Court to Decide on Mormon Marriage

By Michelle Garcia

Mormon Temple Salt Lake City x390 (bjorn graabek WIKI) | advocate.com

A straight Mormon couple in Utah faced the state supreme court to evaluate the validity of their marriage.

Neldon and Ina Johnson had filed for divorce after a 35-year relationship in which they shared insurance policies and joint tax filings, according to the Deseret News.

However, during divorce proceedings it was revealed that they were never actually married. Since they split in 2001, Ina Jo hnson claims that she is still owed alimony, while Neldon counters she is ineligible because their marriage was never valid. Court papers show they claimed to be married in Arizona in 1964, and then had their marriage blessed at a Mormon temple in Manti, Utah, in 1965.

According to the report, Mormons who are civilly married typically will later go to an LDS temple to take part in a religious ceremony. But when the Johnsons went for their wedding service they apparently weren't required to show a marriage license, and went through the ceremony under the guise that they were already married, attorney Denver Snuffer said in the article.

The court is now considering the rights of the court to rule on marriages that are not actually legal by state law.

Neldon said the couple believed they had a common-law marriage due to the length of their relationship, but their attorneys realized they might not because Ina was only 15 when they claimed to be married. She would not have been old enough to give consent to such a union.

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Reader Comments

Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Dave
Date posted: 9/10/2009 5:46:01 PM
Hometown: Seattle

Comment:
If the court is ruling on whether or not it has jurisdiction to recognize a marriage that is currently not legal under state law, could it potentially open the door to the court recognizing same-sex common law marriage for those couples that meet similar criteria?
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Name: Fly Away
Date posted: 9/8/2009 7:42:10 PM
Hometown: Phoenix

Comment:
First off, the legal marrying age in Arizona in 1964 was 15, so they were legally married. Secondly, Mormons didn't practice arranged marriage as a rule and finally, this story has nothing to do with Prop 8. Get over it!
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Name: Tony T.
Date posted: 9/8/2009 4:55:16 PM
Hometown: Brooklyn

Comment:
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Mormons used to practice arranged marriages? So, wouldn't that mean that maybe they were already arranged for marriage at an even younger age? If the guy is now claiming they were never legally married, then they should back track all their taxes and start ponying up!
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Name: Willjay
Date posted: 9/7/2009 3:01:20 PM
Hometown: Sacramento

Comment:
Can we vote on it?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: John
Date posted: 9/6/2009 9:08:06 PM
Hometown: Belleville

Comment:
Brian, if you really are a Mormon, why did you spell Mormon "Morman"?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Russell
Date posted: 9/6/2009 6:16:11 PM
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Comment:
Remember they where married in Arizonanot Utah, The laws in Arizona may be different than Utah my cousin was married in Arizona at 15 in 1978. Sound like a bunch of Anti-Mormon trash. Just because they where Sealed in Manti, Utah . It is Arizona that has to answer for the mistake not the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - Day Saints.
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Name: TJ
Date posted: 9/6/2009 2:52:21 PM
Hometown: NYC

Comment:
Actually, the fact that this is a Mormon marriage has HUGE bearing... If the church ceremony was performed when the child was 16 years old (the age of consent in Utah is 18) as indicated in the article above, and the Mormon Church did nothing to verify the presence of a marriage license (which would have legally verified parental consent), the church is then being an accessory to statutory rape.
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Name: Jim Kane
Date posted: 9/6/2009 2:30:58 PM
Hometown: San Antonio

Comment:
First, let us all just ignore the fact that is a Mormon marriage. That has little to no bearing, it just clouds the issue. Second, this marriage occurred over 35 years ago, different time, different era, different mores. Yes, she was fifteen at the time, which would not allow her to enter into a legal marriage without parental consent, but eventually during those 35 years she would be of age. So from the time she was of age until the separation a common law marriage existed, so she is entitled to the support that the law provides.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Jim Kane
Date posted: 9/6/2009 2:28:51 PM
Hometown: San Antonio

Comment:
First, let us all just ignore the fact that is a Mormon marriage. That has little to no bearing, it just clouds the issue. Second, this marriage occurred over 35 years ago, different time, different era, different mores. Yes, she was fifteen at the time, which would not allow her to enter into a legal marriage without parental consent, but eventually during those 35 years she would be of age. So from the time she was of age until the separation a common law marriage existed, so she is entitled to the support that the law provides.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Greg
Date posted: 9/6/2009 12:42:17 PM
Hometown: OAK

Comment:
Brian - it is really hard to see the logic in your support for the Mormon religion after they, as a religious group, coordinated to take away the rights of a gay people in California. It was a hostile and hateful thing to do, there is no excusing it, they are a despicable religion for doing so. Regardless of whether Mormons you know are friendly and nice they still participated like a bunch of blind sheep to take away my given right to marry. There is nothing worse than a friendly bigot.

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