This is Melissa
and this is Sergio.
They're Mormon.
Mormon is a nickname for members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Marriage and family are important because
they believe family can be together forever
in the afterlife.
An important part of creating an Eternal Family
is getting married in a temple.
I’d say the greatest things that I prioritize
in my life is looking for opportunities to
serve God and that’s something I can do
with Sergio and that’s also
something he wants.
He was a very steady friend
and we’d both been in and out of lots
of relationships that always ended.
Sergio would always make comments like,
“When are you going to realize
that we should just date?”
And I would just laugh because I was like,
“Oh, we’re friends.”
Finally last summer, he asked me,
“So when do we just get married?”
And for the first time my response was,
"Wait, what if that actually worked?”
After the age of 16,
dating in the Mormon religion is encouraged
but there’s no sex until marriage.
66% of Mormon adults are married
compared with only 52% of U.S. adults overall.
Mormons are also considered more fertile.
They have 3.4 children
compared to the national average of 2.1.
Melissa and Sergio believe that they will
be united with their family in Heaven.
In order to participate in Temple ordinances,
including for a wedding,
each member has to be recommended—
meeting with a local ecclesiastical
leader, your Bishop,
counseling with them
and meeting the various requirements that
establish worthiness and
maturity to understand
what you’re taking upon yourself
when you enter a temple.
To marry or attend a ceremony in the Temple,
you have to follow a bunch of rules including:
being a member of the church,
abstaining from premarital sex,
being free from drugs and alcohol,
paying 10% of your income to the Church,
and wearing temple garments.
Temple garments are worn by all adults,
including Sergio and Melissa,
as personal reminders
of the promises they’ve made to God.
They’re worn at all times
except for exercising and bathing.
Immediately after Sergio and I got engaged,
we realized our family and our close
friends would not be able to be
at our marriage ceremony.
I talked to my Dad and he expressed that he
was sad that he wouldn’t be able to be there.
You got two intelligent people coming together
and forging their way through life.
A few weeks later he said he was
going to try to be there.
I was like,
“Uh, Dad, you know what that means?
That’s a lot of sacrifices.”
He has—and relatives—when we get together
sometimes will have a glass of wine
and that’s part of the health code
is that we don’t drink alcohol.
There’s an undergarment that we wear to
remind us of the promises that we make when
we go to the Temple.
So he started to wear those.
He said he was sure he wanted to do it.
I’m really grateful that he’s going to be
able to be there.
Oh my gosh!
Ahh!
I needed to come and see you before
your actual wedding.
So I’m like, “Ahh!”
I don’t feel stressed.
I feel I’ve waited a long time for this
and I also know that she’s
the best person for me.
Yay, let’s go!
The wedding ceremony is the most sacred ritual
in Mormonism and isn’t allowed to be filmed
or spoken of in detail outside the Temple.
This can make the wedding,
or Sealing Ceremony,
seem mysterious or shrouded in secrecy.
But to Mormons,
it’s just sacred, not secret.
After the 30 minute ceremony,
Sergio and Melissa emerge from the Temple,
their souls sealed together forever.
Seeing you come out of the Temple,
I didn’t realize how emotional I would be.
Congratulations.
(Guests cheering)
Through prayer,
lots of communication,
and by following the rules of the church,
Melissa and Sergio are on their way
to creating their Eternal Family.