Sealings by proxy


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I’m new to temple work. What do you do when a couple has been divorced? Do you still seal them? I have relatives that have been divorced and I wouldn’t feel right performing this ordinance for them. So what is the norm? Or your opinion? 

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I would guess that the policy is in place to deal with a much different problem.  

Molly Mary Martin has done her genealogy work and found ancestors Amelia and Harold that were married in 1683. She can find records that Amelia married Carl in 1695 and Harold married Elizabeth in 1692, but there's no record of a divorce between Amelia and Harold. What ordinances should be performed?

Rather than tasking people with onerous documentation requirements in order to reach ordinances, the decision is to go ahead and seal them all to anyone we have record of them being married to, and let it all sort out after we're all dead.  Probably a better policy than consulting with the dead the Ouija boards to find out what their wishes are.

Anyway, the policy is one of convenience for people doing the temple work, and comes with the understanding that the part of the sealing that binds people together is only valid so long as both parties consent to it. Performing a sealing between a divorced couple doesn't force them to be together, but rather gives them the choice. They are still free to choose "HAIL NO" 

 

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11 minutes ago, Hello said:

But if they chose to be divorced why would we want to seal them? That’s my hang up. They clearly didn’t want to be together. 

Divorce happens because of human sin.  Since exaltation will be a nice place where that stuff isn't around, we can't really tell what an exalted divorcee wants and chooses.  So seal 'em all, and let the eternities sort 'em out.

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2 hours ago, Hello said:

But if they chose to be divorced why would we want to seal them? That’s my hang up. They clearly didn’t want to be together. 

I like examples--

Mortal "Bob" and "Sally" get married.  They are of course flawed sinful humans, and unfortunately divorce happens.  

But they both love Christ.   They die and in the eternities are eventually are perfected in Him-- Sally is no longer a nagger, Bob actually does what he says he's going to do, Sally now knows how to communicate how she's feeling, Bob doesn't feel the need to hide, etc.  In fact, Bob is so perfect, in fact he treats literally every person in his life just as perfectly as Christ would.  Sally is likewise just that perfect.

So, does a perfected Christ-like Bob and Sally want to be together?  We don't know!   Even Sally today wouldn't know because she's not remotely her perfected self and hasn't remotely met perfect Bob.    

By having the sealing done, perfected Bob and perfect Sally will have options: they can choose to be separate, or they can choose to be together again.  It's their choice.  God never forces any person in any way.  

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