"Many members of Relief Society do not have husbands. Death, divorce, and indeed lack of opportunity to marry have, in many instances, made it necessary for a woman to stand alone. In reality, she need not stand alone, for a loving Heavenly Father will be by her side to give direction to her life and provide peace and assurance in those quiet moments when loneliness is found and when compassion is needed.” –President Thomas S. Monson, “The Spirit of The Relief Society”, General Conference, April 1992, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/04/the-spirit-of-relief-society?lang=eng&query=divorce
“Some think that every marriage must expect to end in unhappiness and divorce, with the hopes and dreams predestined to end in a broken, sad wreck of things. Some marriages do bend, and some will break, but we must not, because of this, lose faith in marriage nor become afraid of it.”- Elder Boyd K. Packer, “Marriage”, General Conference, April 1981, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/04/marriage?lang=eng&query=divorce | “The abuse of the power of love can result in no love at all. Only its cheap facsimiles of lewdness and lust remain in the wake of pleasure without conscience. Instead of feasting at the banquet table of bounteous love with his own posterity, one is left with scarps from the table- only the refuse from what might have been.” –Elder Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, November 1984, pp 31 |
"LDS Rank High in Marriage, Low In Divorce, Study Says" (Right Click on Button below for full article) | “Some who are listening to this message are probably saying, “But what about me?” We know that many worthy and wonderful Latter-day Saints currently lack the ideal opportunities and essential requirements for their progress. Singleness, childlessness, death, and divorce frustrate ideals and postpone the fulfillment of promised blessings. In addition, some women who desire to be full-time mothers and homemakers have been literally compelled to enter the full-time work force. But these frustrations are only temporary. The Lord has promised that in the eternities no blessing will be denied his sons and daughters who keep the commandments, are true to their covenants, and desire what is right.” – Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan of Happiness”, General Conference, October 1993, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/10/the-great-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng |
“This is not exactly what you hoped or planned, prayed for or expected, when you started out years ago. Your journey through life has had bumps, detours, twists, and turns, mostly as the result of life in a fallen world that is meant to be a place of proving and testing. Meanwhile, you are striving to raise your children in righteousness and truth, knowing that while you cannot change the past, you can shape the future. Along the way you will obtain compensatory blessings, even if they are not immediately apparent. With God’s help, you need not fear for the future. Your children will grow up and call you blessed, and every single one of their many achievements will stand as a tribute to you. Please never feel that you are in some kind of second-tier subcategory of Church membership, somehow less entitled to the Lord’s blessings than others. In the kingdom of God there are no second-class citizens.” -Elder David S. Baxter, “Faith, fortitude, Fulfilment,: A Message to Single Parents”, General Conference, April 2012, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/faith-fortitude-fulfillment-a-message-to-single-parents?lang=eng&query=divorce
“There are many good Church members who have been divorced. I speak first to them. We know that many of you are innocent victims—members whose former spouses persistently betrayed sacred covenants or abandoned or refused to perform marriage responsibilities for an extended period. Members who have experienced such abuse have firsthand knowledge of circumstances worse than divorce.”- Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Divorce”, General Conference, April 2007, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/divorce?lang=eng&query=divorce | “I have long felt that the greatest factor in a happy marriage is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion. In most cases selfishness is the leading factor that causes argument, separation, divorce, and broken hearts.”- President Gordon B. Hinkley, “Loyalty”, General Conference, April 2003, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/loyalty?lang=eng&query=divorce |
“It must be recognized that some marriages just fail. To those in that circumstance, I extend understanding because every divorce carries heartache with it.” – James E. Faust, “Father, Come Home”, General Conference, April 1993, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/04/father-come-home?lang=eng&query=divorce | “I am satisfied that if we would look for the virtues in one another and not the vices, there would be much more of happiness in the homes of our people. There would be far less of divorce, much less of infidelity, much less of anger and rancor and quarreling. There would be more of forgiveness, more of love, more of peace, more of happiness. This is as the Lord would have it.”- President Gordon B. Hinkley, “Living worthy of the girl You Will Someday Marry,” General Conference, April 1998, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/living-worthy-of-the-girl-you-will-someday-marry?lang=eng&query=divorce “The fact is that it is predominately men who bring about the conditions that lead to divorce. After dealing with hundreds of divorce situations through the years, I am satisfied that the application of a single practice would do more than all else to solve this grievous problem. If every husband and every wife would constantly do whatever might be possible to ensure the comfort and happiness of his or her companion, there would be very little, if any, divorce. Argument would never be heard. Accusations would never be leveled. Angry explosions would not occur. Rather, love and concern would replace abuse and meanness.” –President Gordon B. Hinkley, Ensign, November 2004, pp. 84 |
My Personal Position Statement:
I never thought that at 24 with two children I would ever be someone to go through a divorce, yet here I was back at home living with my parents... Not exactly what I had pictured in my "life plan". It sometimes seems in our LDS culture that the topic of divorce is so "hush hush". But the fact of the matter is some of us no matter how hard we try are going to end up going through this painful event. When I was going through my divorce I didn't feel like I had a lot of support from the church. (I should point out I am not pro-divorce, I feel like divorce is something should only be considered when all resources have been exhausted and after careful contemplation with the Lord) When I decided to research divorce for this project, reading the words from the prophets brought so much comfort to my life. I not only felt I could heal from this event, but I could take these painful memories and turn them into life long lessons. Instead of being devastated that my marriage didn't work out I am now focusing on things I will want to take into a new marriage if I ever get that opportunity and things I do not want to repeat. As heartbreaking as the situation has been, I know Heavenly Father has been with me every step of the way; he is directing my paths and where there is fear about what is to come in my future, I know I can have complete trust in Heavenly Father to lead me where I need to go.
I never thought that at 24 with two children I would ever be someone to go through a divorce, yet here I was back at home living with my parents... Not exactly what I had pictured in my "life plan". It sometimes seems in our LDS culture that the topic of divorce is so "hush hush". But the fact of the matter is some of us no matter how hard we try are going to end up going through this painful event. When I was going through my divorce I didn't feel like I had a lot of support from the church. (I should point out I am not pro-divorce, I feel like divorce is something should only be considered when all resources have been exhausted and after careful contemplation with the Lord) When I decided to research divorce for this project, reading the words from the prophets brought so much comfort to my life. I not only felt I could heal from this event, but I could take these painful memories and turn them into life long lessons. Instead of being devastated that my marriage didn't work out I am now focusing on things I will want to take into a new marriage if I ever get that opportunity and things I do not want to repeat. As heartbreaking as the situation has been, I know Heavenly Father has been with me every step of the way; he is directing my paths and where there is fear about what is to come in my future, I know I can have complete trust in Heavenly Father to lead me where I need to go.