oliblish wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:35 pm
I confronted her about this and it did not go well. I admit I did not handle it well. We have had other marital issues in addition to this. She brought up the D word and things have been pretty bad for the last week. She has been looking into what we could get if we sold our house. For the first time in over 25 years of marriage I am not sure we are going to make it.
I know you're getting some advice on this thread and maybe this won't help but if you're having a hard time communicating peacefully with your spouse you might consider going to your Bishop
alone and enlisting his help.
I know. Sounds crazy right? But right now he or the SP might be the only persons of authority that she would consider listening to.
And here's what I would say.
"Bishop, the church makes a big deal of trying to keep families together. In cases of a husband's adultery, the church almost always attempts to encourage the wife to forgive him. I want your opinion if you think not paying tithing is worse than adultery and if it's worth destroying a family over?
In 1 Cor. 7: 12-13 it states:
12. "If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him...."
First, I'd like you to justify the idea that even though most other things in our marriage are good, but because of a difference in some religious beliefs, leaving a spouse and destroying a family is o.k. with the church.
Remember, I love and treat my wife well. I love and treat my kids well. I try to be a good provider. I'm involved in their lives. I'm trying to be a good father and dad. I'm faithful to my wife. I'm not abusive in any way.
And yet the church seems to be supporting the break-up of a family over tithing.
How many times have I heard church leadership encourage spouses to be patient with all manner of terrible sins by the other spouse and yet in this case there is no patience. No looking for all the good that exists in our marriage.
And so I'm coming to you Bishop, to enlist your help in helping my wife to see that she might be preparing to throw away a very precious thing because of a situation that is not worthy in any way of the price that is going to be paid.
Is the church truly interested in avoiding the destruction of the family or does it just pay lip service to that lofty goal?
Will you do your part to help my wife and I to stay solvent?