The odd thing about mormon rituals is this:

It takes physical contact to enact and ordinance. Laying on of hands usually or immersion in water for baptism or clasping hands at an altar for sealing.

Magic words are spoken. Sometimes a set prayer or set formula.

Then magically, almost anyone can undo these ordinances with a word or stroke of a pen.

An excommunication requires no contact or set formula of spoken words and cancels everything.

Likewise Mormonism teaches that people can refuse ordinances performed on their behalf.

So a vicarious divorce is not required. The doctrinal theory being that either party can "refuse" the ordinance and it becomes null and void.

...if it's notarized...

It's all in the paperwork!

As a former ward clerk you are spot on. Records are everything in the church. If the church is good at anything, keeping records is it.

Yeah the ordinances are just the showbiz part of the church but unless it's in the records it doesn't mean diddly.

Any one of us, male or female, has as much "authority" as any male Mormon. All their rituals, ordinations, and endowments are FAKE! Anything you come up with on behalf of your Dad will have just as much effect and power as any made-up Mormon ritual.

I had gotten a legal civil divorce years ago, on the grounds of extreme physical cruelty. In your Dad's case, legal civil marriages end upon one spouse's death, so it's already over.

I was not granted a temple divorce from my ex-husband who beat me many times, strangled me until I stopped beating, and left me with permanent injuries. After trying for 25 years, I quit the cult, and declared my temple marriage "null and void" because my ex had broken the sacred covenants. I also declared myself resigned, and therefore "all temple ordinances were revoked." I declared my children had nothing to do with anything that ever happened in the Mormon temple or Mormon church. Our baptisms were null and void, because we declared them to be so.

I had my own ritualistic temple divorce, in which I repeated the actual temple marriage ceremony, reversing the language, to release me of this terrible burden. My ex-Mormon cousins and I wore temple clothes, mine, my mother's and my aunt's. One cousin was the proxy for my abusive ex. Another cousin was the officiator. The third cousin read an exerpt of a favorite Wordsworth poem, celebrating love and life and nature. I printed up an official-looking "Cancellation of Temple Marriage Sealing" certificate, and forged the signatures of the First Presidency, and we all signed it. Who knows who signs this type of document, or if it's just someone's secretary, or a rubber-stamp signiture.

Besides, the First Presidency has no power or authority from God, in the first place. No Mormon does.

You have the power to create your own vicarious divorce ritual for your Dad, any way you want!

It was a very therapeutic experience for me and my cousins, and my dog, who was the guest, and who helped us eat the pizza, afterwards.

we are temple divorced. I get a big kick out of that. His family BEGGED me not to get a temple divorce.

Oh, very cool. By resigning your temple marriage was dissolved then? Awesome.

My parents were civilly divorced, but didn't ever bother with the temple divorce. It was too much hassle for them to deal with. They both remarried however.

I got civilly divorced, then resigned a few months later.
About 6 months after my resignation, my ex wife wanted to remarry in the temple. I got a letter asking my “approval” to cancel our sealing. I don’t think resignation = auto “temple divorce”.

I envy you your temple divorce! How did you do that??? I seriously would like to know!

So, you can be legally divorced, and not allowed a temple divorce. You can be not legally divorced but allowed a temple divorce.

How does that work? How did they bend the rules for you?

Oh, I forgot that it's "who you know." Your current husband (temple ex-husband) is a probably a Mormon Royalty relative of a GA, am I right?

If you are temple divorced from your husband, but you have sex with him, is that temple adultery? Since your husband is temple divorced from you, do Mormons think it's not adulterous for him to have sex with others, even though he is still legally married to you? So, "legal adultery" is less heinous than "temple adultery?" Maybe "anything goes" as long as your ex-husband/husband doesn't admit to having sex with anyone, including you. Sort of like Joseph Smith claims to have never had sex or children with any of his "spiritual" wives.... I'm so confused....

No wonder we left the cult!

are null and void because we resigned. That is what the letter told me that I received after I resigned.

I didn't go to the authorities for a temple divorce. I refuse to have anything to do with the leaders of the lds church.

I'm not in the least concerned about their seal of approval on my not being sealed to my "husband." It's just fact.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2019 09:16AM by cl2.

Following my parents civil divorce, but not temple divorce, I figured they were going to be eternally together because they didn't get that dissolved (when I was a Mormon I thought like that.) I don't any longer.

After my parents and step-parents died I was given signs from each of them (eventually within a year or so of their passing,) that they had not only crossed over (my dad and step-mom especially I was given signs they were in heaven, not with my mom or step-dad though - only that they'd crossed the vale.) But the key signs from them all was that they were together as couples. Mom was with my step-dad, and dad was with my step-mother. They were all Jack Mormons when they died.

Not temple wed, not active in the church. They were just doing their own thing and content as it were.

I didn't ask or pray for signs that their souls lived on. But I was happy to be given them anyway. It has given me a measure of peace.

Dad had hoped he'd be with my step-mom when he died, since she went first. So when I got the message he was with her I knew he was at peace and his spirit was at rest.

Is there some way for you to help all those poor souls who wonder about the location and condition of their deceased loved ones?