Covenant Marriage

                The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes in the sanctity of marriage, but also believes in having a marriage within a temple. The difference between a temple marriage and a regular civil union is that when you are married (or sealed as they call it) within a temple you are making a commitment to someone, not just for this life, but eternally after this life. This allows couples to be together forever with one another and their children. With this sacred union you also make covenants, or promises, with God and one another. These promises are your commitment to faithfulness within the religion and also to one another as you raise children within the gospel context.

                I personally have never been married in a temple to a spouse, I married a non-member (and was a non-member myself when we married). I longed for a temple marriage once I was baptized because I loved the idea of being sealed forever to my spouse and children, but unfortunately that marriage ended. I am sealed to my parents and I actually had the privilege of being present when my parents were sealed. They were married civilly before I was born and were inactive in the church. It wasn’t until I was about 4 years old that my Mother began going back to church, and my Dad followed suit shortly thereafter. They made the decision to be sealed and my younger sister and I were able to go and be sealed to my parents. The thing that I remember most about this experience was how quiet it was within the temple and the feeling of love that radiated from the room. My parents were beaming and all our family and friends who were there were smiling at me and I could feel their love for me. I didn’t understand the significance of the experience at the time, but looking back now I can see how that truly helped solidify things for our family. My parents had gone through some difficult times before rejoining the church, but once we were all sealed they worked hard to be united as a couple, and therefore united our family.

                I hope to someday be sealed to a worthy spouse and to my children.