Divorce
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close of time. That which the eternal Father Himself had pronounced
good was the law of highest blessing and development for man
Jesus came to our world to rectify mistakes and to restore the moral
image of God in man. Wrong sentiments in regard to marriage had
found a place in the minds of the teachers of Israel. They were making
of none effect the sacred institution of marriage. Man was becoming
so hardhearted that he would for the most trivial excuse separate from
his wife, or, if he chose, he would separate her from the children and
send her away. This was considered a great disgrace and was often
accompanied by the most acute suffering on the part of the discarded
one.
Christ came to correct these evils, and His first miracle was
wrought on the occasion of the marriage. Thus He announced to
the world that marriage when kept pure and undefiled is a sacred
institution
Counsel to One Contemplating Divorce—Your ideas in regard
to the marriage relation have been erroneous. Nothing but the violation
of the marriage bed can either break or annul the marriage vow. We
are living in perilous times, when there is no assurance in anything
save in firm, unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. There is no heart that
may not be estranged from God through the devices of Satan, if one
does not watch unto prayer.
[342]
Your health would have been in a far better condition had your
mind been at peace and rest; but it became confused and unbalanced,
and you reasoned incorrectly in regard to the matter of divorce. Your
views cannot be sustained on the ground from which you reason. Men
are not at liberty to make a standard of law for themselves, to avoid
God’s law and please their own inclination. They must come to God’s
great moral standard of righteousness....
God gave only one cause why a wife should leave her husband, or
the husband leave his wife, which was adultery. Let this ground be
prayerfully considered
Advice to a Separated Couple—My brother, my sister, for some
time you have not been living together. You should not have pursued
this course and would not have done so if both of you had been culti-
3
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 99, 100
.
4
Manuscript 16, 1899
.
5
Letter 8, 1888
.