Reinstating Priesthood and effects on sealings.

[LDSVALLEY]

In our Quorum we have a someone who was a member with the melchizedek Priesthood years ago. For whatever reason he became divorced and had his name removed from the records.

He and his current wife recently moved to our Ward and they became interested in the Gospel to the point they were re Baptized.

He has been told that in order to give him the Priesthood they have to reinstate his orignial one which will reactivate his sealing to his first wife.

He was told the only option was to get his ex wife to agree to removing the sealing. He knows she will not agree to do this since they have older children together.

As a result he and his new wife are going to leave the church as they can not progress further without the Priesthood and it is difficult to attend and hearing about Priesthood duties etc and knowing he can't.

Does anyone know of a way the church would allow him to receive the Priesthood without reactivating the sealing or how he can have the sealing removed without his ex wife's permission?

[Vort]

I don't understand. The man's sealing to his former wife is of no moment whatsoever to his situation now. He can even be sealed to his current wife, if they wish.

Once you are ordained to the Priesthood, it isn't meaningful to be "reordained". You have already been ordained; the question is whether your Priesthood authority is instated (or reinstated). If his authority is reinstated, that includes all the covenants he had made, obviously including his sealing to his former wife.

If it makes him feel any better, no one will be sealed in the eternities to someone he does not wish to be sealed to. Furthermore, sealings are of no efficacy unless both parties live up to their covenants. So he is worrying about nothing -- literally, nothing.

If he is planning to leave the Church again over this, that suggests that his commitment to the Church and gospel is extremely weak and that he really has no idea what's going on in his situation. He needs desperately to talk turkey with his stake president.

[LDSVALLEY]

I don't have the details but he doesn't want to have her sealed to him as an active sealing in the church. From what he was told he can not have the sealing cancelled without the ex spouse giving permission which she will not do.

He feels the only way to avoid that tie with her and out of respect for his current wife, to avoid her tied to his ex is to leave the sealing dead as it were.

He believes enough in the gospel that not being able to exercise the Priesthood is hard on him. I admire his strength to come back to the church and get rebaptized in spite of the embarresment it must have been.

[rameumptom]

Sounds like this guy is not understanding the correct concepts. Once rebaptized, he can have his priesthood and sealing restored. Then he can ask for a sealing cancellation. The ex-wife will comment via letter on this, but it will be approved given the man is now married to someone else. He can then marry in the temple to his current wife.

Of course, this is assuming we know all the details, as we are only getting one side of the story, and it sounds suspect.

[LDSVALLEY]

He was told that his ex wife has to agree to the sealing cancellation.

[Just_A_Guy]

Of course she does.

The sealing ordinance sets up three sets of covenants:

Husband - God

Wife - God

Husband - Wife

Just because the husband has decided he no longer wanted to honor those covenants to which he was a party, does not give him the right to dissolve the one covenant that still remains valid--the covenant between the (ex) wife and God. No power on earth or hell can take strip her of the blessings of that covenant while she wishes to remain faithful to it; and that includes your friend and his current wife.

(Ex) wife retains the right to have that covenant remain in existence until she chooses to supplant it with a new covenant involving a different partner; and the husband can thank his Maker for an Atonement that allows him to repent of whatever broke up his first marriage and have a second chance at exaltation.

Edited July 15, 2011 by Just_A_Guy

[Vort]

Of course she does.

The sealing ordinance sets up three sets of covenants:

Husband - God

Wife - God

Husband - Wife

Just because the husband has decided he no longer wanted to honor those covenants to which he was a party, does not give him the right to dissolve the one covenant that still remains valid--the covenant between the (ex) wife and God. No power on earth or hell can take strip her of the blessings of that covenant while she wishes to remain faithful to it; and that includes your friend and his current wife.

(Ex) wife retains the right to have that covenant remain in existence until she chooses to supplant it with a new covenant involving a different partner; and the husband can thank his Maker for an Atonement that allows him to repent of whatever broke up his first marriage and have a second chance at exaltation.

Does the ex-husband have that same right? If his ex-wife wishes to remarry and he doesn't want to dissolve that sealing, is her sealing dissolution request denied?

[Just_A_Guy]

I don't think so. My understanding is that divorced men get clearances for re-sealing, not cancellations of existing sealings. Where's MarginOfError? :)

But I think, doctrinally, that the priesthood creates huge responsibilities on the part of the bearer--both in the church and in the home. This may well be one of them. *shrug*

Edited July 15, 2011 by Just_A_Guy

[Maureen]

Does the ex-husband have that same right? If his ex-wife wishes to remarry and he doesn't want to dissolve that sealing, is her sealing dissolution request denied?

I'm going to attempt this with my non-LDS mind. :)

Since men never have to request a cancellation because they can be sealed to multiple women while alive; the sealing cancellation the woman requests is just for her since she can only be sealed to one man at a time while alive. Her connection to her former husband is cancelled but it doesn't necessarily mean his connection to her is cancelled. Could possibly be why the cancellation does not affect the children. Now of course this is just my guess as to how it might work.

M.

[Just_A_Guy]

I'm going to attempt this with my non-LDS mind. :)

Since men never have to request a cancellation because they can be sealed to multiple women while alive; the sealing cancellation the woman requests is just for her since she can only be sealed to one man at a time while alive. Her connection to her former husband is cancelled but it doesn't necessarily mean his connection to her is cancelled. Could possibly be why the cancellation does not affect the children. Now of course this is just my guess as to how it might work.

M.

Maureen, you sure you don't want to convert?

[MarginOfError]

He can request a sealing cancellation, but it may not be granted. It's up to the First Presidency to agree to or refuse a sealing cancellation. However, they will likely agree to a clearance, which will allow the current couple to be sealed. The trick will be teaching this couple that just because this brother is technically sealed to his ex wife does not mean that he will not be required to be with her in eternity.

Also, even if the sealing were cancelled, it would have no effect on the status of the sealing for the children involved.