Elder Bednar: Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise
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Using the story of a damaged passport, Elder David A. Bednar teaches how covenants are sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, and that another person’s choices cannot rob a faithful covenant keeper of promised blessings.
In his October 2026 general conference address, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that ordinances and covenants are spiritual credentials for our journey home to Heavenly Father, and that the Holy Spirit of Promise is what makes them binding.
A damaged passport
Elder Bednar began with a story about a man who traveled abroad to visit family. His passport was valid, but he had let it become stained and had repaired a torn page with tape and glue, so the border official refused to stamp it. The lesson, he said, is that holding a credential is not enough; its integrity has to be kept over time. He noted the limits of the comparison: trials that come through no fault of our own do not cancel God's promises or our covenants.
The ratifying seal
Covenants are received through priesthood ordinances, and every ordinance and covenant must ultimately be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, who confirms our righteous acts as acceptable to God. Elder Bednar explained that this sealing usually is not a one-time event. It comes over time as we repent, keep our covenants and yield our hearts to God, which he linked to President Boyd K. Packer's description of keeping covenants as "the challenge of mortality."
When a temple marriage does not endure
Elder Bednar described the temple sealing of a husband and wife as having two parts: a lateral sealing between the spouses and a vertical sealing into God's eternal family. He then addressed a tender question: can another person's sins or choices rob a faithful spouse of promised blessings? His answer was an emphatic no.
A spouse who breaks covenants and does not repent gives up the seal of the Holy Spirit of Promise for himself or herself. A faithful spouse who keeps covenants remains worthy to receive that seal for the vertical part of the sealing and all other promised blessings. He acknowledged that revealed doctrine does not explain every detail of how and when, but testified that no faithful disciple will be denied any blessing because of someone else's choices.
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