This is the second year I've had a participant come up to me during gospel study and ask about Matt 5:32
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Why are they reading there when they're studying D&C and the Book of Mormon in seminary? What made them seek this verse out? What is in their background that is causing them to ask questions about this verse?
All of these questions run through my mind when they ask about this verse, and it's hard when I've had questions about what this means for our society and church today. I try to teach my youth that some of what we read in the New Testament has particular cultural applications and may not apply word for word today, but that the doctrine behind the counsel is sound - i.e. the marriage was and is a sacred ordinance that should not be entered into or ended lightly without serious consequences, but that there are times when it is correct and necessary to flee that marriage if one is in danger physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
I only hope that what I'm teaching them is correct, and even more, that I am somehow answering the unasked questions behind the vocalized one.
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