CarolineMay 11, 2018

I'm here to tell you that I had a similar experience and it all turned out well. My married-in-the-temple husband, during an addiction to pornography, found a woman who "understood him better" and left me and his seven children, one of them severely disabled. He wound up treating his stepdaughters much better than his children, for example, buying them cars when they were teenagers while I struggled to get them a piece-of-junk car. I was at church every time the door was open and kept on the covenant path. There was pain for them at his treatment of them, but they stayed faithful and all six (excluding our disabled daughter) graduated from church colleges, were married in the temple and are teaching their children to live the gospel. My sons all went on missions. Wonderful men at church stepped up and were good father figures to them. My sons are all outstanding fathers, regardless of the example they had to live with and my daughters chose good, faithful men to marry. Three years ago the ex died a horrible death from cancer, but all six children were at his bedside at the end, which made me proud of them. I have always told them when they were hurt by their father that I loved them enough for two people. And I tried very hard not to speak badly of their father. When my ex died, I had a distinct impression from the Spirit which said, "I've got this now. Don't worry anymore." The children later had his temple work done since he had been excommunicated and live happy lives with a desire to be good parents, love their children, and be faithful to their covenants. I pray this gives you hope and peace.