This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After reading "Left outside, hurting inside" (Tribune, June 11), I was gravely disappointed.
While the article did mention some folks who have had bad experiences being left out of loved ones' LDS temple marriage ceremonies, overall it was too warm and fuzzy. It didn't live up to the true reality most temple "outsiders" go through.
Thirty years ago I was married in the temple, and my wonderful semi-active Mormon parents were excluded from my marriage. This was devastating to all of us. This started my marriage out badly.
After being divorced and becoming inactive in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I faced this same devastating experience when my daughter got married in a temple. I was sent to sit in a not-so-nice room that did not give me "a feeling of being in a sacred place." A temple worker pronounced in front of everyone that I was not "temple worthy."
A ring ceremony before or after the temple sealing ceremony doesn't cut it. I wish the LDS Church would encourage couples to have first an inclusive civil ceremony and then to perform the temple sealing — privately — afterward.
Jill Rawstorne
Holladay