Divorce was definitely discouraged by Jesus Christ. In the New Testament when the Pharisees asked "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" the Savior replied: "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:4-6.) Then the Pharisees asked, "Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" (Note: Moses did not "command" divorce, but in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 he required a man to give his wife a bill of divorcement if he should separate from her or should "send her out of his house.") And Jesus answered: "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." (Matthew 19:8-9.)
It should be remembered that the "putting away of a wife" referred to by Jesus was not equal to a legal divorce. As James E. Talmage has indicated, "Jesus announced no specific or binding rule as to legal divorces; the putting away of a wife, as contemplated under the Mosaic custom, involved no judicial investigation or action by an established court." (Jesus the Christ, p. 474.)
These same ideas on marriage and divorce are included in the Savior's statement in the Book of Mormon. Divorce (or permanent separation) is not good; but if a couple decides to separate permanently, they should follow the legal procedures. This requirement is equally applicable to the man or the woman, for if a man "puts away his wife" but does not give her a legal divorce, he causes both her and any subsequent husband she might marry to commit adultery. (3 Nephi 12:31-32; compare Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Luke 16:18.) In this regard, it is well to remember that the word divorce as used by the Savior in 3 Nephi 12:32 is not a legal term; it simply implies a separation or "putting away." Thelegal term used by the Savior is "writing of divorcement." (3 Nephi 12:31.)