Beliefs > Question & Answer > Marriage

Question

How would you deal with the issue of interfaith marriage? I am not Mormon, and this has come up in our family, and yes, it has caused problems. I was wondering, if let's say, Don Jr. came home, and said he had met a girl, with whom he was deeply in love and wanted to marry, but she was not a member of the Church. How would you handle this situation, and what words would you use to guide him? How does the Church feel about these situations? Would you oppose this marriage, or give your support? I know these are very personal questions, and if you would rather not answer them, I would understand, nor would I be offended. This is going on in our family, and there are young children involved, and unfortunately, I think they are the ones suffering. So, it is from a personal interest that I have asked these questions.

Response

I can't condemn this practice of interfaith marriages because there have been many times when these marriages have worked. There have been times when eventually the person who is not of the other's faith becomes aware of the blessings that come from consistency in beliefs, particularly when children come along. From a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' point of view, the temples are the places for marriage. If one of the couple is not a member, it is possible to be married outside the temple in hopes that later they can be baptized and sealed in the temple and enjoy those blessings. Herein lies the uncertainty. Will your spouse ever come to that knowledge? What will they teach their children if they don't unify? Which church do they take their family to? There are so many challenges within the bonds of marriage in the first place. Adding the question of religion is only setting yourself up for additional challenges that really don't need to be there. It means additional strain on the marriage. It means jeopardizing the stability and happiness of the home. It means a lack of unity and direction for the whole family. It has been proven that interfaith marriages do not succeed as well as marriages of the same faith, especially when children are involved. As I've mentioned, there are exceptions to this rule, but by and large they have problems. With the divorce rate being 2:1 in the world today, who needs to add to the problems that already exist? To answer your question about my son coming to us with this in mind, we would have to support him. Whatever makes him and her happy. We can't stand in the way of that. They have their free agency to act according to the dictates of their own conscience. Obviously, we would try to encourage them to marry within the Church for the reason that we believe marriage is for eternity; being sealed, not just for this earth life, but forever by those who have been ordained to have this sealing authority. This can only happen when both are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would tell them from a logical point of view that, when both parents are harmoniously together about their beliefs, it would empower their children with consistency and a firm doctrine with no conflicts or differences of opinions. God is not a God of confusion, and marriage is ordained of Him to be a well-organized union between a man and a woman. Having said all of that, it is our hope that we as parents would have taught these valuable principles long before this kind of situation arose. Getting back to your own family, I think they (whoever they are) need to get a confirmation from our Father in Heaven, through humble prayer, if they are doing the right thing. If the marriage already exists, then amazing amounts of love towards their children needs to definitely be there. Most importantly, make sure that the children know of the love their parents have for each other. But, there has to be unity. I cannot stress this enough. I hope this answers the question sufficiently for you. Sincerely, Donny Osmond See related multimedia presentations

Search Again                           
   

Member Log In Email: Password: Password Reminder Not yet a member of Donny.com? It's easy, and it's free! Register for your free account now!