Elders performing marriages

LovesDubs

Can elders perform marriage ceremonies outside of the hall? Can they use the JW outline? What rules must they follow? What if the two getting married are studies?

An elder performing a marriage should have the endorsement of his BOE. If not, especially, performing a marriage of 2 non-baptized people, he might be perceived as having jeopardized his reputation in the congregation. There is a BOE letter on this. He could be removed if the body felt that he shouldn't have performed the marriage and he did it anyway.

Blondie

Bryan

My father was and elder and married me and my non-babtized g/f in our home. The elders said we could not be married in the hall because she was not babtized. I believe he got the okay from the boe. Her step-father was an elder as well.

Bryan

HadEnuf

Wow Bryan...that was a miracle that your father/elder was able to marry you and your girlfriend. Good for them for doing that for you. Our son married an unbaptised publisher who was raised as a JW, and no one...elder or ministerial servant, would even attend the wedding, so giving the talk was a moot point. My husband did the necessary paper work and married them himself. He was not an elder or ms at the time. Caught a lot of flack for that...some elders wanted to DF him for that...can you imagine??? (Yes you can).

But what happened to our son probably wouldn't have happened in a more liberal congregation. It just depends upon the body of elders and if they still have living, beating hearts and perhaps some sort of brain function. Ours didn't. They're hearts were cold, hard stone and they all could have been declared legally brain dead.

Getting married when you are not baptised is just asking for trouble.

Our demise as JW's was set off by the unloving and detestable way in which my son and his fiance were treated by the elders & the congregation in general. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Cathy L.

desib77

My mother and step-father got married by an elder at his home. Not sure he had approval but probably....

My mother had invited my roomated (non-JW) and then realizing what she had done wanted to uninvite her...Isn't that horribly rude? I had a hard time explaining that one and felt horrible doing it but I wasn't about to allow my mom to have any more contact with her....

Desi

Stefanie

Can elders perform marriage ceremonies outside of the hall? Can they use the JW outline? What rules must they follow? What if the two getting married are studies?

That is what happened to me. We were both studying, we were also living together, still the P.O married us in our home. Wish I would have gotten out of that relationship instead.

cyber-sista

Can elders perform marriage ceremonies outside of the hall? Can they use the JW outline? What rules must they follow? What if the two getting married are studies?

Don't know how it was in the past, but there are now specific rules which are being strictly enforced. I was just in the middle of a major controversy with this situation regarding my non-witness daughter who was raised around the Org marrying out of the Org (catch 22 was since she was not baptized she was not qualilified to marry in the Org either--though she was told she should only marry a brother--go figure that logic). Elders in our area had been removed from their positions for attending a wedding of a brother who married a woman who was studying. I also heard from another state from a brother who is a minesterial servent who said there were new rules on this subject and if one of his baptized children got married to an unbeliever they could not attend because he would be removed from his position. The elders here warned that anyone in a position (pioneer, minesterial servant, elder) who attended my non-baptized daughter's wedding would be removed from their position. The elders here even took it a step further and told me if they didn't give all the strong warning council that they gave me and my daughter that they could be removed from their positions for not giving the warning council. A CO told me this when I complained to him, he said " you have to understand that the brothers may have come down a bit hard on you because they were in fear of losing their positions" (He was telling me to sympathize with the elders on this point after they had put me through the rack with all of this). I finally ended up losing it with one of the elders and told him that "all I have been hearing about is positions...that it seems to me that you are all more concerned with your positions than being concerned with the members of the congregation!!! " Anyway, that is my rant of the morning--this is one of the many insanities I experienced at the end of my WT daze. cybs

I will not marry you in the Hall.

I will not marry you in the Mall.

I can not marry you at your parent's house.

I can not marry you and your future spouse

I would not marry you by the hotel pool

I would not marry you as a WT rule

I will not marry you at the fair

I will not marry you anywhere

Elders performing marriages

LovesDubs

blondie

Bryan

HadEnuf

desib77

Stefanie

cyber-sista

Elsewhere

cyber-sista

xjw_b12

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