Sealed families in the celestial kingdom

[Dorian]

I have a question concerning LDS doctrine on sealing. It is my understanding that you guys believe we live in family units in eternity, right?

So say Mr and Mrs Jones have five kids and all of their kids then grow up, enter temple marriages and have their own kids. Now Mr and Mrs. Jones' kids, who are all married, are sealed to their own spouse and children? Does this mean that in eternity Mr and Mrs. Jones will be with their kids and their kids' families, or will they be separate?

 

If this is the case then can we expect that in the celestial kingdom there will be generations and generations of sealed families all living together? Say, Mr and Mrs Jones parents, and their parents, and their parents, etc.

What about when it comes to creating and populating new worlds? How can they still be together for that if each married couple is to become heavenly parents to spirit children?

[SpiritDragon]

I understand it this way:

 

We will all be sealed together as a great big family of Adam and Eve, a massive family reunion. The Lord's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. We cannot be saved without our kindred dead. We all work to do missionary work for the living and the dead to bring this family together.

 

We will all see past present and future together through a grand urim and thummim, time is irrelevant. However as far as our mortal understanding is concerned it may still be most accurate to say that we spend the majority of our socialization with our spouse(s).

[estradling75]

Define together.....

 

My wife and I have been married 15+ years.  We have four kids.  In a very real sense we are together.  Although at the moment I am setting alone at the computer.  So is my family together or are we separate?   And the answer is yes depending on how you define the term.

 

To me limiting togetherness to physical presence seem incredibly restrictive when we are talking about God's blessings

[MrShorty]

It is an interesting question. I'm not sure I fully understand the answer. Joseph Smith taught that the, "same sociality which exists among us here will exist among use there..." (D&C 130:2), so I get the impression that there will be echoes of this life in the next life. The exact form of our social structure in the next life seems inexact, but I expect my wife and I will live together. Our adult children and their spouses will live together, and we will recognize them as our children, as well as all their children and children's children. I will also know my parents and grandparents and other ancestors and understand my relationships to them. If I am granted the privilege of raising my stillborn child, he will live with us until he is grown. I don't think we really know the details of what our lives will look like in the next life. As Spirit Dragon said, we will be sealed together into one big "family of Adam".

[jal]

I think we formalize too much the purpose of eternal "sealings", some details of which will be "ironed out" in the next life.

 

The purpose of it is remarkably simple, but widely less understood.  It is simply a way for mankind to participate with Christ in the atonement by providing a spiritual link to amply the saving aspect of the atonement to link all of Father's children together.  Think of it as "well if I'm going they're coming with me".... and Im not talking about getting to "heaven", rather the sealing ordinances literally empower that individual with special ability to learn and tap into the power of the atonement in a way that brings a return to the entire family back to the presence of the Father, spiritually AND physically.  How this happens is more complex, but the details of certainly cases Im sure will get ironed out.. if its important at all.