LARRY - A golfing friend of mine is a counselor in the bishopric and he made an interesting comment. He said that he wouldn't be made a bishop because he has been divorced. This seemed kind of odd so I asked my wife's brother about it. Her brother is a former bishop and he said he'd never heard this and it didn't seem like something that would be a church policy. It does seem kind of unfair but I've heard that a seminary teacher will be released from his position if his wife divorces him. Any idea on who is right? Can a divorced man be a bishop?

JOEL - President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

"The requirements of a bishop today are as they were in the days of Paul, who wrote to Timothy:
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;" (1 Tim. 3: 2-5) (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Shepherds of Israel,” Ensign, Nov. 2003, 60)

Brigham Young said of this scripture:
"(Paul's) advice to Timothy amounts simply to this—It would not be wise for you to ordain a man to the office of a Bishop unless he has a wife; you must not ordain a single or unmarried man to that calling." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p.88)

There is logic in requiring a Bishop to be married, because if he were not, how could he give proper counsel and instruction to those over which he presides without himself having experience in managing a family? This view, moreover, is supported by the context, wherein Paul remarks that a bishop must be "one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; for, if a man know not how to rule well his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" (v. 4, 5.)
I can see how these scriptures might preclude a single or single divorced man from being a Bishop, depending on the circumstances.
I do know that a widowed man who was sealed to his wife can be a Bishop, because he is still married to her. But if a man is divorced he of course is no longer "the husband of one wife", and therefore is not normally called to be a Bishop. If a man divorces his wife while he is Bishop he is usually released from his position(this could happen for other positions as well, eg. Stake Pres, Relief Society Pres., Seminary teacher, etc.). There is some wisdom in this since a person suffering through a divorce is not likely to be able to function very well in any position.
These things are looked at on a case by case basis but I do know that a previously divorced man who is currently married to someone else can become a Bishop. Most important is that they are currently married at the time they are called to serve as Bishop. So your friend is correct, but only if he is currently single.

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