The members think that this is the most wonderful news since the invention of buttered bread. Anyone who is "unworthy" (because they are too young, inactive, etc) still are not allowed to witness the marriage or sealing in the temple. The bottom line is that TSCC is still a cult, and has been from the get-go, and nothing is going to change that fact.

I see this among all the young Mormon people (under 30)in our family. Yes they all like to tout how they are faithful LDS but when it comes right down to it their daily lives are spent chasing after the lifestyles of pop culture.

I think this decision will backfire hugely as young TBMS opt to emulate the weddings they see on tv. As they do this more and more the temple will become something they do AFTER the "regular" ceremony and reception.

The hoped for result is clearly that the happy couple will use the extra year to procreate certifiable BIC babies.

after thinking about it overnight and actually talking to my daughter, I'm completely satisfied with the fact she got married inside the temple. I'll be surprised if there are too very many who do it different at least for a while unless the church eventually says you can only get sealed in the temple, which I would bet is coming.

It's good as long as they don't start making rules like "no sex until you're sealed" or crap like that. Let couples have a real wedding. Let the bride where her beautiful wedding dress to actually get married in without all the ugliness covering it and that stupid veil with the bow. Let the whole family come. I don't care who you are, there are always family members (even if it's just children) who are left outside. That's just wrong.

Then let them go off on their honeymoon and enjoy each other. Might be nice to come back then have a sealing and delayed reception or something like that. It will open up a whole new line for the Utah wedding business. Since it sounds like they are still keeping the rule that you can't be married in the chapel of the church, I would buy or build a little chapel that is really cute with pews and an aisle they can walk down so that they don't have to have a Relief Society room wedding and the father can actually walk them down the aisle.

"The Church asks that these civil marriage ceremonies be simple and dignified. Couples may use chapels owned by the Church for these ceremonies. Regardless of location, the temple sealing should be the central focus of the marriage and provide the spiritual basis on which the couple begins life together."

"The Church" asks this, not "God."

The Mormons will call these "civil ceremonies."

The example in the article was of a couple going to City Hall for a civil ceremony. This was not a religious ceremony, and the implication was to have it performed by a Justice of the Peace.

The article said that couples may use chapels, but who
would want a wedding performed in a Mormon ward house? (I had one friend ask for her wedding to be in a different ward house, because it had a central aisle for her to walk down, and display her beautiful bridal train.)

I foresee the Mormon cult hijacking weddings, the same way it hijacks funerals. A Mormon chapel wedding presided over by a bishop will be another opportunity to preach all about the temple, the plan of salvation and the other Mormon BS. I can see these ceremonies approved ONLY for couples who have already gotten their recommends and booked their temple sealing dates.

I wonder if such "ceremonies" (the Mormons will not call them weddings) will still be frowned-upon. Already, the cult plans on down-playing these, telling people to keep them "simple and dignified." In Mormonese, this means, "drab and not fun."

I do hope couples will break free, and have the weddings of their dreams, and a wonderful celebration with their families!

Unlike Cl2, I would like a do-over for my daughter! I paid the money to go, but my daughter's father and wife, all of my other children, all of the groom's siblings (except for 1) all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, her uncles and aunts to whom she is close were banned from the wedding. She planned the reception to be a lot of fun for everyone--especially the young kids and unmarried friends--outdoors, with a live band and dancing, and great food, and a game room.

A lot of the fun wedding venues in SLC have an attached chapel area, for wedding ceremonies. My son's wedding was on a patio deck, overlooking a duck pond and fountain, and the food and dancing were indoors. Maybe couples will get married in special places, like the beach or the mountains. My own not-temple wedding was performed in my parents' living room, that had been my home for 26 years, with the reception and dancing in the back patio area. We rented a gazebo for my old boyfriend's band. My uncle was a clergyman. ALL of the people I grew up with were there. IMO, contrary to what the Mormon news article said, nothing could have been MORE intimate and personal than that! No the temple was isolating and creepy.

A lot of not-as-wealthy-as-other mormon families are going to be stressed by this change.