Being sealed to my biological aunt and her husband

I have heard of people being sealed in certain situations to non-adoptive and non-biological parents, but am looking for anyone of this knowledge for help in finding information and if possible, being put in contact with those who firsthand have gone through this.

The short version of my situation is that I wish to be sealed to my biological aunt and her husband. My aunt has heard of this happening and her and her husband wish to be sealed to me as their son. I started the process in my last ward, but I relocatef out of state and now am trying to do it here. I have the most awesome bishop, but I've hit a roadblock as he can't find an official way to go through a standard avenue to do this and won't proceed as he believes it is just not possible.

As mentioned, I know it is possible and this is such a sacred and beyond important thing for me and my mom and dad(aunt and uncle). We don't have any need for them to adopt me, but we have such a personal need to be sealed.

Does anyone have any help they can offer with specific examples and specific people to speak with or processes to use?

You did not state what your status is. I'm assuming you are an adult.

Excerpts from the Handbook (38.4.2.3):

Living children who are born in the covenant or have been sealed to parents cannot be sealed to any other parents without First Presidency approval.
...
First Presidency approval is needed for a living member to be sealed to foster parents. This requirement applies even if the natural parents of the foster child are unknown. Such requests are made by the stake president using LCR.

TheIronRod wrote: Tue Jul 08, 2025 8:32 am.....
We don't have any need for them to adopt me, but we have such a personal need to be sealed
.....

Based off this, perhaps you're a minor?

As @russellhltn shared, the Handbook refers to being sealed to parents (natural/adoptive/foster). It may be that the cases you have heard about were children being sealed to an aunt/uncle who formally adopted them (assuming they worked through whatever the Church policy was at the time).

Regardless, I doubt you'll find anything official beyond what's found in the Handbook, and I think it would be helpful to read through the entire section GHB 38.4.2. You could ask your Bishop if he has counseled with the Stake President about your situation (per GHB 38.4.2). Part of that process could potentially include you also speaking with your Stake President, so I'd talk with your Bishop about that possibility.

My deceased half Sibling was Sealed to his paternal grandparents, because his parents were not married & could not be sealed together. I wrote to the church through FamilySearch and that was the advice given to me. You didn't explain the reason why you aren't wanting to be sealed to your parents. So, I can't really give you as much advice about what might be allowed in your situation. But, I can tell you that if it is a not a legal matter, as in the case of my half sibling whose parents weren't married, but is more of an emotional situation, such as not feeling as close to your parents, as much as your aunt & uncle, or if there was abuse from your parents, then we're advised that in the case of married parents who are deceased, you should still seal the parents together & then be sealed to them, even in cases of abuse, neglect, or estrangement. This is because you will still receive the blessings of that sealing, but they will not if they are not worthy of it. If they are not worthy of being your parents then Heavenly Father will allow you the blessings of parentage from other family members, such as Grandparents or Great Grandparents, & so on. Who knows, maybe even Aunts & Uncles. But, the important thing to remember is that you need to bind your family together, and let God deal with the details & make whatever judgements are appropriate. When I got sealed to my abusive parent I had a very good friend, whom I love, stand as proxy. That made it much easier. Although I forgave my parent it was still hard emotionally. So, I made the choice to do the right thing of following the instructions given to our church leaders by Heavenly Father, & give my parents over to my Heavenly Father to deal with, and judge. I am certain that all will work out as it should on the other side, because I know and trust that my Heavenly Father knows my heart as well as theirs & loves me enough to do whatever is best for me.

LLSchneider wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 8:14 pm My deceased half Sibling was Sealed to his paternal grandparents, because his parents were not married & could not be sealed together.

If the parents are living, that would be true. If both parents are deceased, I think they can be sealed. There are different types of marriages: an actual marriage, common law marriage, and even just having a kid.

The bishop would make a request to the stake president, who submits a request to the First Presidency for permission. The bishop just needs to discuss this with the stake president, who can submit the request.

However, the handbooks suggests this cannot happen unless your aunt is your foster parent.