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When Joseph Smith taught about the sealing power of Elijah and the power it confers upon family members to help save one another he was still avoiding publicly teaching about eternal marriage. {{ref|keller1}} The point then is that "sealing" groups so that they could continue to enjoy each other's company in the Celestial Kingdom could occur in other ways. The groups who received a promise of eternal life could be as large as a whole congregation in the 1830s or as small as an extended family in the 1843 sermon. | When Joseph Smith taught about the sealing power of Elijah and the power it confers upon family members to help save one another he was still avoiding publicly teaching about eternal marriage. {{ref|keller1}} The point then is that "sealing" groups so that they could continue to enjoy each other's company in the Celestial Kingdom could occur in other ways. The groups who received a promise of eternal life could be as large as a whole congregation in the 1830s or as small as an extended family in the 1843 sermon. | ||
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===Was Emma the first wife to be "sealed" to Joseph?=== | ===Was Emma the first wife to be "sealed" to Joseph?=== | ||
Joseph began practicing marriage sealings for eternity in April 1841 when he was sealed to Louisa Beaman. {{ref|bergera}} He was sealed to Emma on 28 May, 1843. So why was Emma not the first to be sealed? | Joseph began practicing marriage sealings for eternity in April 1841 when he was sealed to Louisa Beaman. {{ref|bergera}} He was sealed to Emma on 28 May, 1843. So why was Emma not the first to be sealed? |
Taking the above mentioned considerations into account, for the general membership, there was no urgency for already legally married couples to make a new or modified marriage covenant that added blessings (rather than nullified the prior vows) until the Nauvoo temple was completed after Joseph's death. Even among the legally married couples in the select group that Joseph Smith taught the concept of eternal marriage to, there was no urgency to formalize that promise with a new marriage rite until much later.
A full appreciation of what being married for time and eternity really meant awaited three other milestones for which Emma was honored as not only to be first of Joseph's wives to experience, but the first woman of this dispensation to experience. [1]
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