The term seems to be rooted in Mormon folklore.
On divorce in Mormon culture from Encyclopedia of Mormonism
I have never heard a satisfying explanation for "temple divorce", and in fact I'm not sure the church even uses such terms formally. Elder James A. Culimore considers this question in a 1975 Church publication.
Temples are not about divorcing. "Divorce" itself, it would seem, really has only temporal connotations, so in terms of binding covenants sealing for time and all eternity, it does not seem like the appropriate term.
I understand the church offers an administrative action referred to as "cancellation of sealing". But I am still not sure I understand what that means. How can an eternal covenant be "canceled"?
Do the participants kneel together at the same altar in the temple where their sealing was pronounced, and somehow un-promise?
Specific counsel from Elder Dallin H. Oaks somewhat illuminates this discussion, which frequently generates more heat than light.
