Question
Gramps,
Do couples married for time only have any associations with each other in the Spirit World?
Marlund
Answer
Marlund,
Temples are described as houses of order, where “time only” and “time and eternity” marriages are differentiated. Civil marriages—whether performed by a state official or even a bishop—are recognized by the Church as valid and binding for the duration of your mortal lives, but not after death.
Joseph Smith, the founder and first prophet of the Church, taught:
A man must enter into an everlasting covenant with his wife in this world, or he will have no claim on her in the next. No man can obtain an eternal blessing unless the contract or covenant be made in view of eternity.
The “new and everlasting covenant of marriage,” as revealed in scripture, must be entered into “by one who has authority given him by the Lord” and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise for it to be binding after this life. This authority was considered lost in the ancient Church and restored through divine revelation in modern times.
The necessity of proper priesthood sealing is declared even in latter-day revelation:
If a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word…their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world. (Doctrine & Covenants 132:15).
The distinction, then, between time-limited and eternal marriages is fundamental in the Church’s doctrine and underpins the pursuit of temple worship among its members.
So, what happens to family relationships after death? The Church’s doctrine is precise: Only those who have been sealed together by priesthood authority and have kept their covenants will continue as families in the next life. Others, while not consigned to loneliness or misery, will not continue as husband, wife, or parent in the eternal sense. The relationships filed simply under “love” and “blood” are not, themselves, eternal unless sanctified and confirmed by covenant and by God.
This doctrine is perhaps best articulated in latter-day scripture and prophetic elaboration:
Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants…For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever. (Doctrine & Covenants 132:16-17)
For those who wonder about their unmarried state or those married outside the temple, this can be an emotionally charged doctrine. Yet, the scriptures and living prophets affirm that “only those who are sealed as husband and wife in the temple, and who live by their covenants…will continue to procreate” and be family in the eternities.
In practical terms, this means:
– Civil marriages (state or bishop-officiated) end at death unless later solemnized by proper authority in the temple.
– Only temple marriages remain valid eternally, provided both parties honor and live by all the commitments of faithfulness to each other and to compliance with all the principles of the gospel.
This explains the significant emphasis the Church places on temple marriage and family history work, ensuring that all have the opportunity—even vicariously through proxy ordinances after death—to make covenants that link families eternally.
The Church acknowledges life’s complexity: not everyone has the opportunity for a temple marriage in mortality. Compassion colors the doctrine: Those who are worthy and willing, but do not have the chance for marriage, will not be deprived of exaltation…Through work for the dead…the plan of salvation was calculated to save all who were willing to obey the requirements of the law of God.
However, some questions come up repeatedly:
a. Can marriage be performed after this life?
No. Scriptures and modern prophetic pronouncements agree: Marriage will not be performed on resurrected beings. All questions of marital status must be settled before [the resurrection], under the authority of the Holy Priesthood.
Yet, the gospel makes provision for those who did not have the chance—vicarious ordinances for the dead are performed in temples, allowing all who accept the gospel in the next life to receive the saving and exalting blessings, including eternal marriage.
b. What about members who marry outside the Church or temple?
The doctrine is unwavering: A marriage…is authorized only for the mortal duration….Such contracts are binding only until the death of one of the partners. The contract has then been fulfilled, and the marriage is null and void at that point. No matter the love, intention, or devotion, only a temple sealing carries over into eternity.
c. Will former spouses or family members recognize one another in the afterlife?
Recognition and cordial association among those who knew each other in mortality is expected. Yet, only those relationships that are based on eternal sealings will survive in any meaningful sense into the next life and throughout eternity.
d. What about continued posterity?
According to the Church’s doctrine, “Only those who are sealed as husband and wife in the temple…will continue to procreate. The children that they will bear in that exalted state will be spirits, and will need to go through the mortal experience as we have done…” Those who are not so sealed will not enjoy an increase or continuance of family.
Some cite passages such as Matthew 22:30—“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven”—to argue that marriage does not persist after death. The Church’s interpretation, however, clarifies that Jesus here refers to the impossibility of marriages being contracted for resurrected beings, not to the nullification of all marital relationships.
Gramps
