Different religions have unique ways of taking the bride and groom’s marriage vows to make the marriage valid. A Mormon sealing is a sacred tradition done during a wedding ceremony to take the marriage vows of the bride and groom. In addition to making the marriage valid, sealing ensures that the marriage lasts an eternity.
So, what happens in a Mormon wedding sealing? The sealing ceremony at a Mormon wedding must be done inside the holy temple. It is conducted by the bishop or temple president, who has the authority to perform sealings. The couple kneels at the altar facing each other; they shall kneel between two mirrors facing each other, projecting the couple’s infinite image. The groom will take his vows, and the couple will receive their blessings as a married couple.
The temple sealing is one of the most important ceremonies in a Mormon’s life. The Mormons believe that marriage should be eternal, and sealing is a process of getting an eternal marriage. Read on to find out more about a Mormon wedding sealing and if a woman can be sealed twice.
What Happens in A Mormon Wedding Sealing?
During a Mormon wedding sealing, the couple will walk to the altar together. The bride and groom will then head into the temple sealing room, where they will kneel at the altar. The groom will kneel on the altar’s right side, and the bride will kneel on the left side of the altar.
The bride and groom will wear special ceremonial temple robes. The ceremonial temple robes are white and are provided for by the church. The bride’s ceremonial robes will be white and include a veil. The ceremonial robes cover most of her body, showing only her hands.
In addition to the robes, the bride and groom shall wear a sash and a cap for the groom. The shoes also have to be white; the apron is the only cloth with a different color, green.
When kneeling at the altar, the bride and groom shall hold each other right hand in the patriarchal grip. The couple will face the double mirrors that create their infinite reflection symbolizing their eternal marriage. The mirrors are a common feature in a sealing ceremony, and sealing cannot happen if the mirrors are not present.
The temple sealer will then read the vows to the groom and repeat the vows, adding the bride and groom’s names. The groom is then required to respond to the vows by saying, “yes.” The temple sealer will then pronounce the couple as husband and wife and say nuptial blessings for the couple.
The main reason why the Mormons perform a temple sealing is to seal relationships beyond human life’s physical nature. If a couple has a temple sealing, their family shall be together even after death as long as they remain faithful to each other and the church. In Christian wedding vows, the promise is to be faithful to each other until death do you part. In a Mormon wehttps://weddingplanningfaqs.com/2020/12/15/what-is-a-mormon-wedding-ceremony-like/dding, the couple promise to be faithful to each other for the time and all eternity.
The marriage of the sealed couple is only valid only if they maintain their religious covenants and follow the church’s teachings. The consent of both parties is required before the temple sealer can seal the couple. A temple sealer cannot seal a person to another individual they do not want. Hence, dead people’s sealing is left for God to decide if the relationship will continue after death.
Only members with a temple recommendation can have or attend a temple sealing. The temple recommend should be current and valid; if the couple or wedding guest temple recommend has expired, they will have to obtain a new one. Members without a valid temple recommend, or non-Mormon wedding guests will wait in the temple’s waiting room during the wedding ceremony.
If the couple had children before their sealing, they might choose to have their children sealed to them in a later ceremony. If the couple has their children after the sealing, they do not need to seal their children in another ceremony.
Children born in a sealed marriage are automatically sealed to their parents. Parents can also seal their adopted children to their family once they have legally adopted the children.
The Mormon church does not recognize same-sex marriage. The temple sealers do not perform same-sex marriage in the temple; hence they cannot seal same-sex couples. The church changed its policy of couples who had civil marriages to wait one year before having a sealing ceremony. The couple can apply for a temporary temple recommend to have a wedding sealing ceremony.
Can a Woman Be Sealed Twice?
A woman getting sealed to more than one husband was prohibited by the church until 1998. The church changed its policies to allow women to be sealed to more than one person. Since some marriages ended up in divorce, the Mormon church had to find a solution to allow women to be sealed to more than one person.
There are rules regarding sealing a woman to more than one man. The first rule is that if the woman is still alive, she can cancel the first sealing before getting sealed to another man. The Mormon allows canceling a sealing as long as they give enough reasons to warrant the First Presidency canceling the sealing.
Another rule is that a temple sealer shall only perform a sealing for a woman to her subsequent partners after she has died. A living woman can only be sealed to one man. After her death, her various partners may want to be sealed to her. If they get permission from her family, they can arrange for a sealing ceremony. However, the Mormons believe that the woman will only have one partner in the afterlife. There can be numerous sealings, but God will decide who is the true partner of the woman.
If the woman’s husband died after the sealing, she should not have a sealing ceremony with another man. She can marry other partners, but they cannot have a temple sealing. She will be reunited with her first husband at her death, with whom she had a temple sealing ceremony during her life. The rules may apply differently to various women; the woman’s situation will determine if the First Presidency will allow her to be sealed to another man.
Celestial marriage is a doctrine in the Mormon church that supports the belief that marriage lasts forever in heaven. Both men and women can enter into celestial marriages with one living partner at a time. Proxy sealings are for dead people. Proxy sealing means that a temple sealer can seal a woman to all her husbands after she has passed on, then God will choose the right husband for her in heaven.
Finally
A Mormon wedding sealing is a significant event, and many devout Mormons early look forward to their sealing. It is a small ceremony, and only a few family members and close friends with temple recommends can attend the sealing ceremony.
The couple takes their vows to be faithful to each other even after death. In the United States, many temple sealers also have civil authority to perform weddings; hence the government recognizes a Mormon marriage officiated by a temple sealer.
The Mormons believe in the afterlife, and the earth relationship can continue after death. Sealing is the process they use to establish relationships after death. Women can be sealed to more than one husband after their death, but they can only live with one husband in heaven. If the woman is alive, she can only be sealed to another man after canceling the first sealing.
Photo credits:
Main image – NewNameNoah, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
