Question
Gramps,
I happen to know someone who is very much involved with family history and doing work for her ancestors. She never knew her father. Both her parents have passed away. During their lives her father married another woman and her mother married another man, but later divorced. She would like to be sealed to her parents. Can this be arranged?
Shasta
Answer
Dear Shasta,
I have a friend in a very similar situation. She asked her ward Family History Specialists, and they counseled her to have her mother sealed to her step-father (even though they were divorced) and then have herself sealed to them. I would suggest that your friend start by praying (always the best source), then ask her ward Family History Specialists. If they aren’t sure, call the temple and ask them. There is a way that she can enjoy the blessing of being sealed. Her situation might end up being different than my friend’s, but there is certainly a way.
Gramps
Question
Gramps,
If a woman was married in the temple and her husband was abusive in this life, can she have that marriage cancelled and marry another in the temple?
Teresa
Answer
Teresa,
First, be assured that our loving Father in Heaven will not force anyone to be with someone who is abusive in the next life. My understanding of what happens, in this life, in these situations, is that usually the couple divorces, but it is a civil divorce. The sealing will not be canceled until she meets someone else that she desires to be sealed to in the temple. At that time, not sooner, she can ask that her previous sealing be cancelled. The process of of having a sealing cancelled will eventually require First Presidency approval. Once the sealing is cancelled, the woman may be sealed to another in the temple.
If it happens, that the woman does not remarry, and therefore, does not have her sealing cancelled, please be assured that the Lord will take care of it. He wants our happiness, He will not force anyone to be together in the next life that does not want to be. Sealing is not just about being sealed to one’s spouse, but it is about making eternal connections, like a great chain that links us all to our Father in Heaven. That is why the sealing would not be cancelled unless she is ready to be sealed to someone else.
Gramps
