I'm a musician and because of covid-19, live gigs have stopped. I'm not complaining, because the last thing I want is to perform in a crowded bar or restaurant for 2-3 hours. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a couple from California, who were planning a wedding at Redfish Lake. Since it was a dawn wedding with just the couple, the officiant, and the photagraphers, I thought it was a safe bet. Long story short it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended. With the bride and the groom standing on the beach with the crystalline blue waters of the lake and framed by the snow tipped Sawtooth mountains, it was so moving. I commented to my wife that the Mcmarriages performed in Mormon temples just can't compare or measure up. I thought of all the weddings I attended, when I was a member, and nothing stood out from any of them. Each was carried out in a room that looks like hundreds of others scattered across Mormondom, with an old fossil droning on about kings and queens and prinicpalities, while the couple kneels at an alter in their ridiculous temple garb. What a joke. Of course, the faithful will go to their graves bragging about the beauty of the Mormon marriage ceremony, while the rest of us just laugh and pity the poor souls who squander a great opportunity for beauty on one of the most important days of their lives.

Not just beauty but inclusiveness. LDSInc weddings are as much about who can't be there as who can.

I always say that it's not a wedding unless a baby is crying. :) You would think that the church that promotes "forever families" would want all members of the family in attendance at a wedding.

At the end of the temple ceremony the:

TBM's are thinking, "Oh that was so special."

The officiator is thinking, "Move along people, I've got other couples waiting."

The Happy Couple is thinking, "That was weird but at least we're church approved to have sex now."

100% accurate.

DH and I met in the Mormon church. When we decided to marry, DH said that the temple thing was out of the question, because he would not lie to get a temple recommend. (I suffered from no such scruples, myself.)

So we asked the bishop to marry us "for time only." He was very full of himself and tried to bully us into accepting more church callings and all kinds of nonsense I no longer remember. I finally had enough of his posturing and said, "You know, there's always City Hall. It's just as legal." We had a date and time set within about ten minutes.

My younger son was married in the temple, and because it was fairly apparent that nobody else in the family had even a remote chance at getting a recommend, I went for it. I was appalled at how formulaic and sterile it was.

Evidently, it worked. We are coming up on 29 years in October.

> I
> finally had enough of his posturing and said, "You
> know, there's always City Hall. It's just as
> legal." We had a date and time set within about
> ten minutes.

That is brilliant.

Sounds like a beautiful experience. I kind of wish we’d done our wedding with just a few people.

What are the magic words in the sealing? its been a long time since I did any. The officiator did a whole one for us so that the group could hear the unabridged version the living get to hear. Yes, the dead gets a shorter version and no proxy kiss.