The life story of Newel and Lydia’s son Jesse Knight raises a familiar but provocative question: How far will the temple’s sealing power reach out to rescue the wandering children and grandchildren of faithful, temple-married parents? Some Church members believe that eventually, regardless of when or how far some of their posterity may stray, the sealing power will bring them back. The answer to their question rests on the central issue of agency. It may help to ask it this way: If God extends redeeming grace and exalting power through the full blessings of Christ’s Atonement and the priesthood ordinances, why must each of us still engage the process so willingly?
