The Sealing Power — Keys That Bind on Earth and in Heaven

Matthew 16:19 is not figurative — this power operates today

In Matthew 16, Christ gives Peter keys. The word is specific. Not authority in a general sense — keys. "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).

Most Protestant traditions read this as a rhetorical expression of ecclesiastical authority. The Church has authority. The keys are symbolic. Binding and loosing are metaphors for church discipline. Heaven ratifies the church's decisions in a general sense, but the specific operations described are not literally operative.

The LDS reading is simpler and more literal: Christ gave keys. Keys operate locks. A power that can bind on earth such that heaven is bound is a real, specific, operative authority — and it either exists in the Church or it does not. LDS doctrine says it does, was restored through Elijah to Joseph Smith in 1836, and operates in temples today.

What Christ Gave Peter

Matthew 16:19

“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.”

This promise is the foundation of the sealing power. The grammar is important. Christ does not say "whatever the church decides will be acceptable to heaven." He says what is bound on earth shall be bound in heaven — a direct, real connection between earthly action and heavenly consequence.

If this verse means anything, it means that authorized earthly ordinances produce actual heavenly results. If marriage is performed by someone holding these keys, the marriage is bound in heaven. If it is not, it is not. The authority either exists and operates or Christ made an empty promise to Peter.

The New Testament confirms the same authority was given more broadly. In John 20:23, Christ gives the apostles power to remit or retain sins. In Revelation 3:7, Christ describes Himself as holding "the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." Keys denote real, operative authority. They are not decorative.

What "Binding on Earth" Actually Means

The Greek terms behind "bind" and "loose" — deo and luo — were used in Jewish rabbinic contexts to mean "declare binding" and "declare not binding" with reference to religious law. Rabbis could bind or loose practices, obligations, and interpretations. What Christ is doing is transferring a recognized operative authority to apostolic leadership — with the additional claim that heaven ratifies these decisions.

In the LDS understanding, this extends to ordinances themselves. A marriage sealed by priesthood authority holding the keys of the sealing power is bound in heaven. That binding is permanent — conditional on continued faithfulness, but permanent in design. This is what makes a temple sealing categorically different from a civil marriage.

D&C 132:7

“And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed … are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead.”

This is the theological claim in full. Ordinances not performed by proper authority, sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, have no force after death. This is not a claim that God is bureaucratic. It is a claim that divine authority is real, specific, and operative — and that the ordinances performed by that authority carry divine weight that others do not.

The Sealing Power Is in the Church Today

The restoration of the sealing power is documented in D&C 110. On April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received a series of visitations. Moses appeared and committed the keys of the gathering of Israel. Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham. Then:

D&C 110:13–16

“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.”

The coming of Elijah was not incidental. Malachi prophesied it. Christ referenced it. Jewish tradition kept a place for Elijah at the Passover table for centuries in anticipation of it. It is one of the most explicitly expected events in prophetic history — and the LDS claim is that it happened, on a specific date, in a specific place, with specific witnesses, and the keys were transferred.

How Sealings Work — Marriages and Families

A sealing performed in a temple by a sealer holding the keys is not merely a religious ceremony. It is a binding ordinance with eternal consequence. When a man and woman are sealed, the marriage is intended to be permanent — not "until death do you part" but "for time and all eternity." Children born in that covenant, or sealed to their parents in a subsequent ordinance, are bound to the family unit that persists after death.

This is the LDS answer to one of the most painful questions in human experience: will families continue after death? The LDS answer is yes, but conditionally: the ordinance that binds them must be performed by proper authority, and both parties must remain faithful to the covenant. The sealing is the mechanism. Faithfulness is the condition. Eternity together is the promise.

Helaman 10:7

“Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.”

Nephi the son of Helaman is given this power — the same language as Matthew 16:19, the same authority, confirmed centuries before Christ in the Western hemisphere. The sealing power is not a New Testament innovation. It is an ancient priesthood authority that Christ restored through Peter and that has been restored again through Joseph Smith.

The Connection to Temple Work for the Dead

The sealing power is also the foundation of vicarious ordinances for the dead. If the sealing power is real and operative — if it actually binds in heaven what is done on earth — then ordinances can be performed on behalf of those who died without the opportunity to receive them, and heaven can ratify those ordinances if the deceased person accepts them.

This is exactly what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 15:29 — baptism for the dead, practiced by people in Corinth in the first century, cited by Paul as evidence for resurrection. If there is no resurrection, why do it? If there is, it makes sense.

Key Scriptures on the Sealing Power

• Matthew 16:19 — Keys of the kingdom; binding on earth and in heaven
• Helaman 10:7 — The same sealing authority given to Nephi
• D&C 132:7 — Ordinances not sealed have no force after death
• D&C 110:13–16 — Elijah commits the keys of the sealing power in 1836
• Revelation 3:7 — Christ holds the key of David; opens and none shuts

Why Priesthood Authority Matters for Eternal Ordinances

The standard Protestant response to LDS priesthood claims is that all believers share the priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and that no institutional authority is needed for God to accept sincere worship. This is a serious point and worth engaging directly.

The priesthood of all believers is real in the sense Peter describes: every covenant member has direct access to God. But the question is not access to God. The question is the authority to perform specific binding ordinances — ordinances that Christ established and that operate according to specific divine authorization. Not every sincere person is authorized to perform surgery, regardless of their goodwill. Not every sincere person holds keys that bind in heaven, regardless of their faith.

Christ gave specific keys to specific people for a reason. He did not say "whatever any sincere person decides shall be bound in heaven." He said "whatsoever thou shalt bind" — addressing Peter, giving the keys to Peter. The specificity is the point. Authority without specificity is not authority at all — it is permission. The sealing power is not permission. It is a key. And it is in the Church today.