal was fully conferred a week later: “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him” (Matthew 17:1-3). The “Elias” mentioned here was Elijah, and as the Bible Dictionary explains, “On the mount, the Savior, Moses, and Elias (Elijah) gave the promised keys of the priesthood to Peter, James, and John (HC 3:387), which enabled these brethren to carry forth the work of the kingdom on the earth after the departure of Jesus. These keys were later given to all of the Twelve.” Peter’s ability to bind and seal on earth came in part due to these keys that the Prophet Elijah gave to him. With this power he was able to lead the Church after the Savior departed and provide the ordinances of salvation to all who received the gospel of Jesus Christ.   

               These sealing keys were then again restored to the earth with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Again, Elijah was key to this conferral of the power to seal on earth and in heaven. The Prophet recorded, “After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16). Given the centrality of Elijah to this sealing power, perhaps then we can see the way that Elijah left this mortal existence as symbolic of that power. We read in the Old Testament account: “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11). Elijah did not die but went up into heaven in a chariot of fire to continue his journey into the next world. Just as Elijah did not die, neither will those cherished relationships that we have end if properly preserved by the sealing power of the priesthood. Even as Elijah’s life continued into the postmortal world, so too can our family bonds live on forever when sealed by the power of God that Elijah held. How blessed we are to have the opportunity to make covenants with Jesus Christ so that His sealing power—made efficacious through His infinite atonement—can bind our families together forever, not to end with death but to persist on into eternity.