I’ve explained the sealing authority in the last three chapters of Beloved Enos. An example of the Lord and His servant Enoch conversing, and the Lord requiring the sealing authority to be used is found in Moses 7: 6-7, which read as follows:
“And again the Lord said unto me: Look; and I looked towards the north, and I beheld the people of Canaan, which dwelt in tents. And the Lord said unto me: Prophesy; and I prophesied, saying: Behold the people of Canaan, which are numerous, shall go forth in battle array against the people of Shum, and shall slay them that they shall utterly be destroyed; and the people of Canaan shall divide themselves in the land, and the land shall be barren and unfruitful, and none other people shall dwell there but the people of Canaan;“
Enoch was shown the events, but the Lord required the voice of Enoch to speak and “prophesy” what was to happen. The voice of one holding this authority is the same as the Lord’s own voice. (D&C 1: 38.) The “Word” needed to be employed, because it is by the “Word” that all things are established.
The “Word” comes through Christ, who has in Him all power and authority. It was and is through Him that others are called upon from heaven, given authority, and commissioned to speak and make the Word of God live again on the earth.
“Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation— The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.” (D&C 93: 8-9.)
It was by employing the “Word” that the creation of this earth rolled into order at the direction of the “noble and great” souls who were the “Gods” or the “Elohim” in the beginning. As Abraham recorded:
“And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light. And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness. And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night. And the Gods also said…” (Abr. 4: 3-6.)
It is through the Word, or sealing authority, spoken by one sent from God, that salvation and exaltation are made available to mankind. It was intended that this authority to speak in His name might belong to every man in this dispensation: “But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established;” (D&C 1: 20-22.) This was not to be a time when there would be a famine in hearing the Word of the Lord. (cf. Amos 8: 11.) Rather it was to be a time of great abundance, when every man would know the Lord. (Heb. 8: 11; D&C 84: 98.) This was to be the day when all would see visions and dream dreams, beholding the Lord. (JS-H 1: 41; Joel 2: 28.)
For some, this IS a day of great plenty. For others it remains a time of famine. The Lord spoke truly that in our day two shall be together, and the one taken but the other left. (Luke 17: 34-36; Matt. 24: 40-41; JS-M 1: 44-45.) And why are they not taken?
“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson— That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” (D&C 121: 35-37.)
Whenever men possess the “word” from God, they necessarily speak it in plainness. When men do not, history tells us they will assert the right to control, dominate and exercise authority over others to prevent the “word” from being spoken by anyone. This is the consistent pattern found among the Jews at the time of Christ; among the Catholics when they obtain political dominance; and it is the pattern that we must not repeat in our own dispensation. For we all share responsibility for how this turns out. Nephi’s view of how we would perform was quite pessimistic. (2 Ne. 28: 20-29.) However, the group outcome needn’t ever be the individual’s outcome, even in Nephi’s prophetic “word” about our day. (2 Ne. 28: 14.)