Uncovering the 'Sealing Power': How Joseph Smith Manipulated Doctrine for Personal Gain
Uncovering the 'Sealing Power': How Joseph Smith Manipulated Doctrine for Personal Gain
The doctrine of the "sealing power" is central to the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), often touted as a divine authority restored by the prophet Elijah to Joseph Smith. This so-called power, which binds families together for eternity, has been used by the LDS Church to justify many of its unique practices, including polygamy and temple ordinances.
However, a closer examination of historical records, scriptural interpretations, and doctrinal inconsistencies reveals that the "sealing power" may be nothing more than a construct of Joseph Smith's sexual predation and ambition, rather than a genuine restoration of ancient authority.
The Alleged Restoration of the Sealing Power
The LDS Church teaches that Joseph Smith received the sealing power directly from the prophet Elijah, as described in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 110:13-16. According to this account, Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, and bestowed upon Smith the power to "seal" families for eternity. This event is cited as the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy in the Old Testament, where Elijah is to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:5-6).
Here is the direct quote from this supposed event where the ‘sealing’ power was given straight from the Joseph Smith Papers:
“After this vision had closed, another great and
glorious vision burts [burst] upon them, for Elijah, the Prophet,
who was taken to Heaven without tasting death, also
stood before them, and said, behold the time has
fully come which was spoken of by the mouth of
Malachi, testifying, that he 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 the dreadful day of the Lord is
near, even at the doors”
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/visions-3-april-1836-dc-110/2
There is absolutely NOTHING in this document that even remotely insinuates ‘sealing power’ or marrying couples for eternity or sealing families for eternity. There is absolutely NO documentation whatsoever of the bestowal of this ‘sealing’ power upon anyone by any divine being in the history of the LDS church.
In the New Testament, Jesus references the prophecy of Malachi 4:6 being fulfilled through John the Baptist in Matthew 11:13-14:
"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come."
In this passage, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the "Elias" (the Greek form of Elijah) who was prophesied to come, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi. This interpretation is widely accepted among Christian scholars, contrasting with the LDS interpretation that associates this prophecy with Joseph Smith and the restoration of the sealing power.
There is no contemporary evidence to support this restoration of the ‘sealing power’ event. The Joseph Smith Papers, a comprehensive collection of Smith’s documents, letters, and journals, do not provide any direct, corroborated evidence of this visitation by Elijah where it is clearly or specifically stated that any marriage or ‘sealing power’ is given to Joseph. This raises significant doubts about the veracity of the claim that Joseph Smith was divinely granted this ‘sealing power.’
Manipulation of Doctrine for Personal Gain
Joseph Smith's introduction of the sealing power coincided suspiciously with his secret practice of polygamy. By claiming that the sealing power was necessary for the salvation and exaltation of families, Smith conveniently created a doctrinal foundation for his plural marriages. It’s well-documented that Smith used this authority to coerce numerous women into marriage, many of whom were already married to other men or were significantly younger, even underage girls as young as 14 years old.
According to the Journal of Discourses and other LDS records, Smith and subsequent church leaders used the sealing power to justify these marriages, often telling women that their eternal salvation depended on their compliance. This manipulation of doctrine for personal and sexual gain stands in stark contrast to the principles of integrity and honesty that the church demands of its members through temple recommend interviews.
Joseph Smith promised Helen Mar Kimball that her family would receive eternal salvation if she agreed to be sealed to him. Helen later recalled this promise in her writings:
"He [Joseph Smith] said to me, 'If you will take this step, it will ensure your eternal salvation & exaltation and that of your father's household & all of your kindred.' This promise was so great that I willingly gave myself to purchase so glorious a reward."
This quote is from Helen Mar Kimball's own writings, found in her autobiographical sketch, "Helen Mar Whitney, A Woman's View: Helen Mar Whitney's Reminiscences of Early Church History," edited by Linda Newell.
This union is touted as a ‘Dynastic Sealing’ that was done because her parents so desperately wanted to be connected to their prophet in the afterlife. But is this really true?
Let’s see what Helen’s mother had to say about this ‘marriage’ or ‘sealing’:
..This promise was so great that I willingly gave myself to purchase so glorious a reward. None but God and angels could see my mother’s bleeding heart – when Joseph asked her if she was willing, she replied, ‘If Helen is willing, I have nothing more to say.’ She had witnessed the sufferings of others, who were older and who better understood the step they were taking, and to see her child, who had scarcely seen her fifteenth summer, following in the same thorny path, in her mind she saw the misery which was as sure to come as the sun was to rise and set; but it was all hidden from me.” –
Helen Mar Kimball Whitney 1881 Autobiography, A Woman’s View, BYU Religious Studies Center, 1997, p.482-487 12
This misery which was ‘sure to come as the sun was to rise and set; but it was all HIDDEN from me.’
This statement from Helen is extremely telling, as a 14 year old girl she did not understand what this ‘sealing’ to Joseph Smith actually meant for her but she was promised a glorious reward if she was willing to do it. This is simply a case of a man using undue influence over a 14 year old girl.
Lucy Walker Exploited by Joseph as a 16 year old Orphan
Lucy’s mother died January 18, 1842.
Shortly after her mothers death, Joseph Smith intervened in the Walker family affairs as he was known to do with his followers.
Joseph Smith’s intervention was a calculated separation of the Walker family children, in which he offered to ‘adopt’ several of them and bring them into his home.
In Lucy’s own words she recounts:
“The prophet came to the rescue, He said, if you remain here you will soon follow your wife. You must have a change of scenery, a change of climate. You have just such a family as I could love. My house shall be their home. For the present I would advise you to sell your effects, place the little ones with kind friends, and the four eldest shall come to my house and be received and treated as my own children, and if I find the little ones are not content, or not treated right, I will bring them home and keep them until you return.’
These children have just lost their mother and the ‘prophets’ solution is to separate the children from each other and send their father away on a mission. Any human being with an ounce of compassion can plainly see that this was in no way for the benefit of this family at all.
Joseph Smith is claiming that John Walker will die if he does not go on a mission.
The six youngest children were farmed out to various family friends and the four oldest went to live in the Smith home. It becomes very obvious why Smith brought the four oldest to live in his home later on.
Lucy writes of the suffering this situation caused her:
‘I rung my hands in the agony of despair at the thought of being broken up as a family, and being separated from the little ones.’
This tragedy quickly descends into a twisted and sordid plot as time goes on. Lucy says that Joseph and Emma Smith begin referring to them as ‘their own sons and daughters’
Lucy began serving as one of Emma’s maids. If you are aware of Joseph Smith’s MO when it comes to finding brides for himself you will see the irony in this situation as Emma’s maids often become Joseph’s wives in the very deed.
In Lucy’s Autobiography she recounts how Joseph Smith approached her and demanded that she marry him.
In 1842, Joseph Smith approached Lucy, keep in mind that she was about 15 or barely 16 years old at the time. Joseph says that God has commanded him to take another wife and ‘she is the woman.’
She says, ‘My astonishment knew no bounds, this announcement was indeed a thunderbolt to me.’
He then asks her if she believes he is a prophet of God.
He is appealing to his high position and authority over her as a way to coerce her. Joseph then adds an added layer of coercion as he had done with Helen Mar Kimball and Sarah Ann Whitney claiming that the burden of the salvation of her family rested on her accepting his proposal for marriage.
This is an extremely heavy burden to place on a young girl. Threatening the salvation of a young girl's family cannot be considered true consent.
Even though she was only 15 or 16 years old, Joseph did not seek the approval of her father whom he had sent on a mission.
Lucy says that she prayed as Joseph had instructed her but that she was nearly suicidal at the thought.
From her autobiography:
“Gross darkness instead of light took possession of my mind. I was tempted and tortured beyond endurance until life was not desirable. Oh that the grave would kindly receive me, that I might find rest on the bosom of my dear mother. Why should I be chosen from among thy daughters, Father, I am only a child in years and experience, no mother to counsel; no father near to tell me what to do in this trying hour. Oh, let this bitter cup pass. And thus I prayed in the agony of my soul.”
The Prophet discerned my sorrow. He saw how unhappy I was, and sought an opportunity of again speaking to me on this subject, and said: “Although I cannot, under existing circumstances, acknowledge you as my wife, the time is near when we will go beyond the Rocky Mountains and then you will be acknowledged and honored as my wife.” He also said, “This principle will yet be believed in and practiced by the righteous. I have no flattering words to offer. It is a command of God to you. I will give you until tomorrow to decide this matter. If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you.”
This is the grossest manipulation of a grieving 16 year old girl! There is absolutely NO excuse for this behavior of an adult man claiming to be a prophet of God. This young girl just lost her mother, her father was sent away, her family has been separated and this so-called prophet is now trying to manipulate her into marrying him and for what reason? This is an underage girl!
These are just the beginnings of Joseph Smith’s manipulative tactics with underage girls but for the sake of time I will only provide these two stories to drive home the message that Joseph’s polygamy had absolutely NOTHING to do with God!
New Testament Scriptures and the Sealing Power
LDS theology often points to Matthew 16:19, where Jesus tells Peter, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven."
This verse is frequently cited as scriptural justification for the sealing power. However, Christian interpretations of this scripture argue that Jesus was granting Peter authority within the church to make decisions, not a unique power to bind families for eternity.
According to bible scholars, the binding and loosing referred to in this passage were rabbinical terms for making authoritative decisions in matters of church discipline and doctrine. There is no indication that Jesus was instituting a new, mystical power to bind marriages or families for eternity. The sealing power, as described by Joseph Smith, is not supported by any New Testament scripture when interpreted in its historical and cultural context.
The MIT Institute for Religious Research Perspective
The MIT Institute for Religious Research (IRR) offers a critical perspective on the LDS doctrine of sealing. They argue that the entire concept is a theological innovation without biblical foundation. According to the IRR, the New Testament teaches that salvation is based on individual faith in Jesus Christ, not on familial or marital ties sealed by a special priesthood power. The sealing power, therefore, is seen as a doctrinal aberration, one that shifts focus away from the core Christian message of salvation through grace by the atonement of Jesus Christ alone.
“ We can know that God did not approve of David exercising the conventional power of monarchs to take many wives for themselves because the Mosaic Law explicitly prohibited it: “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (Deut. 17:17 ESV).
While the Mosaic Law implicitly permitted—not approved, let alone commanded—a man to have two or a few wives, it explicitly forbade the acquisition of many women and warned that having many wives had serious potential to turn a man’s heart away from God. Thus, David’s taking many wives is explicitly contrary to the Law that God gave to Israel.
Solomon, as is well known, had hundreds of women in what can only be called a harem. The Bible reports that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, “and his wives turned away his heart” (1 Kings 11:3), just as Deuteronomy had warned. Joseph Smith’s appeal to Solomon as precedent for his doctrine and practice of plural marriage is thus flatly contrary to what the Bible actually says. This is yet another piece of evidence that shows Joseph either did not care to understand the teaching of the Bible or had so little regard for the Word of God that he willfully misrepresented or disregarded what it said in order to justify taking many wives.” https://mit.irr.org/polygamy-of-david-and-solomon
Conclusion: A Doctrine of Convenience
The lack of contemporary evidence for the restoration of the sealing power, combined with Joseph Smith's use of this doctrine to justify polygamy and his manipulative and coercive tactics with teenage girls and married women, suggests that the sealing power is more a product of Smith's ambition than a divine mandate.
We find in LDS canonized scripture D&C 132:1
“Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have INQUIRED OF MY HAND to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines…”
Here we see in canonized scripture that it was NOT the Lord who was demanding this practice. Joseph Smith INQUIRED about this and then claims that due to this inquiry God then commands him to obey this so called law of God.
132:3
“For all those who have this LAW revealed unto them MUST obey the same”
132:4
“For behold, I reveal unto you a new and everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.”
Here it becomes abundantly clear that this “new and everlasting covenant” or polygamy is connected to the inquiry Joseph made about having many wives and concubines. When connecting verses 1-4 we realize that Joseph was the one who instigated this whole inquiry about polygamy and then claims that it is a LAW of God and a NEW and Everlasting Covenant that if you do not abide you will be DAMNED!
By examining the historical record, scriptural interpretations, and the perspectives of scholars and religious researchers, it becomes clear that the LDS doctrine of sealing is built on shaky foundations.
The sealing power, as presented by Joseph Smith, was never truly documented to be given by Elijah. Elijah only says that he gives the ‘keys of this dispensation’ to Joseph.
Instead, it appears to be a construct used to consolidate power and control, with devastating effects on the lives of those caught in its grasp. The time has come to critically re-evaluate this and other doctrines that have long been accepted without question by millions of faithful LDS members.