| Question |
I was
born baptized and raised in the Catholic faith. I am now 19 years old and
have been considering conversion to LDS for a few years now. After
doing much research on your faith, I have been able to sit down with my
parents and convince them that this would not be a wrong or sinful
decision for me to make. My mother is still concerned, though. She strongly
dislikes the fact that if I were to convert and eventually marry in the
temple, she would not be allowed to be present. What does
your faith state about more than one wedding ceremony? Would it be
possible if, when the time comes, to have a civil ceremony with my family
and non-LDS friends present and to have a temple marriage at some point
as well?
|
| Response |
The best thing to do, would be for you to be married at the
right place at the right time by proper priesthood authority which is what
happens when one is married in the temple for time and all eternity.
You've raised a very serious and important consideration for those who
wish to be married in the temple but their extended family are not
members of the Church. I have a couple suggestions because I've seen the
following examples done, but I strongly advise that you converse with
your bishop and not just take my opinion alone.
Right after the temple ceremony, there might be what is called a "ring
ceremony." This can take place at either a restaurant, a hotel meeting
room or some other appropriate place. The Bishop usually conducts this
ceremony. He, or a knowledgeable family friend who is a member of the
Church, would give some brief and general remarks about temple marriages
and the great eternal blessings that come from it without divulging any
of the exact wording of the sealing ceremony itself because of the
sacredness of it. Although, there is much that can be talked about
regarding the temple otherwise. Usually this presentation doesn't last too
long. Following this, some appropriate and soft inspiring music can be
played and even a statement from the bride and groom expressing their
eternal love and affection for each other, followed by the exchanging of
wedding rings. The program usually concludes with appropriate music and
a prayer. Following that, to maintain the sacredness of their vows, the entire wedding party moves to another location or at least
another room for the wedding reception where everyone can greet the
bride and groom.
This next suggestion I don't recommend because of my statement above
about being married in the right place at the right time; however, if you
and your fiancé were to be married civilly so that all of your extended
family could be witnesses of the marriage ceremony itself, you would
then be required to wait one year before you both could be sealed
together in the temple for time and all eternity. There is nothing grossly
wrong about that, but the preference would be the temple sealing first
because there are so many wonderful blessings that come to you and your
children right from the start that you DO NOT want to miss.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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