Temple Conversations with High School Friends

So one of my really good friends from high school has been facebooking me a lot lately, asking about the wedding. She has been so excited for me. We never really talked about my religion or the church or anything when we were in school together, but she has been asking a lot of questions lately. I haven't known exactly how to answer most of them, because I have never actually BEEN to the temple, so I don't think  I did the best job explaining things, but I tried to tell her about things that she would relate to and understand. What is really interesting to me is that we have much more open conversations now than we used to...religion was a non-discussed topic in high school, and I didn't even realize how important God was to her, and how much marriage meant to her...we had a lot more in common than I realized. Anyway, here is our most recent conversation. 

Sarah: i literally can't wait to hear and see all about your wedding!

Me: haha me too!! I'll be sure to put up lots of pictures~!

Sarah: i can't even imagine how excited you must be! this is gonna be a whole newchapter in your life! i can't wait for that to happen to me! ahh i wish i could go to your wedding!!!

Me: I wish you could come too! ...and yeah, it feels so strange and exciting...weird to have all of our stuff in an apartment together...and everything matches and looks nice and stuff. it isn't a student apartment. ...you HAVE to let me know and invite me to yours!

Sarah: um of course i will! wouldn't be a party without you!!

how did you manage to pull off planning a wedding and school so fast??

Me: Idk...it didn't really seem that fast, I had 10 months to plan. But my sisters and mom helped a lot.

Sarah: oh! a lot of people told me that it takes forever to plan a wedding so i just assumed! how many people are you having?

Me: The actual wedding will be in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, just for family and friends that have temple reccommends. the reception is in the springville art museum, and anoyone can come. I'm guessing there will be 70 people at the wedding and 200 at the reception.

Sarah: thats awesome!! ;] i wouldn't even know where to begin with planning a wedding!

Me: ..this is a photo of the temple.

Sarah: oh wow! that is beautiful!!!

Me:...it makes it easier when you don't have to plan the ceremony...you just set up an appointment at the temple and get interviews. You don't have to do anything else except buy a dress and show up...They have sealers that do the ceremony, and the temple is absolutely gorgeous, so it would just be silly to try to add decorations.

isn't it pretty!?

Sarah: pretty is an understatement. i can't wait to see you dress! is your dad walking down the aisle or your mom and dad?

Me: there isn't really an aisle. It's a room...I'll find a picture... hold on...

Sarah: oh okay!

Sarah: ohhh i get it! thats really pretty on the inside!!

so then would chris see you before the wedding then?

Me:  No...we will see each other when we enter the room (I think)...then you go forward and kneel at the altar and make promises to God.

Sarah: beautiful! you nervous at all? sorry im asking so many questions!

Me: its different from other wedding ceremonies because you don't promise to eachother, you promise God, so you are accountable to him if you break your covenants or hurt your spouse in any way. And you are sealed, not just married, so you will be together after you die, and your children that you have in that marriage will be sealed to you, too.

Sarah: thats really special!

Me: ...which explains why I am SO nervous...If I mess this up, it won't be like I just break a promise to Chris, it will be breaking a promise with God.

Sarah: you won't mess it up!! how could you mess it up, you love Chris and you love God! but i would totally be nervous too! thats really awesome that you guys are both so strong in your faith too!

Me: Thanks, Sarah. lol. It's just a LOT of responsibility. (sidenote: this is also why things like spousal abuse or cheating or divorce are a HUGE deal if you are mormon...because you are responsible to god for anything you do to hurt that person.)

Yeah, I am so glad that I am marrying someone that is so committed to God and wants to do what God wants... he is a really good man.

Sarah: and i think that makes your relationship with chris that much stronger because God is such a big part of it, and i think that it will be taken more seriously because if he hurts you he hurts God too

I feel like now a days people go into a marriage knowing that they can just get a divorce if it doens't work out, and thats something that breaks my heart because it should be like that at all

shouldn't *

Me: yeah. I wish more people took marriage more seriously...I think a lot of people just aren't completely committed...divorce should never be part of the picture (except in cases like abuse, cheating, ect) ...I think a lot of people just don't want to work on it, they don't realize that love takes work. I think most problems people have could be fixed if they both tried to come closer together and both were kinder and more willing to change and try to be better.

Sarah: exactly!! divorce is so sad

are you guys going on a honeymoon after the wedding?

Me: yeah. and it's crazy how many people do that.

yep! we have a cabin rented in the mountains, close to a ski resort.

Sarah: oh yeah!! i think i remember you mentioning that!!

Any thoughts? Things I left out that I should talk about in our next conversation? (She told me at the end that she wanted to get together for lunch and talk more about it, and when I said I wouldn't be in town, she asked if it would be okay if she asked me more later.) I don't really know what I am supposed to tell her about some of this stuff...and she is so inquisitive! 

Sidenote: Interesting that all of these people I knew growing up never talked to me about the church or my beliefs when we were younger, and now that we are all separated and starting our own lives, I have had a lot of people contact me and ask questions, or tell me that I was a good example to them in high school (which is ironic, because I thought i was a pretty horrible person)...anyway. I'm glad that I gave at least a few people an interest in the church.