Dear Gramps,
We are told that we should seek in this life to have our calling and election made sure, by the Holy Spirit of Promise. Joseph and Emma were sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. How is it possible that we can receive this sealing while on earth.
Thanks, Alison
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My answer may seem off at first, but hear me out. Our agency is a gift from Heavenly Father. It is the single most powerful gift we have because with it we can either become worthy to return to his presence, or we can condemn ourselves to outer darkness.
Our agency is the tool we use to choose right or wrong. It is the one gift Heavenly Father will never remove from us under any circumstance. However, should we willingly surrender it to him ourselves, then we become worthy of every blessing he can bestow upon us, including the blessing of receiving our calling and election while in this life.
So how do we surrender our agency? By deciding that we will do the will of God rather than our own will with every moral and spiritual decision that we make. Therein lies the challenge of life. I would hazard a guess that quite a few people seriously do want to be 100% obedient to God. However our problem is as it was with Peter when he proclaimed a willingess to die with his beloved Savior. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
We have to receive the saving ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After that we must ‘endure to the end’. It sounds simple on the page, but in real life it is far more complex and difficult. The blessing is that even so, we can get there from here.