Remarriage equals adultery?

[janderich]

Doctrine and Covenants 132:41 And as ye have asked concerning adultery, verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed.

42 If she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she be with another man, she has committed adultery.

43 And if her husband be with another woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow and hath committed adultery.

44 And if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take her and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many.

Sorry, but this doesn't provide me any more understanding. There are multiple ways to interpret these verses. Do you not want to explain it?

When I read 132:44, I had a very distinct impression that a divorced woman who didn't break her vows can become married to a man who hasn't break his vows.

Finding out about sins of my not-yet-ex really hurt, but the information was provided to assure me that I hadn't broken my vows. And, when I chose to follow the counsel to create a list of attributes I want in a wife, one of the things that quickly came up was "Did not cause her divorce." As long as I find that, I now feel comforted that we both will be living the higher law.

Thanks Brian now I see how others interpret this scripture.

My problem is that this scripture has to do with polygamy which confuses the whole issue. Joseph was concerned about adultery since he was marrying multiple women (some already married per the law), and was also performing marriages in the same fashion. We might start in verse 37, "Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law...". In verse 41 then, the scripture explains that if a wife be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed." Very well, what if another man has been appointed unto her by the holy anointing (whatever that means)? It then appears acceptable that she have multiple husbands. Verse 42 further addresses the point, "if she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she be with another man, she has committed adultery" but of course if she is under the new and everlasting covenant she may not have committed adultery.

In verse 43 we get into this term "vow". A husband can commit adultery if he is with another woman and was under "vow". It is unclear to me what this means. What is the "vow"? Is it strictly about marriage between one man and one woman? Clearly there are some exceptions since a man could be with multiple women and not commit adultery.

In verse 44 we read about a woman who has not committed adultery (as described above) and hath not broken her "vow" (whatever that means). If this be the case, Joseph can give "her unto him". This same terminology was used previously in verse 37, Abraham had multiple concubines and it was accounted righteousness because, "they were given unto him". It sounds to me like these scriptures are giving Joseph authority to marry men to multiple wives and marry women to multiple husbands under certain conditions. After all this is what he did.

Given the context, these scriptures are anything but straight forward. Perhaps they can be applied to monogamous relationships but I'm not sure.

[Spaced_Out]

I've read it several times, but it never really hit me before. 3 Ne 12:32 and Matt 5:32 state:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whoso shall marry her who is divorced committeth adultery.

Is this something that has been clarified by modern prophets?

As always you guys are all barking up the wrong tree, how can such a simple thing confuse so many people.

What Christ was talking about was changes made under the Law of Moses that they were living. Under the law for any reason whatsoever a male was allowed to divorce his wife just by simply giving a written letter to her no explanation needed. If he saw another woman he wanted just gave is wife a bill of divorcement and she had to go back to her parents, same if she burnt the food or something. Christ condemned the practice indicating it was not proper to divorce in such a manner.

It is after 12pm and I have work tomorrow so don't have time to give a proper explanation - the quote and link below might help. It is to do with law of Moses so don't get confused......

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1991/02/the- ... w?lang=eng
Divorce (Matt. 5:31–32; 3 Ne. 12:31–32)
“Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whoso shall marry her who is divorced committeth adultery.” (3 Ne. 12:32.)

This verse raises questions of fairness. Why should the wife who is “put away” or the man who later remarries her be judged guilty of adultery—when it may be that she is an innocent victim of her husband’s unrighteousness? And how is this instruction to be interpreted today? Why are members of the Church permitted to divorce, even for reasons other than sexual sin, and allowed to remarry, even in the temple, without the charge of adultery?

These are not easy questions to answer. We do not have record of the Savior elaborating on or qualifying these instructions to the Nephites. There is, however, information in the biblical record and commentary by modern prophets that may help our understanding.

On the subject of fairness, Mark’s account is helpful. He records that after the public exchange with the Pharisees about divorce, Jesus and his disciples went “in the house,” where the disciples “asked him again of the same matter.” There the Savior said, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

“And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.” (Mark 10:10–12.)

Notice that in this instance the charge of adultery is against the spouse—husband or wife—who puts away the other, and not against the one who is put away. We are left to wonder what other clarifications the Savior may have made “in the house” to his disciples who honestly desired to know the truth.

Concerning modern application, the Savior’s response to the Pharisees is instructive. They challenged Jesus’ teaching about divorce because it differed from what was allowed in the law of Moses. “He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matt. 19:8.) It was no compliment to the Israelites of Moses’ day that they were allowed a lesser standard than that which God intended “from the beginning.” The lesser standard was allowed “because of the hardness of [their] hearts.”

Does this mean that God adjusts standards according to his children’s willingness to obey? As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Ezra Taft Benson spoke about this principle:

“God has to work through mortals of varying degrees of spiritual progress. Sometimes he temporarily grants to men their unwise requests in order that they might learn from their own sad experiences. Some refer to this as the ‘Samuel Principle.’ This children of Israel wanted a king, like all the nations. … The Lord told Samuel to warn the people of the consequences if they had a king. Samuel gave them the warning, but they still insisted on their king. So God gave them a king and let them suffer. … God wanted it to be otherwise, but within certain bounds he grants unto men according to their desires. Bad experiences are an expensive school that only fools keep going to. …

“Sometimes in our attempts to mimic the world, contrary to the prophet’s counsel, we run after the world’s false educational, political, musical, and dress ideas. New worldly standards take over, a gradual breakdown occurs, and finally, after much suffering, a humble people are ready to be taught once again a higher law.

“Now, during all this gradual lowering of standards, the righteous should be living up to the highest personal standards they can—not forcing those standards on others but preparing for and awaiting a better day which surely must come.”5

Elder Bruce R. McConkie applied this principle to the subject of divorce: “Divorce is not part of the gospel plan. … But because men in practice do not always live in harmony with gospel standards, the Lord permits divorce for one reason or another, depending upon the spiritual stability of the people involved. … Under the most perfect conditions there would be no divorce permitted except where sex sin was involved. In this day divorces are permitted in accordance with civil statutes, and the divorced persons are permitted by the Church to marry again without the stain of immorality which under a higher system and in a better civilization would attend such a course.”6

When we are not prepared or willing to live a higher law, the Lord, on occasion, may give us a lesser standard, a “schoolmaster” law. (Gal. 3:24.) But even strict obedience to the schoolmaster law is not the goal, nor is the law sufficient to exalt us. (See Mosiah 3:13–17; Mosiah 12:31–33; Mosiah 13:28–35.) The lesser law is a temporary measure, a minimum standard, to help prepare us to live willingly the fulness of the law of Christ. All who would be exalted must, through repentance and obedience, become the kind of people who desire and obey “the law of a celestial kingdom.” (D&C 88:22.)

Many more honest questions could be asked about divorce as it relates to particular circumstances. Although the scriptures do not address all such questions, we are not left without guidance. Joseph Smith taught that “revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed” is the “principle on which the government of heaven is conducted.”7 That revelation comes through the Lord’s authorized servants, who are guided to establish policies and procedures appropriate to the current needs of Church members. As we follow the prophets, the Lord will “lead [us] along” toward “the riches of eternity.” (D&C 78:18.)