I’m an inactive Mormon woman. I went inactive 6 years ago and had a child five years ago with my boyfriend. He’s Catholic. We’ve been dating for 7 years. We respect each other a lot, and we respect each other’s religions. We want to get married without either one of us having to sacrifice religious beliefs. My question is, will the church have any problem if we get married?
4 Responses to “Marrying someone from another religion”
Mateo Campos
2014-03-02 21:42:43
Temples are considered houses of God, places of holiness and peace separate from the preoccupations of the world. Marriages performed in these temples can last forever, even after death.
Hi sister. Thanks for your question. It's excellent that you're going to marry your boyfriend since you have a child together.
The LDS Church recognizes any legal marriage, regardless of religion. However, for a marriage to be "sealed" (referring to an "eternal" or "temple" marriage), both the husband and the wife must prepare themselves spiritually. This preparation includes full participation in the covenants (promises with God) and practices/teachings of Christ's restored Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Unity of faith is important in a marriage. It's easy early in a relationship, with all the excitement of new love, to overlook the importance of factors like these. Studies show that religious unity increases the chances of long-term success in marriage. This is especially true of marriages that involve one or more Mormons.
I strongly encourage you and your husband to chat with our missionaries. They can help you come back to full church activitity, and they can introduce your husband to Christ's restored gospel. It's common to seek greater spiritual truth during periods of transition in our lives. Since you and your fiancé are considering marriage (a very important transition!), you might want to consider starting your life together unified in a common Mormon faith.
Stephen Douglas
2014-04-21 13:23:09
It doesn't matter so much where you are married, civilly. The important thing is to get married and make covenants with each other, at first "til death do us part," then later work toward eternal sealing to your husband and child(ren)! BTW, Catholics make great Latter-day Saints! My wife was raised Catholic in Italy and converted in her early teens. God bless you both in your commitment to each other and your family.
Sherri W.
2014-04-21 19:58:22
First of all, congratulations on your decision to get married! The church will undoubtedly support you getting married regardless of your husband's faith. It sounds like you would like to be active in your faith and your husband would like to be active in his faith? Since you have been inactive for quite some time now, you will want to meet with your Bishop and discuss your time away from the church and talk about repentance (if needed) and going forward. I wish you the best!
Pamela Bonta
2014-04-21 06:40:02
Dear sister, our church welcomes marriage! Especially when there are children involved. There are some important considerations in your case, however. For example, your Catholic husband will be unable to offer Mormon father's blessings to your children, healing blessings, be sealed in the holy temple, etc. He also might not be comfortable with some aspects of your Mormon faith, like the time required for various callings.
Catholics who marry non-Catholics are also required by their Church to promise to raise their children as Catholics. Are you prepared for your children to not be part of the Restored Gospel? As such, Primary, YM, YW, Seminary, Institute, Activity Days, Cubs, Scouts are all things your children may not be able to attend if your husband does not agree.
You would be unable to do your families genealogy work. These and many other reasons are why you and your husband should meet not only with the missionaries, but with your Bishop. The missionaries can explain our religion to your husband so that he can make an informed decision, and the Bishop can explain the ramifications for you if you both belong to different faiths.
The LDS Church recognizes any legal marriage, regardless of religion. However, for a marriage to be "sealed" (referring to an "eternal" or "temple" marriage), both the husband and the wife must prepare themselves spiritually. This preparation includes full participation in the covenants (promises with God) and practices/teachings of Christ's restored Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Unity of faith is important in a marriage. It's easy early in a relationship, with all the excitement of new love, to overlook the importance of factors like these. Studies show that religious unity increases the chances of long-term success in marriage. This is especially true of marriages that involve one or more Mormons.
I strongly encourage you and your husband to chat with our missionaries. They can help you come back to full church activitity, and they can introduce your husband to Christ's restored gospel. It's common to seek greater spiritual truth during periods of transition in our lives. Since you and your fiancé are considering marriage (a very important transition!), you might want to consider starting your life together unified in a common Mormon faith.
Catholics who marry non-Catholics are also required by their Church to promise to raise their children as Catholics. Are you prepared for your children to not be part of the Restored Gospel? As such, Primary, YM, YW, Seminary, Institute, Activity Days, Cubs, Scouts are all things your children may not be able to attend if your husband does not agree.
You would be unable to do your families genealogy work. These and many other reasons are why you and your husband should meet not only with the missionaries, but with your Bishop. The missionaries can explain our religion to your husband so that he can make an informed decision, and the Bishop can explain the ramifications for you if you both belong to different faiths.