Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

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lajackson
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#11

Post by lajackson »

BurbidgeKM wrote:And yet, I still don't know how to apply for permission in the case of that person being a family member. How is this done?
If one or both are members, but neither is a member of your ward, you apply for an exception from the First Presidency. A short letter on your ward letterhead should do just fine. If one of them is family, I would include that in the letter as part of the justification for your request for an exception.

I do not know what criteria the First Presidency uses to grant exceptions. If you would like further information before you write a letter, ask your stake president to call the Office of the First Presidency, explain the circumstances, and obtain counsel.

If neither one of the couple are members, you do not need an exception.

See Handbook 1:3.5.3 in the paragraph entitled, Civil Marriage for Members from Other Units, last sentence.
mgardineer
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#12

Post by mgardineer »

Were you able to find any direction on where/how to send a letter requesting an exception?
eblood66
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#13

Post by eblood66 »

mgardineer wrote:Were you able to find any direction on where/how to send a letter requesting an exception?
I'd first take a look at the Application to First Presidency support in LCR and see if there is a general option to use for less common requests (I don't have access I so don't know what that looks like).

Otherwise take a look at this article in the Help Center. The article is for approval about temple work but I expect the address is the same that can be used for other approvals as well.
lajackson
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#14

Post by lajackson »

mgardineer wrote:Were you able to find any direction on where/how to send a letter requesting an exception?
The address in the link eblood66 provided in the previous post is correct. Mail works best for sending the letter, although your stake president might be able to call and see if the Office of the First Presidency will accept a facsimile copy. If they will, he will also be able to obtain the phone number.
mgardineer
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#15

Post by mgardineer »

Thanks for the help!
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Unclefred
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#16

Post by Unclefred »

In NY State, a new Bishop/Branch president can perform a marriage day one.. Except in NYC. In NYC, they need to first be registered.. (The stake clerk should handle that)
Regards, Uncle
jahmis
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#17

Post by jahmis »

I wanted to share my experience with other Bishops as it was really easy and quick.

Two separate family members asked me to perform their marriage.

Both live in different units to me
One is less active so their records were not in their home unit

I worked with them to find out their membership record numbers, home unit and stake (and their respective unit numbers), and marriage dates.

I also contacted their respective Bishops to talk with them and ensure they were happy for me to perform the marriage and put this all into a letter along with the reasons why they'd like me to marry them.

I then emailed the letter to my Stake President on a Thursday and he sent it to the Area Presidency, who forwarded it to the Office of The First Presidency. By the following Monday I had 2 signed approval letters emailed back to me directly from the Office of The First Presidency. It only took 3 days and two of those were Saturday and Sunday. Amazing.
jcmkikongi
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Re: Bishop performing wedding outside of his ward

#18

Post by jcmkikongi »

This applies also to bishop performing wedding for members coming from outside his ward.

Trick: email your request directly to the Office of the First Presidency


Sent on a Friday PM.
Got a reply instantly.
Request was approved by Monday.
Last edited by russellhltn on Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Email removed
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