Temples and Marriage

The bishop, his counselors as authorized by him, or the branch president interviews ward or branch members and issues temple recommends to those who are worthy.

The bishop or branch president personally interviews members who (1) are preparing to receive their own endowment, (2) are planning to be married or sealed in a temple, or (3) have not lived in the ward or branch continuously for at least one year. Only in the most urgent cases when the bishop is absent may he authorize one of his counselors to issue recommends in these circumstances.

Before issuing a recommend in any of the three circumstances listed above, the bishop carefully reviews the membership record to verify that it does not include a comment about a sealing or ordinance restriction or unresolved Church discipline.

Following the interview by a member of the bishopric or by the branch president, a member of the stake presidency interviews the person and signs the recommend if the person is worthy. The stake president personally interviews members who are receiving their own endowment and members who are planning to be married or sealed in a temple. Because of the large number of such interviews in a young single adult stake, as an exception the stake president may authorize his counselors to interview those who are receiving their own endowment or being married in a temple.

In districts, the branch president interviews branch members and issues temple recommends to those who are worthy. Before issuing a recommend to a member who is to receive the endowment or be married or sealed in a temple, the branch president carefully reviews the membership record to verify that it does not include a comment about a sealing or ordinance restriction or unresolved Church discipline.

Following the interview by the branch president, a member of the mission presidency interviews the person and signs the recommend if the person is worthy. The mission president personally interviews members who are receiving their own endowment and members who are planning to be married or sealed in a temple.

The district president does not interview members for temple recommends.

A temple president may interview and sign a recommend for a member who lives in an isolated area that would require unusual travel expense or difficulty for the member to meet with a member of the stake or mission presidency. The temple president first confers with the stake or mission president. In these cases, the bishop, an authorized counselor, or the branch president already should have interviewed the member and signed the recommend. This policy applies also to members in the military who are in isolated areas and have been interviewed by the bishop of their home ward or the ward that supports their duty station.

A temple president may interview and sign a recommend for a member who lives outside an organized stake or mission. No other interview is needed.

If a member has not lived in the same ward continuously for at least one year, the bishop contacts the prior bishop to certify the member’s worthiness before interviewing him or her for a temple recommend. Members of young single adult wards and single adult wards are included in this policy. Members who seek limited-use recommends are also included, except new converts.

A waiting period of at least one full year after confirmation is required before a worthy adult may be endowed. When issuing temple recommends for new members to be endowed, priesthood leaders ensure that the date the endowment will be received is at least one full year from the member’s date of confirmation, not from the date of baptism. Only the First Presidency may authorize exceptions.

Before a member is endowed, the bishopric may issue him or her a limited-use recommend according to the guidelines in 3.3.5.

Instructions for issuing a recommend to a person who is receiving his or her own endowment are in the temple recommend book. A man must hold the Melchizedek Priesthood to receive his temple endowment.

Most single members will be interviewed for a recommend for their own endowment when they are called as missionaries or when they are to be married in a temple.

Worthy single members who have not received their endowment in connection with a mission or marriage may become eligible to receive the endowment when the bishop and the stake president determine that they are sufficiently mature to understand and keep the sacred covenants made in a temple. Such eligibility is determined individually for each person, not by using routine criteria such as reaching a certain age, leaving home for college or employment, or simply desiring to observe the temple marriages of siblings or friends.

In assessing questions of maturity, preparation, and timeliness, the bishop and the stake president take into account a single adult’s personal circumstances and conduct over time as well as satisfactory responses to the temple recommend questions. The bishop and stake president should also consider such matters as the individual’s depth of gospel understanding and testimony, faithfulness in Church service, and appreciation of the implications of entering into sacred covenants, in particular the temple covenants, including appropriate wearing of the temple garment.

A worthy member who is married to an unendowed spouse, whether the spouse is a member or nonmember, may receive his or her own endowment when (1) the bishop receives written consent from the spouse and (2) the bishop and stake president are satisfied that the responsibility assumed with the endowment will not impair marital harmony.

Bishops should not issue a temple recommend to a prospective missionary to receive his or her own endowment until the missionary candidate has:

See 4.10.1 and the Mission President’s Handbook.

Endowment. Members who have physical disabilities may receive their own endowment.

Melchizedek Priesthood holders and sisters who have intellectual disabilities may receive their own endowment if the bishop determines that they have gained sufficient intellectual capacity to understand it and to make and keep the associated covenants. The bishop seeks the direction of the Spirit in making this determination. If the member lives with his or her parents, the bishop counsels with them.

Sealing to Parents. Persons with intellectual disabilities who are 8 or older and are sufficiently accountable must be baptized before being sealed to their parents. Those who are not accountable do not need to be baptized before being sealed. Bishops refer questions about specific situations to the stake president, who may refer the questions to the Office of the First Presidency.

Members older than 21 who do not have sufficient intellectual capacity to understand the endowment may be sealed to parents without being endowed.

Work for the Dead. Members who have disabilities may do temple work for the dead if they (1) have sufficient intellectual capacity to understand the ordinance and (2) can care for themselves without help or are accompanied by relatives or friends who can provide the help they need.

Blind Members. Blind members should have members of the same gender accompany and assist them. Guide dogs are not permitted in temples.

If a member has been divorced or legally separated or has had a marriage annulled since last receiving a temple recommend, the bishop and stake president may feel impressed to carefully interview the member before the expiration of the recommend to ensure continued temple worthiness. Events leading to the breakdown of the marriage may be reviewed. If the member has not committed a serious transgression, a temple recommend may be retained or renewed according to the usual procedure.

Members Who Were Not Previously Endowed. After baptism and confirmation, these members may be issued limited-use recommends to do baptisms and confirmations for the dead as outlined in 3.3.5. There is no waiting period. Brethren must be ordained to the priesthood before they may be issued limited-use recommends.

These members may not be issued recommends to receive their own endowment until one full year after their baptism and confirmation.

Members Who Were Previously Endowed. These members may not be issued recommends, including limited-use recommends, until their temple blessings are restored through the ordinance of restoration of blessings (see 6.15).

A member who has committed a serious transgression may not receive a temple recommend until he or she has repented. The waiting period between the transgression and the issuing of a recommend is left to the bishop’s discretion. It should be sufficient to determine that the person has genuinely repented.

A member who has undergone an elective transsexual operation may not receive a temple recommend.

Bishops and their counselors must take exceptional care when issuing recommends to members whose parents or other close relatives belong to or sympathize with apostate groups. Such members must demonstrate clearly that they repudiate these apostate religious teachings before they may be issued a recommend.

The bishop, his counselors as authorized by him, or the branch president may issue limited-use recommends to worthy unendowed members as follows:

1. For members ages 12 and older to be baptized and confirmed for the dead.

2. For single members ages 8 through 20 to be sealed to their parents.

3. For single members ages 8 through 20 to observe sealings of their living brothers and sisters to their parents.

The same standards of worthiness apply to those who receive limited-use recommends as to those who receive other temple recommends. Male members ages 12 and older must hold the priesthood. It is not necessary to have been a member for one year to receive a limited-use recommend.

When issuing a limited-use recommend, a member of the bishopric or the branch president interviews the person individually. A member of the stake presidency or mission presidency does not interview the person if the recommend is being issued only for baptisms and confirmations for the dead.

The bishopric or the branch president may issue limited-use recommends for groups or individuals. Before a recommend is issued for a group, each person must be interviewed separately. When issuing a limited-use recommend, the member of the bishopric or the branch president crosses out or cuts away any blank lines on the recommend so other names cannot be added.

If a member has not lived in the same ward continuously for at least one year, the bishop contacts the prior bishop to certify the member’s worthiness before interviewing the member for a limited-use recommend.

Members ages 12 through 20 are usually listed as a group on a limited-use recommend if they are going as a group to be baptized and confirmed for the dead. Group recommends are used for only one temple visit. They are left at the temple, where they are destroyed.

If members ages 12 through 20 are frequently baptized and confirmed for the dead, they are usually issued individual limited-use recommends that they retain. As an exception, if parents take children ages 12 through 20 to do baptisms for the dead, children in the same family may be listed on one recommend.

Limited-use recommends that are issued to unendowed members who are 21 or older or who are married must be individual recommends. These recommends may be used only to perform baptisms and confirmations for the dead.

For information about scheduling baptisms and confirmations for the dead, see 3.2.2.

Single members ages 8 through 20 are issued limited-use recommends to be sealed to their parents or to observe the sealing of their living brothers and sisters to their parents. All children under the age of 21 must be born in the covenant or sealed to their parents in order to observe such sealings. Members who are married or are 21 or older may not be sealed to their parents or observe the sealing of living brothers and sisters to their parents unless they are endowed.

Recommends may be issued for individual children or for a group of children in the same family. The same recommend may be used to list children who are being sealed and children who are observing. Children under 8 do not need recommends for these purposes. However, the family needs to take to the temple a family group record showing the relationship of the child to the family.

Some children desire to observe the sealing of their step-siblings or half-siblings to parents. If the children who want to observe the sealing do not live the majority of the time in the same home as the children who are being sealed, both the bishop and the stake president need to sign the limited-use recommend(s) of those who will observe. Before issuing a recommend, local leaders should obtain permission from the children’s custodial parent or guardian. Children who desire to observe the sealing should have been born in the covenant or already sealed to parents.

Unendowed children are not permitted to observe the sealing of their parents.

Bishops and stake presidents encourage members to have temple sealers perform their marriages rather than asking General Authorities.

Only members who have received their own endowments and have valid recommends may attend a temple marriage. Couples should invite only family members and close friends to be present for a temple marriage.

The bishop reviews the following guidelines with each bride and bridegroom well in advance of the wedding. It is especially important to review the guidelines for temple wedding dresses with each bride and her parents before they make or purchase the dress. The bishop also makes the following information about brides’ dresses available to the Relief Society and Young Women presidencies so they can help members be informed of the expectations far in advance of the actual events.

Brides’ Dresses. All dresses that are worn in the temple should be white, long-sleeved, modest in design and fabric, and free of elaborate ornamentation. Sheer fabric should be lined. Brides’ dresses should not have a train unless the train can be removed for the temple ceremony.

Formal Wear and Flowers. Tuxedos, dinner jackets, cummerbunds, formal headwear, and boutonnieres and other flowers are not appropriate in a sealing room or during a sealing ceremony. This applies to those who are being sealed and also to their guests. Formal wear and flowers may be worn outside for photographs after the ceremony.

Wedding Guests. Couples should not ask their wedding guests to dress in white unless the sealing room must be entered through the celestial room. Members who come to a wedding directly from an endowment session may wear temple ceremonial clothing.

Exchanging rings is not part of the temple marriage ceremony. However, couples may exchange rings after the ceremony in the sealing room. To avoid confusion with the marriage ceremony, couples should not exchange rings at any other time or place in a temple or on temple grounds. However, after their temple marriage, a couple may exchange rings at other locations. If such an exchange is made, the circumstances should be consistent with the dignity of their temple marriage. The exchange should not appear to replicate any part of the marriage ceremony, and the couple should not exchange vows.

A couple may arrange with their bishop to hold a special meeting for relatives and friends who do not have temple recommends. This meeting provides an opportunity for those who cannot enter a temple to feel included in the marriage and to learn something of the eternal nature of the marriage covenant. The meeting may include a prayer and special music, followed by the remarks of a priesthood leader. No ceremony is performed, and no vows are exchanged.

No other marriage ceremony should be performed following a temple marriage.

See “Applying for a Cancellation of Sealing or a Sealing Clearance” in 3.6.1.

Members who are planning a civil marriage may invite any of the following presiding officers of their Church units to perform the marriage ceremony if civil law authorizes the officer to do so: stake president, mission president, bishop, or branch president. Unless contrary to legal requirements, these Church officers may perform marriages for members of their units outside the boundaries of their units. Brethren who have been released from these offices may not perform civil marriages. Other Church officers are not authorized to perform civil marriages.

Latter-day Saint chaplains on active military duty may perform civil marriages without prior approval from the Church’s Military Relations and Chaplain Services Division. Chaplains who are assigned to Reserve or National Guard units must receive prior approval from that division to perform a civil marriage. Nonmilitary chaplains who serve in hospitals, hospice organizations, assisted living centers, prisons, or police or fire departments must also receive prior approval from that division to perform a civil marriage.

Chaplains must hold the Melchizedek Priesthood to perform a civil marriage. Retired chaplains are not authorized to perform civil marriages.

Church officers and Latter-day Saint chaplains are not to employ their ecclesiastical authority to perform marriages between two people of the same sex.

Church officers may not perform marriages for Church members when neither marriage partner belongs to the Church unit over which the officer presides. An exception is made for LDS military chaplains who are on active duty. Any other exceptions require the approval of the First Presidency in each case.

Authorized Church officers may perform marriages for nonmembers without receiving special approval.

Civil marriages are preferably performed in the home of a family member or in a Church building rather than at a commercial wedding chapel or other public place. Marriages in a Church building may be performed in the chapel, the cultural hall, or another suitable room. The person who performs the ceremony determines the location.

Some areas require that a marriage ceremony be performed by a public official. Some require that the ceremony be performed in a public building or another public place. In these cases, a temple sealing necessarily follows the civil marriage as soon as practical (see “Sealing of Living Members after Civil Marriage” in 3.6.1). If the couple will not be sealed, an authorized priesthood officer may conduct a brief religious ceremony after the civil marriage. In this ceremony he gives counsel to the couple and gives Church recognition to their marriage. The instructions in this section on the use of Church buildings and the simplicity of ceremonies should be followed.

Civil marriage ceremonies performed by a Church officer should be simple, conservative, and in harmony with the sacredness of the marriage covenants. There should be no extravagance in decorations or pomp in the proceedings. When a wedding ceremony is held in a Church building, a wedding march is inappropriate. Video recorders and cameras may not be used if the ceremony is performed in the chapel. For suggestions about music for civil weddings, see Handbook 2, 14.9.5.

Before performing a civil marriage, a Church officer may counsel the couple on the sacred nature of the marriage covenant and may add other counsel as the Spirit directs. The officer should not deviate from the following ceremony.

To perform a civil marriage, a Church officer addresses the couple and says, “Please take each other by the right hand.” He then says, “[Bridegroom’s full name and bride’s full name], you have taken one another by the right hand in token of the covenants you will now enter into in the presence of God and these witnesses.” (The couple may choose or nominate these witnesses.)

The officer then addresses the bridegroom and asks, “[Bridegroom’s full name], do you take [bride’s full name] as your lawfully wedded wife, and do you of your own free will and choice covenant as her companion and lawfully wedded husband that you will cleave unto her and none else; that you will observe all the laws, covenants, and obligations pertaining to the holy state of matrimony; and that you will love, honor, and cherish her as long as you both shall live?”

The bridegroom answers, “Yes” or “I do.”

The Church officer then addresses the bride and asks, “[Bride’s full name], do you take [bridegroom’s full name] as your lawfully wedded husband, and do you of your own free will and choice covenant as his companion and lawfully wedded wife that you will cleave unto him and none else; that you will observe all the laws, covenants, and obligations pertaining to the holy state of matrimony; and that you will love, honor, and cherish him as long as you both shall live?”

The bride answers, “Yes” or “I do.”

The Church officer then addresses the couple and says: “By virtue of the legal authority vested in me as an elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I pronounce you, [bridegroom’s name] and [bride’s name], husband and wife, legally and lawfully wedded for the period of your mortal lives.

“May God bless your union with joy in your posterity and a long life of happiness together, and may He enable you to keep sacred the covenants you have made. These blessings I invoke upon you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

“You may kiss each other as husband and wife.”

A Church officer who performs civil marriages in his Church capacity may not accept fees.

A Church officer who performs a civil marriage for members must send a letter to the bishop(s) of the home ward(s) of those he has married. This letter should include all information needed to update membership records. He also must comply fully with legal requirements for reporting and record keeping.

A husband and wife who were married outside a temple may be sealed after one full year from the date of their civil marriage. However, this one-year waiting period does not apply to worthy couples in the following cases:

1. Both the civil marriage and the temple sealing take place in countries that do not recognize a temple marriage and that require a civil marriage.

2. The couple live in a country where there is not a temple and the laws of the country do not recognize a marriage performed outside the country.

3. A couple could not be married in a temple because one or both had not been a member of the Church for one year at the time of their civil marriage. They may receive their endowments and be sealed any time after at least one year has passed from the confirmation date of both members.

In the first two cases, worthy couples should receive their endowments and be sealed as soon as practical after their civil marriage. They may be sealed in any temple convenient to their circumstances.

Worthy couples who were married in a civil ceremony and have been members of the Church for at least one year may receive their own endowments and participate in all other temple ordinances except their marriage sealing any time within the year following civil marriage.

Only the First Presidency may grant exceptions to the preceding policies. The stake president may seek an exception if it appears to be justified. The couple should not go to a temple to be sealed unless they are notified that the First Presidency has granted an exception. They should bring this notification with them.

When issuing recommends to a couple for sealing after a civil marriage, priesthood leaders should make sure the civil marriage was valid.

Women. A living woman may be sealed to only one husband. If she is sealed to a husband and later divorces, she must receive a cancellation of that sealing from the First Presidency before she may be sealed to another man in her lifetime (see “Applying for a Cancellation of Sealing or a Sealing Clearance” below).

Men. If a husband and wife have been sealed and later divorced, the man must receive a sealing clearance from the First Presidency before another woman may be sealed to him (see “Applying for a Cancellation of Sealing or a Sealing Clearance” below). A sealing clearance is necessary even if (1) the previous sealing has been canceled or (2) the divorced wife is now deceased.

Women. A living woman may be sealed to only one husband.

Men. If a husband and wife have been sealed and the wife dies, the man may have another woman sealed to him if she is not already sealed to another man. In this circumstance, the man does not need a sealing clearance from the First Presidency unless he was divorced from his previous wife before she died (see the previous heading for the policy in cases of divorce).

A woman who has previously been sealed must receive a cancellation of that sealing from the First Presidency before she may be sealed to another man in her lifetime. A man who has been divorced from a woman who was sealed to him must receive a sealing clearance from the First Presidency before another woman may be sealed to him (see “Sealing of Living Members after Divorce” above).

If the bishop and stake president decide to recommend that a cancellation of sealing or a sealing clearance be granted, they submit an Application to the First Presidency form. This form is available electronically in units that use Church record-keeping software. Leaders of these units should not contact the Office of the First Presidency to obtain a copy. The form is available from the Area Presidency in other areas. Instructions are on the form. Before submitting the application, the stake president makes sure that the divorce is final and that the applicant is current in all legal requirements for child and spousal support related to the divorce.

If a member has requested a cancellation of sealing or a sealing clearance, he or she may not schedule an appointment for a temple marriage or sealing until receiving a letter from the First Presidency giving notice that the cancellation or clearance has been granted. The person should present this letter at the temple.

If a person commits adultery while married to a spouse to whom he or she has been sealed, he or she may not be sealed to the partner in the adultery unless the sealing is authorized by the President of the Church. Such authorization may be requested after the couple have been married for at least five years. The request may be submitted with an application for cancellation of sealing or sealing clearance.

A couple who desire to have a sealing restriction removed may seek an interview with their bishop and stake president. If these leaders feel to recommend removal of the restriction, they may write letters to the First Presidency summarizing their recommendations and commenting on the applicants’ temple worthiness and the stability of their marriage for at least five years. The couple should also write a letter of request to the First Presidency. The stake president submits all of these letters to the First Presidency.

Couples who are married in a temple for time only are not usually sealed at a later time. For such a sealing to occur, the woman must first receive from the First Presidency a cancellation of her previous sealing. Such requests are considered only in exceptional circumstances. If a bishop and stake president feel that a cancellation may be justified, they may submit an Application to the First Presidency form.

Deceased Women. A deceased woman may be sealed to all men to whom she was legally married during her life. However, if she was sealed to a husband during her life, all her husbands must be deceased before she may be sealed to a husband to whom she was not sealed during life. This includes former husbands from whom she was divorced.

Deceased Men. A deceased man may have sealed to him all women to whom he was legally married during his life if they are deceased or if they are living and are not sealed to another man.

Deceased Couples Who Were Divorced. Deceased couples who were divorced may be sealed by proxy. These sealings often provide the only way for children of such couples to be sealed to parents. See 3.7.9 for a restriction if either the husband or wife was excommunicated or had his or her name removed from Church membership records at the time of death. First Presidency approval is required for the sealing of a deceased couple who obtained a cancellation of their sealing in life.

After a husband and wife have been sealed in a temple, if one of them is excommunicated or has his or her name removed from Church membership records, his or her temple blessings are revoked. However, the sealing blessings of the innocent spouse and of children born in the covenant are not affected.

Children who are born to a couple after one or the other has been excommunicated or had his or her name removed are not born in the covenant. See “Status of Children When a Sealing Is Canceled or Revoked” in 3.6.2.

Children who are born after their mother has been sealed to a husband in a temple are born in the covenant of that sealing. They do not need to receive the ordinance of sealing to parents. Being born in the covenant entitles children to an eternal parentage, depending on their faithfulness.

If a woman who has been sealed to a former husband remarries, the children of her later marriage are born in the covenant of the first marriage unless they were born after the sealing was canceled or after it was revoked due to excommunication or name removal.

Members who have concerns about the eternal nature of such relationships can find peace in the knowledge that Heavenly Father is loving and just. He will ensure that eternal family relationships will be fair and right for all who keep their covenants.

Children who are not born in the covenant can become part of an eternal family by being sealed to their natural or adoptive parents. These children receive the same right to blessings as if they had been born in the covenant.

A child may be sealed only to two parents—a husband and wife—and not to one parent only.

Males ages 12 and older must hold the Aaronic Priesthood before they may be sealed to their parents. Members who are married or are 21 or older may not be sealed to their parents unless they are endowed.

To observe their living brothers and sisters being sealed to their parents, children under the age of 21 must be born in the covenant or sealed to their parents. In addition, children ages 8 and older must be baptized, and males ages 12 and older must hold the Aaronic Priesthood.

Members who are married or are 21 or older must be endowed to observe such sealings.

Living children who are born in the covenant or have been sealed to parents cannot be sealed to any other parents unless approval is given by the First Presidency.

Living children who are legally adopted and were neither born in the covenant nor sealed to former parents may be sealed to their adoptive parents after the adoption is final. A copy of the final adoption decree should be presented at the temple; a court decree granting legal custody is not sufficient clearance for a sealing. There is no obligation to identify the natural parents of these children.

First Presidency approval is necessary for a living member to be sealed to foster parents. This requirement applies even if the natural parents of the foster child are unknown and cannot be identified by reasonable effort. Such requests are made by the stake president.

A deceased adopted person usually is sealed to his or her adoptive parents.

A deceased foster child usually is sealed to his or her natural parents.

A living unmarried child under 21 who was not born in the covenant or sealed previously, and who has not been adopted, may be sealed to one natural parent and a stepparent if both of the following conditions exist:

1. The natural parent to whom the child is being sealed has legal custody of the child and physical custody of the child the majority of the time.

2. The other natural parent has given signed consent. A court decree granting legal custody is not sufficient clearance for a sealing. The signed consent must (a) name the child and the parents to whom the child will be sealed and (b) be presented at the temple.

If the other natural parent is deceased, or if that parent is missing and reasonable efforts to find him or her have failed, no consent is required. The temple president can approve the sealing to be completed subject to future review.

A living endowed member who is 21 or older, or who is married and was not born in the covenant and has not been sealed to parents, may be sealed to one natural parent and a stepparent if the natural mother and father are not sealed to each other.

A living child who is born out of wedlock may be sealed to both natural parents without special approval after the parents have been sealed in a temple.

A living child who is born out of wedlock may be sealed to one natural parent and a stepparent when at least one of the following conditions applies:

1. The child marries.

2. The child reaches the age of 21.

3. The child’s other natural parent is deceased.

4. The other natural parent has given signed consent for the sealing.

5. The rights of the other natural parent have been terminated by legal process, such as an adoption proceeding.

If the child’s other natural parent is missing, and if reasonable efforts to find the parent have failed, no consent is required. The temple president can approve the sealing to be completed subject to future review.

Children conceived by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization are born in the covenant if their parents are already sealed. If the children are born before their parents are sealed, they may be sealed to their parents after their parents are sealed to each other.

If a child was born to a surrogate mother, the stake president refers the matter to the Office of the First Presidency.

Children who are born in the covenant or sealed to parents remain so even if the sealing of the parents is later (1) canceled or (2) revoked by the excommunication or name removal of either parent. Children who are born after their parents’ sealing is canceled or revoked are not born in the covenant. These children need to be sealed to their parents after their parents’ blessings are restored (if applicable) and any other obstacles are removed.