a third temple wedding (sister first, first newphew, second nephew today) in which I am not allowed to witnesss....

Thanks lds - a forever family centric church.....

I could not attend the wedding of two daughters.

Likewise a granddaughter.

There have been 30+ "weddings" in my family I haven't been allowed to attend. Because of this, IMHO, I'm not a member of their family. This isn't about the fucking temple being "sacred", but about how the cult isn't about family.

Two of the most wonderful people on Earth, an Uncle and an Aunt that I owe everything to, had to wait across the street at a Coffee Shop while I was married. They were extremely gracious about it, but I was embarrassed.

Some people in the ward, that I never cared for much, WHERE at my wedding. The church wont even let you plan the most important part of your own wedding -- WHO can attend!

What other religion dictates your life more than Mormonism!

Even worse -- why did I ever let them!

At the end of the day it's just a stupid bloody ritual forgotten by everyone a month later.
Yeah the church sucks but it's not worth losing sleep over.
Have a bbq the following weekend.
Keep everything in perspective.
( waits for touchy feely backlash)

I feel your isolation, rejection, hurt and sadness as I have been there with 3 daughters, 2 sons, and a grandson. The mighty dollar comes first in the cult, not precious family.

I detest the cult and all it does in the name of so-called goodness.

What pisses me off about this is that the church does this ON PURPOSE! The whole punitive "wait one year to be sealed" thing if you choose a civil wedding is ridiculous. The ONLY part that matters for the TBM is the sealing. The WEDDING matters to FAMILY and FRIENDS. I'm in a split household (spouse is still TBM) and I cannot risk my kids thinking for one minute that they have to get married in the temple, so my own indoctrination has started in earnest, despite the friction it causes at home. I'd really like an explanation from someone as to why this policy is still enforced. My niece got "married" in the temple in the morning without much fanfare, then held the "real wedding" that night with the walking down the aisle and inclusion of everyone.

If you MUST do the temple thing, do it with as little frou-frou as possible, kind of like getting the marriage license before you can get married. Just one more thing on the checklist.

Then have a real BLOWOUT of a wedding, with friends, family, and even pets, if you like! Bridesmaids, groomsmen, flowers galore, candles - whatever makes it perfect for YOU.

Serious slap in the face to TSCC. Is there any law that says you can't have two legal weddings on the same day? You might have to choose which certificate to send to the state registrar, but that doesn't seem like a big deal.

The explanation? It's about the money.

It's hard for mormons to defend the year-wait policy. It's one of my most successful "make then squirm" discussions.

At times you think you are alone in what you are experiencing. I see I am not.

I wish I could find a way to invoke change......

Thanks for sharing your stories.....

"At the end of the day it's just a stupid bloody ritual forgotten by everyone a month later.
Yeah the church sucks but it's not worth losing sleep over." -

Really? Making covenants with something that is PURE EVIL is something to lose sleep over. I just disagree. And according to many people on this board, they didn't forget it a month later. Some are still haunted by it even though it took place a long time ago for many of them.

My niece is at the end of the month. I posted an update today - Niece Wedding Update. It is horrifying.