Answering your question in your letter of September 3rd, I will say
that the Holy Spirit of Promise means nothing more or less than the seal
placed upon any ordinance by the Holy Ghost. This will apply to the ordinance
of baptism, of confirmation, ordination or sealing of a man and a woman for
time and for all eternity. If, after being so sealed and the Holy Spirit giving
approval, the person so sealed by the Holy Ghost of Promise transgresses the
covenant, then the Holy Ghost will break that seal, or covenant and it will
cease to exist.
I wish it were possible once and for all to settle the controversies
which so frequently arise over the meaning of verse 26, of Sec. 132. It means
simply that when a man and a woman are sealed by one who holds the authority to
seal for time and all eternity, and then they violate the covenant, but do
not sin unto death, on their repentance they may be forgiven and still
receive the blessings. If, however, they sin unto death, then there is no
forgiveness for them. See I John 5:16-17. While in this passage the principle
of repentance is not named, yet it is implied. No person will ever enter the
celestial kingdom, unrepentant or in their sins. What the Lord has said in
verse 26, is exactly the same in substance which is found in Matt. 12:31-32. Is
it not strange that no one ever raises any question about the passage in
Matthew, but are always harping on verse 26? If a man thinks the Lord has
placed upon him a seal by which he is exempt from his transgressions and is
bound to inherit eternal life, no matter what he does, as long as he does not
commit murder, or shed innocent blood or deny the Holy Ghost, he is in the gall
of bitterness, as a Nephite prophet would have said. If any think that such a
thing is contemplated in this passage then have him read Mormon 9:3-4 and 3
Nephi 27:15-19.
NO MAN IS PROMISED SALVATION WHO IS NOT CLEANSED FROM ALL HIS SIN, and
if a man sins deliberately thinking he is exempt he will be damned.
I repeat that the sealing of the Holy Spirit of Promise, mentioned in
the Doctrine and Covenants many times, is the stamp of approval placed upon the
individual through his faithfulness to any ordinances of the Gospel. That seal
will be removed if the covenant is violated, whether it be marriage in the
Temple, or baptism in the Church. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Letter to Neil H.
Purdie, September 10, 1945, Neil
H. Purdie correspondence, 1938-1971, MS 3661, Church History Library)
Further
Reading:
