Loading...
On-Air Promo Creative 115x175
|| Mormons ||
Page 1 of 1

Court to Decide on Mormon Marriage


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.

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Facebook. Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
  • 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?

  • 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!

  • 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!

  • Name: Willjay
    Date posted: 9/7/2009 3:01:20 PM
    Hometown: Sacramento

    Comment:

    Can we vote on it?

  • 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"?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

 PREVIOUS 1 2 3 NEXT  


More Online Only
  • Photography Artist Spotlight: Didio

    São Paulo photographer Didio says he enjoys observing the daily life of normal men. If these photographs tell us anything, it's that Brazil has raised the bar on what defines normal.

  • DVDs Hot Sheet: Sade, Channing Tatum

    This week's hot sheet includes a movie about a gay romance in Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community... and shirtless performances by Channing Tatum and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

  • Books Jackie Collins Takes on Hollywood

    From overdoses to horny old men to gay guys landing leading roles, best selling novelist Jackie Collins runs her mouth... and it's juicier than ever.

  • Sports Weir Comes Out ... Against Anti-Fur Activists

    With one week to go before the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, irrepressible men’s figure skating star Johnny Weir talks about the threats that led him to rip tufts of fur from his long-program costume.

  • Music Stephin Merritt Keeps It Real

    Stephin Merritt, the lead singer of the critically lauded group the Magnetic Fields, is one of the few openly gay artists in today's music world. Just don't call him "indie."

  • News Features The Strains of DADT on One Couple

    Andrew Cirner tells the story of his relationship with a military man, evading "don't ask, don't tell," a blackmailing ex-lover, and the extreme steps his mother took to save the day.

  • Sports Saints Linebacker Fujita Tackles Gay Marriage

    As New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita gears up for Super Bowl XLIV, Fujita talks to The Advocate about standing up for gay rights and against inequality, and about Tim Tebow's draft prospects thanks to Focus on the Family.

  • Commentary Mosbacher Family Affair

    Nanette Gartrell pays tribute to former Secretary of Commerce Bob Mosbacher, the father of her partner, Dee. Mosbacher, one of the Republican Party’s most successful fund-raisers, passed away in January. 

  • News Features The Faces of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

    Tuesday's Senate hearing sparked what promises to be the biggest discussion of "don't ask, don't tell" since the antigay policy was instituted in 1993. So The Advocate is spotlighting some of the biggest voices on both sides of the debate.

  • News Features They're Having a Baby

    Thomas Moore, husband to fellow transgender man Scott, talks to The Advocate about helping his spouse get through nine months of doctor issues, baby showers, and bellyaches.

  • Prop 8 Prop. 8 Plaintiffs Speak  

    Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami, two of the four plaintiffs challenging California’s Prop. 8 in federal court, talk to Advocate.com about their resolve (and occasional nerves) during the testimony phase of the trial.

  • Music The Grammy Awards in Pictures

    From Lady Gaga's many costume changes to Pink's wet and wild aerial act, take a look at the some of the highlights from Sunday night's Grammy awards.

  • Books Book Excerpt: The Play That Changed My Life

    Playwright Doug Wright, who was awarded the Pulitzer, a Tony, and a GLAAD Media Award for his play I Am My Own Wife, remembers how Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company inspired his illustrious career.

  • Activism Leaderless

    Porn impresario Michael Lucas looks for the country’s gay Martin Luther King Jr., and finds little to celebrate.

  • Society Life on the G-list: Episode 2

    It may be the most cliché line in all of Hollywood: “What’s my motivation?” And for actor David Moretti, motivation does not include having just conquered Britney, Beyoncé, or J.Lo.