beefche Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Pat Robertson says that in the case of Alzheimer's, one is justified in divorcing.Pat Robertson says Alzheimer's makes divorce OK - Yahoo! NewsAgree or disagree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartan117 Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Pat Robertson says that in the case of Alzheimer's, one is justified in divorcing.Pat Robertson says Alzheimer's makes divorce OK - Yahoo! NewsAgree or disagree?Just like the Savior taught us. Disagree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) So, like, Robertson is dumping the difficult half from "richer or poorer, sickness or in health, for better or worse"? That's a shame. I was thinking that God wants people of strong character to be numbered among His people. And we prove our character in the difficult times. I sure am glad my father didn't divorce my mother, just because she spent two decades withering away physically and mentally. When I think about what being a good person is, I think of my father, enduring all sorts of verbal abuse from my crazy mother, patiently waiting for her to stop so he could clean her up for the third time that day. But yeah, maybe using medicare to pay some uncaring third party to do that is more aligned with what God wants from His people. Yeah - thanks Pat, I never would have guessed that. Edited September 15, 2011 by Loudmouth_Mormon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy740 Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Unless they're issuing death certificates with Alzheimers these days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gopecon Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 So much for in sickness and in health, till death do us part. Alzheimers is a terrible disease, but abandoning your spouse when they are slowly losing their grasp on the world and you may be one of the few things they remember and find comfort in. It's pretty sad advice from someone that I thought took the Bible more literally than that. From an LDS eternal marriage perspective it would be even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) You really should warn a guy, I was having a serious worry attack from the thread title. To answer the OP, I don't think it justifies it. As far as it being okay because it's a type of death, does that mean he'd be okay with someone being married to two spouses as long as one has Alzheimers? Edited September 15, 2011 by Dravin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted September 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 So, like, Robertson is dumping the difficult half from "richer or poorer, sickness or in health, for better or worse"?From the article, "Terry Meeuwsen, Robertson's co-host, asked him about couples' marriage vows to take care of each other "for better or for worse" and "in sickness and in health.""If you respect that vow, you say 'til death do us part,'" Robertson said during the Tuesday broadcast. "This is a kind of death." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted September 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 You really should warn a guy, I was having a serious worry attack from the thread title. I told you that foot rubs were mandatory! I meant it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 I'm going to warn people in advance, this is a very sensitive subject for me. So depending on the direction this takes will determine how long I stay in the conversation. Having lost my dad to Alzheimers I would have divorced my mother as my mother if she had thought to do this. Luckily her temple vows and her love for my dad kept such thoughts from entering her mind. I'm sure this was the hardest thing ever for her to go through. Watching the man she knew and had been married to for 50+ years disappearing before her eyes on a daily basis. The sad part, the one with this disease knows in the beginning this is happening and can get extremely frustrated, confused and quite depressed over it. This is when they need the most love and attention. One of the horrors of Alzheimers is you do lose a person twice. You lose the person you knew to the disease and you lose them again to death. Is divorcing someone because they have terminal cancer justified? You know you are going to lose them as well. It's just that cancer can ravage a body much more quickly and they don't always lose their faculties. But you know you are going to lose them just the same. To me divorcing someone over this is one of the most selfish things a person can do. Just my opinion. Well you've lost your mind, so let me just throw you away and move on. It truly makes me sad for those that would think this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Disagree. As one who as been around two Alzheimer's patients till death- both were gentle people. Both retained their gentleness. I disagree with Robertson that Alzheimer's is a type of death. My Mother-In-Law was a walking, talking history book. As her Alzheimer's progressed, she went back in time to her teen years. She would try to climb out the window to go meet her boyfriend, she would get dressed up in slacks, a couple of sweaters and sit in the living room waiting for Daddy to take her to her airplane flying lessons. My Mother-In-Law was cared for by her second son and his wife. About the only thing that was out of control was her 'sun-downing'. Robertson's statement is just more viable proof that the LDS Church is the true church. Oh, one of the patients at the small care facility where the other patient that I knew lived, was a mean Alzheimer's patient. When healthy this woman was gentle, kind and giving. Her family had three small children at home, and putting her into the care facility was best for all. They were better equipped at dealing with her bursts of anger and confusion. The facility had only 4 patients, all women. One was bedridden, the rest mobile. The owner is a member of the Church, and I was her VTeacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 About the only thing that was out of control was her 'sun-downing'. My mom said she never noticed this, but I sure did. My dad got much more fidgety and confused and angry during sun-downing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Mom napped a lot during the day, and my sister-in-law kept the curtains closed. She got tired of Mom looking out the windows and getting her finger prints all over the glass . Thus after sun-down, Mom was awake and active most of the night. Personally, I figure finger prints on the windows would be a small price to pay to keep her calm. Also when Husband and I were there visiting her at her last Thanksgiving, I opened the curtains during day light hours. I cleaned the windows. Sure enough, Mom slept through the night! We were there for two weeks. I also kept Mom busy by taking her for walks around the neighborhood, raking leaves in the back yard, and letting her plant and dig up and replant plastic flowers. She never realized they were plastic, but she sure enjoyed being outside and working the soil. AND she slept through the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 The more I think about this, the more upset I am at Pat Robertson. Shame on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rameumptom Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Given the eternal family, I do not think that Alzheimer, nor any other disease, is a cause for divorce. Memories will be restored in the resurrection. We are judged for serving and blessing one another, even in great periods of deprivation. We are also judged for abandoning loved ones in times of greatest need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted September 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 I don't understand his viewpoint. He is an Evangelical pastor (or at least he ran CBN, a big Christian broadcasting network which had him preaching and leading prayers). I just don't understand his justification for divorce with this. I'm trying, but I'm still lost to his viewpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Are we not taught to have compassion as Christ would have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirkwood Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 There are many things that are hard in a marriage. Is it okay to divorce because my spouse ____________ (choose your challenge)? Pat Robertson is a [removed by mod]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 I would like to hear what Pat's wife Adelia thinks about his pronouncement that he might divorce her if she gets alzheimers. I wonder what his 4 kids and dozen or more grandkids think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) Are we not taught to have compassion as Christ would have?I think he justifies it through counseling that you make sure your former spouse is provided for. Which I think is missing the point, there is more to marriage than just making sure someone has their physical needs provided for*. And upon reading the article again I see the advice was in response to someone committing adultery. He probably doesn't mean it that way but the advice sounds more like, "Oh, adultery eh? Well have I got a loop-hole for you!" when you keep that context in mind*That's kinda like thinking as long as you provide child support to a child but otherwise abandon them you are fulfilling the the role of a father. Edited September 15, 2011 by Dravin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Ok - I'm trying to be charitable here. This is the best I can do: Has he been diagnosed with Alzheimers, and this is a way of letting his wife know it's ok if she leaves him? That's the only guess I can come up with that comes within a lightyear of understanding this guy's position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Ok - I'm trying to be charitable here. This is the best I can do: Has he been diagnosed with Alzheimers, and this is a way of letting his wife know it's ok if she leaves him?That's the only guess I can come up with that comes within a lightyear of understanding this guy's position.You mean charitably understanding his position? I imagine a few here can think up some theories but they don't exactly put him in the best light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 The thing is, no one can truly understand what a couple and a family goes through until they have done so themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prisonchaplain Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Disagree.Robertson's statement is just more viable proof that the LDS Church is the true church. This came to my mind when I read the linked article, and then a few others I found. I do not deny that for LDS-faithful, this type of thing might reaffirm your doctrine of Eternal Marriage.On the other hand, Robertson's views are his own. As the linked article, and others affirmed, nearly all Christian churches disagree. "In sickness and in health" mean just that. Our belief that we depart at death does not lead us to abandon our spouses in times of sickness. Even in the secular world, one expert commented that they seldom see divorce because of dementia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prisonchaplain Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 The more I think about this, the more upset I am at Pat Robertson. Shame on him. He was horribly wrong. However, my guess is that he was trying to show a lot of empathy for the terrible situation. Robertson probably knows someone going through this, and has felt his friend's burden. Sometimes folks who counsel and minister "over-identify" with those they care for, and become subjective. When someone is hurting, we want to say, "That's okay, don't cry." However, in this case, the spouses need to cry a lot...but continue to walk faithfully, lovingly, and consistently with their spouses...IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 ...Robertson's statement is just more viable proof that the LDS Church is the true church.... I really don't want to take this off topic but I just can't let this go. Please explain to me how Pat Robertson's opinion proves that the LDS church is true. You must realize that many people do not agree with his opinion; I'm sure members of his own church do not agree with him. So how does someone's opinion on one matter prove that something of a different matter is true? M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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