What of Those Who Might Break the Chain
You wonder, sometimes,
if someone breaks the link in the chain, who is going to fill it up; how can it
go back with full effectiveness to Adam? Many people have been very much
concerned when this subject has been mentioned. They have said, “well now, my
grandfather was faithful, but my father is not faithful in the Priesthood, not
faithful in the Church at all. As a matter of fact, he has a spirit of
rebellion. I know inside myself,” says the people, “that my father will not be
worthy of exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom unless he repents, and I don’t
know whether he is going to repent or not before he dies.” And some people have
even a more serious problem. Their parents have died in their sins. They say, “what
is going to happen to me> I am sealed to my father, according to the authority
of the Priesthood, as was the ancient order of son to father right down the
chain. My father has dropped out. Am I going to be deprived of my position, are
the blessings going to be withheld from me, because of the transgressions of my
father?
What can be said?
There will be a time when every essential link in that chain will be filled,
and there will be a perfect Priesthood contact for family government back to
Adam. I’m not saying that every person will ultimately repent and receive the
exaltation but no individual will be inhibited in his eternal blessing because
of transgression of one of his forbears, and the principle of adoption will
undoubtedly be effective in this situation, as it is in other situations that
pertain to the Kingdom of God. Every man can get the exaltation that he deserves
upon merit. But this is the thing that comes to our minds, when we think of
those who have transgressed. Every one who is faithful will want to do
everything in his power for those he loves. If it happens to be either his
parents, or his children, he will do everything within his power in this world and
in the next world to seek out, to search after and to yearn for those people in
his chain, to get them back, if there is a possibility in eternity for it to
happen. And there is a wonderful hope that the Lord has given, that the prayers
and the faith, the labors and the promises sealed upon the parents for the children
will have a tremendous effect in the eternities, in bringing those people back
again. The final judgment remains with God, but we will do everything in our
power to get our parents, our grandparents, our children, our grandchildren—whoever
we have influence on in this world or in the next world—to repent so that they
may ultimately take their positions, and the chain not be broken. (Lynn A.
McKinlay, Life Eternal [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950, 1954], 174-75)