Dating non-members is a touchy subject for a lot of LDS people, single or not. I know that most, if not all, single LDS people want to get married in the temple, and we should all know that someone who is not LDS will not be able to go to the temple with you. The time may or may not come when you ask someone on a date or be asked out by someone who is not of our faith. So, what do you do with that situation?
I know from personal experience that there are plenty of people out there who are not LDS, but are still wonderful people who can be tons of fun to be with on a date. But if you can’t marry this person in the long run, does that automatically mean that you can’t go on a date with them? Or do you look past that difference and just have a good time with them?
In my last post, I talked about soul mates and how you can make them to be whoever you want. Let me put a scenario past you and you tell me what you think. You meet a girl at, oh, let’s say the store. You talk with her for a while (never mentioning religion) and you find out that the two of you have quite a bit in common, so you exchange numbers with each other. You call her a day or so later to ask her on a date, she says yes, and you get together that Saturday and have a wonderful time with each other. The two of you go on several more dates together, each time having more fun than the last. The two of you grow very close over the course of a month or so. (We’re going to pretend that you still haven’t brought up the subject of religion.) By this point, the two of you have expressed love for each other and have kissed once or twice. But then, while out on a date together, the subject of religion is broached and you find out that this wonderful girl who you’ve grown so fond of is Catholic while you are LDS. What do you do? Do you immediately break things off with her due to your differing religions? Or do you stay with her? What would your thought process be at this point? You’d probably realize that you couldn’t get married in the temple. There’s always the possibility that she’d be willing to convert to Mormonism, but for this scenario, let’s pretend she’s strong in her beliefs and wants to stay that way. If you really love each other, what would happen? Would you be so staunch in your beliefs that you’d be willing to sacrifice your love for your religion? Could there be any kind of compromise between the two of you? If you did end up getting married, how would you raise your children, Catholic or LDS? There are so many questions that would crop up, it might drive you crazy.
I’m not trying to infer that I know the answer to these questions. I really don’t, and I’d like to know all of your thoughts on this subject. Have any of you been in a relationship with someone who wasn’t LDS? Please, share your thoughts in the comments.
The answers to most of the questions that you have are going to vary a good deal from person to person, it seems to me. I do know active members that have married non-members and have lived very fulfilling lives with that spouse - more power to them. That being said, I personally know how hard it is to be in love with someone that is not a member.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, I would break-up with that person. I don't think that I would let it get as far as love without knowing their religion. I'm not trying to be stuck up or disrespectful to the members of other religions, but with the revelations that I have been given - through reading the scriptures, listening to the prophets, my patriarchal blessing, etc, etc - I won't date nonmembers.
And that also brings to mind another argument that an old buddy of mine would bring up when ever this topic came into play - not all LDS men are living the good wholesome lives that they should be, whereas every so often you can find great men that aren't LDS that share your standards.