Temple Marriage

[beefche]

foreverafter, let me ask you: a couple go to their priesthood leaders and they want to get married in the temple. One partner is divorced after having committed adultery. Since that time, she has confessed to her priesthood leaders, forgiven and given her temple recommend back. Now she wants to marry this fellow.

Can the bishop/stake president deny them the right to marry/be sealed in the temple?

[foreverafter]

foreverafter, let me ask you: a couple go to their priesthood leaders and they want to get married in the temple. One partner is divorced after having committed adultery. Since that time, she has confessed to her priesthood leaders, forgiven and given her temple recommend back. Now she wants to marry this fellow.

Can the bishop/stake president deny them the right to marry/be sealed in the temple?

There is much more to a situation like this than just what you mention. So it can't be answered that cut & dried. Her ex though, if righteous & faithful, who she committed adultery against, would have certain rights & say to it all, if not in this life, the next for sure, no matter what they are eventually allowed to do.

[beefche]

There is much more to a situation like this than just what you mention. So it can't be answered that cut & dried. Her ex though, if righteous & faithful, who she committed adultery against, would have certain rights & say to it all, if not in this life, the next for sure, no matter what they are eventually allowed to do.

Now you're confusing me. Here you are saying that there could be more to the situation. This implies that this once adulterer now divorced may be able to marry in the temple. Yet, earlier you said:

The reason I stress doing all you can to find out what really happened during the 1st marriage is because if you date someone who is not justified to be divorced than you commit adultery with the person. That's pretty huge & worth doing all the checking you can to make sure you don't incur that kind of sin. Having a good time on a date is not worth selling your soul & throwing away your Exaltation. Unjustified Divorce is one of the very worst of sins & since the Prophets say only 'rare' couples are justified to divorce, than that means that probably most divorces are not justified & alot of people are just out committing adultery when they date or remarry.

As one seasoned Stake Partriarch said about a man who left his wife unjustifiably: "Even putting his name on one of those dating web sites, is Adultery."

When a spouse runs away from home, it is like when a child does, people cannot just take in the person without asking questions to make sure the runaway was justified & really needs safety. If the real problem lies with the runaway, as it usually does, than anyone taking in the runaway without seeking answers & permission would be doing something very wrong.

Abuse is a very serious thing & every divorce is caused by some form of abuse by one spouse or the other or both. Breaking marriage covenants in any way is Spouse Abuse. In every divorce someone does that unjustifiably & thus commits one of the blackest of sins. You do not want to marry an abusive person, so since divorce is a huge red flag that someone was abusive in that marriage, you must make sure it wasn't the person who wants to date you. Abusive people do not seem like it while dating. In fact, they usually seem more wonderful & loving than the average single person & easily fool most everyone. But even all this is secondary to making sure you don't commit Adultery with the person right off the bat, by just dating.

Also, to just have an indepth talk with the divorced person, will not usually reveal the whole truth. If they were to blame & were abusive & broke their covenants in the marriage, they most likely will be in denial & blind about it & claim innocence & paint the other spouse as the abusive one. These people are very convincing & most everyone falls for their rationalizations that they are innocent & so you must check it all out to make sure. Even the person having a temple recommend does not ensure innocence or clearance to date or remarry, people can & do unfortunately, far too often, even deceive their leaders, as well as theirselves & others.

Even the other spouse could lie to you too, so you really must have the Spirit to discern plus a real good knowledge of what abuse is, in all it's forms, (like Pres. Hinckley concurred we need), as well as understand the correct principles of marriage, to make sure you aren't deceived to commit sin with someone who claims innocence but isn't.

My point to all of this is that you do not know if divorced people are sinning. You may believe as you will. And you may even be right. But to declare to another that they may be committing sin is irresponsible. You are not that person's bishop or stake president. You do not have the spirit of discernment for others; you cannot say that someone who marries another in the temple may or may not be committing sin. If the prophet allows marriages in the temple for divorced people, then you cannot say he is wrong or allowing sin. He may be, but it is not your place to instruct others of that and declare it doctrine.

[jherre]

I am a divorced man who was married/sealed in the Temple. I have looked into it and I cannot get my sealing canceled until I have someone else to get sealed to.