Hi! I was just recently baptized and am so excited to be LDS! I first learned about the church five years ago from my best friend. A few months ago I started dating her brother whom I have been good friends with for six years now. We went on a few dates in high school before he served his mission. He started teaching me at my request, then I took the missionary discussions, and then had him baptized me 🙂
Knowing that, I have a few questions regarding the year waiting periods between baptism and receiving a temple recommend, and between a civil and temple marriage.
My boyfriend an I have been considering getting engaged in a few more months. I know I want to be sealed in the temple, but I also would like to have a civil ceremony with some Jewish traditions that are important to me and my non-lds family.
The way I see it, we can either get married civilly then wait a year to be sealed (something I do not really want to do) or we can wait until my year of membership is up, get sealed in the temple in the morning then have a ring ceremony with the jewish traditions.
My question is, do you have to wait exactly a year to be able to get a temple recommend, or just pretty close to a year? For example, if my year would be up in september and we wanted to get sealed in August, could we? Would being engaged do anything to waive the waiting period?
And would it be okay to have a ring ceremony that is very similar to a jewish wedding?
2 Responses to “Hi! I was just recently baptized and am so excited…”
Carlos Bravo
2014-10-12 21:30:07
Members of the Church believe that marriages performed in temples are sealed, or blessed to last for eternity.
Hi sister. Congratulations on your recent baptism! It's so fun to see the enthusiasm of new converts like you. Don't let that excitement ever wane! :)
I recommend against getting married civilly before being sealed. That would require you to wait another year to be sealed, and I believe the one-year waiting period is pretty strict. The Church discourages its members from separating the civil and religious ceremonies in countries like the U.S. where that separation isn't legally required.
That having been said, I love the idea of a Jewish ring ceremony! My understanding is that ring ceremonies are not legally binding, i.e., they are not equivalent to a civil marriage ceremony. Rather, they are just cultural celebrations of a marriage. I wish these kinds of celebrations were more common in the church so that family members of other faiths could feel as comfortable and welcome as possible.
While perhaps not strictly necessary, I also like the idea of having the cultural celebration after the temple sealing rather than before, to make clear that for you and your future husband the sealing ordinance has paramount importance.
I hope this answer helps, and I wish the two of you the best of luck! What an exciting time in your life.
Pamela Bonta
2014-10-08 07:02:15
The San Diego temple in San Diego, California.
What a wonderful time in your life!
A sealing cannot be performed until one full year has passed. As part of the temple sealing, if you have not already received your endowment, you will do this also at this time. However, one cannot be endowed unless one has been a *confirmed* member for a full year. For example, I was baptized on Jun 30 2001, and confirmed on July 1. I could not receive my endowment until July 2. If you are married civilly, you must also wait a year after that occurs before being sealed in the temple.
You and your boyfriend should talk to your bishop about the pros and cons of marrying first and getting sealed a year later, or waiting for a year to get married and sealed at the same time.
As for a ring ceremony, it is not considered a civil marriage ceremony. It is a celebration of the events that occurred in the temple. Generally speaking, as long as there are no vows spoken, both of you enter at the same time, and there is no 'wedding march', this can be as long or as short as you like, and as long as the traditions do not conflict with LDS doctrine, and can include whatever you like, again, as along as there is no conflict with LDs doctrine. Again, your Bishop can help you decide what would be appropriate in this case.
I recommend against getting married civilly before being sealed. That would require you to wait another year to be sealed, and I believe the one-year waiting period is pretty strict. The Church discourages its members from separating the civil and religious ceremonies in countries like the U.S. where that separation isn't legally required.
That having been said, I love the idea of a Jewish ring ceremony! My understanding is that ring ceremonies are not legally binding, i.e., they are not equivalent to a civil marriage ceremony. Rather, they are just cultural celebrations of a marriage. I wish these kinds of celebrations were more common in the church so that family members of other faiths could feel as comfortable and welcome as possible.
While perhaps not strictly necessary, I also like the idea of having the cultural celebration after the temple sealing rather than before, to make clear that for you and your future husband the sealing ordinance has paramount importance.
I hope this answer helps, and I wish the two of you the best of luck! What an exciting time in your life.
A sealing cannot be performed until one full year has passed. As part of the temple sealing, if you have not already received your endowment, you will do this also at this time. However, one cannot be endowed unless one has been a *confirmed* member for a full year. For example, I was baptized on Jun 30 2001, and confirmed on July 1. I could not receive my endowment until July 2. If you are married civilly, you must also wait a year after that occurs before being sealed in the temple.
You and your boyfriend should talk to your bishop about the pros and cons of marrying first and getting sealed a year later, or waiting for a year to get married and sealed at the same time.
As for a ring ceremony, it is not considered a civil marriage ceremony. It is a celebration of the events that occurred in the temple. Generally speaking, as long as there are no vows spoken, both of you enter at the same time, and there is no 'wedding march', this can be as long or as short as you like, and as long as the traditions do not conflict with LDS doctrine, and can include whatever you like, again, as along as there is no conflict with LDs doctrine. Again, your Bishop can help you decide what would be appropriate in this case.