Divorce
- "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."
- "What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."
- Dallin H. Oaks, General Conference, April 2007, Sunday Morning Session
- I) General overview
- II) To divorced members
- III) To married members
- "Bishops do not counsel members to divorce"
- This does not seem to necessarily indicate that preparation for it couldn't be recommend by the Lord in a blessing.
- IV) To those contemplating marriage
- "The best way to avoid divorce from an unfaithful, abusive, or unsupportive spouse is to avoid marriage to such a person."
- Proper courtship patterns are discussed. It would seem that there is something of a celestial law of dating.
- James E. Faust, "Enriching Your Marriage", Ensign, April 2007, p. 5
- Relates an experience illustrating the regretability of divorces and adds some thoughts regarding why the happen and how to prevent them.
- Naida Stephens Tims, "An Honored and Invited Guest", Ensign, June 2007, p. 50
- How she first sought a divorce, but, counseling with her stake president, was able to save her family from the destructive influence of the Spirit of Contention.
- Divorce is often linked to financial trouble. (Not being poor, but rather the mismanagement of finances.)
- "Widowhood of course is beyond the control of the parties, but divorce and separation are not."
- Statistics show the activity in the Church correlates inversely with depression, suicide, and divorce rates.
- When a temple sealing is canceled, sealed children remain sealed to their parents.
- When a temple sealing is canceled, sealed children remain sealed to their parents.
Notes
Dallin H. Oaks states that "Bishops do not counsel members to divorce".
This has become the focus of certain conflict in my ward at the time of writing. The bishop is reported to have told one member of the ward, who's spouse has been repeatedly unfaithful, emotionally abusive, is unrepentent, and already declaring the intent of seeking a divorce; he told this member in a blessing that help in obtaining a legal separation should be sought after. The member's home teacher, in a later blessing, says he felt inspired to give the same counsel.
That home teacher's companion, upon later discussing the issue with a member of the bishopric (not the bishop) came to the determination, along with this member of the bishopric, that this was inappropriate. The member of the bishopric then went on to call in the first home teacher and lecture him on what he felt he wasn't allowed to say in a blessing, basing his argument on the Oaks talk.
Apart from the inapplicability of the statement to the situation with the home teacher, I would think it is also true that as has often been stated, there are sometimes exception to general rules. (See: Exceptions to General Rules) This would seem particularly applicable to instances when the rule is not official, but only the comment of one authority.