As we were nearing the end of our recent travel adventures, my wife Dell and I took a Saturday morning stroll through Stockholm’s old town. It was quite cold and a light rain squall caused us to take shelter under the amazing multi-arched, high-roofed, portico of the Stadshus, or City Hall. There, we found ourselves suddenly surrounded by brides and grooms in full wedding regalia and their accompanying family and friends.
We quickly learned this was part of a regular routine offering us a unique glimpse into the approach to marriage of the largest portion of Sweden’s population. Each Saturday, couples gather on the Stadshus steps waiting to be ushered into the Oval room—presided over by the Gallery of the Prince—where wedding ceremonies are conducted. These are brief, non-religious ceremonies lasting either one minute or three minutes depending on the length purchased. The atmosphere is civil, minimalist, and efficient. bemused by this conveyer belt like activity seemingly more social activity than sacred ceremony. I wondered how truly binding these unions would be on a more profound level when the inevitable challenges of marriage surfaced.
In stark contrast to these one and three minute civil ceremonies, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches a far deeper spiritual and eternal concept of marriage. In our temples, couples are sealed not just for time, but for eternity—a commitment meant to transcend death and carry into the eternities.
In no way do I want to denigrate the civil unions conducted at the Stadshus. However, these two models of marriage reflect dramatically different views of the role of marriage in society and in the lives of individuals—particularly in how sacred commitment is viewed.
The Stadshus weddings, though legally binding and often deeply meaningful for the individuals involved, are primarily a civil institution. The brevity and lack of religious content suggest that marriage, in this context, is seen as a legal partnership between two consenting adults. This approach mirrors Sweden’s highly secular culture, where personal freedom, autonomy, and equality are valued above traditional or religious frameworks. The Stadshus ceremonies are stripped of symbolism, scripture, or references to a higher power. Instead, they emphasize the here-and-now of the couple’s union. The focus is not on divine sanction but on personal choice and civic recognition.
By comparison, the Latter-day Saint perspective views marriage not merely as a social contract, but as a divine ordinance instituted by God. Latter-day Saint couples marry in sacred temples where they are sealed by priesthood authority. This sealing is not only for this life but for the eternities, assuming the couple remains faithful to their covenants. As stated in Doctrine and Covenants 132:19, those who enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage and are sealed by proper authority will have their marriage of full force when they are out of the world. This eternal union is not merely symbolic—it is a literal extension of God’s eternal plan for His children.
In this context, marriage is more than companionship. It is an essential part of exaltation. In Latter-day Saint doctrine, the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom is reserved for those who enter into eternal marriage (D&C 131:1–3). The sacred nature of the temple ceremony underscores the seriousness and spiritual weight of the commitment. Unlike a brief civil rite, Latter-day Saint sealings include covenants made between the couple and God, promising to live in accordance with gospel principles, serve one another selflessly, and build an eternal family unit.
The difference in the duration of the ceremonies mirrors the difference in their perceived significance. A one-minute civil ceremony conveys that marriage is one decision among many in adult life—important, perhaps, but not sacred. The Latter-day Saint ceremony, while not necessarily long, is conducted in a holy temple—a house of the Lord—and filled with reverence, prayer, and sacred promises. This elevates the union from a legal arrangement to a spiritual ordinance with eternal consequences.
Moreover, the Latter-day Saint concept of marriage carries with it a broader theological implication. Eternal marriage is central to God’s plan of salvation and exaltation. As taught in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. Children born in the covenant—meaning to parents sealed in the temple—are likewise linked to that eternal family structure. This eternal perspective imbues the marriage covenant with profound meaning that transcends personal preference or legal convenience.
The contrast in the location of these ceremonies also reflects the differing spiritual weight given to marriage. Stadshus is a civic building dedicated to administrative and governmental affairs. It is beautiful and historic but carries no sacred function. Latter-day Saint temples, on the other hand, are considered the most sacred spaces on earth, places where Heaven and Earth meet. Entry into a temple requires a recommend attesting to one’s worthiness and commitment to gospel principles, and the temple itself is filled with symbolic teachings about eternity, Christ’s Atonement, and the divine nature of family relationships.
These differences lead to varied societal outcomes. In secular cultures like Sweden, marriage rates are lower and cohabitation is more common. Marriage is not seen as a prerequisite for family life, nor is it necessarily lifelong. In contrast, church teachings emphasize the permanence and centrality of marriage, encouraging young adults to prepare spiritually, emotionally, and morally for temple marriage. Divorce is not taken lightly, and fidelity to covenants is considered vital to personal and eternal happiness.
When the rain stopped and we moved from under the Stadshus portico to return to our ramblings, we discussed how the Saturday ceremonies at Stockholm’s City Hall and the sealings in holy temples reflected two worldviews—one rooted in secular humanism and legal partnership, the other in divine covenant and eternal purpose. While both honor the union of two people, only one sees that union as a sacred, eternal bond with implications far beyond this life. The difference, ultimately, is not just in ceremony length or religious content—but in the depth of sacred commitment, the power of divine authority, and the eternal scope of the promise made.
