Living Life - Marriage and Family

 Communication. This is a subject that I really love because communication can fix so much in our lives. I am not the best communicator, that's for sure! Sometimes I wonder how I can possibly get better at it. I feel like sometimes what I say is never actually what I feel, and that I can never effectively communicate. I know that communication is key when it comes to a happy and healthy relationship. That relationship can be with friends, or a significant other. For those of you who have this as a worry about getting married and starting a family, don't worry. This skill can be learned. This is important to know because couples argue. It is a part of being married. But we can learn how to have effective communication that will bring you closer to each other rather than pushing you apart. One thing I might suggest is that you learn now how to be a good communicator. Create good habits now because they will bless your future. Have empathy as you communicate. When I talk about com...

 This week we talked about family trials and how our responses can either tare our families apart or bring them closer together. Many young people may not want to start families because of the challenges that are ahead of them if they do. Yes, having a family is hard. Caring for kids is hard. Challenges and trials are inevitable. "While it is true that parents  once were more likely to report they were  less happy than their childless peers, today that is most definitely  not true ."..." childless  Americans are now more likely to report their lives are lonely, and less likely to report they are meaningful and happy. A clear majority of men and women (nearly 60%) ages 18-55 who do not have kids say they are lonely some, most, or all of the time." There are many resources and data out there proving that having kids actually doesn't make you less happy. It actually makes you happier and less lonely. I think having a family and creating a meaningful marriage can gi...

This week was so very interesting. This entry will be about us young adults understanding healthy relationships and a loving marriage through sexual intimacy.  "Just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered us the family as an example of an ideal setting in which we can learn how to love as He loves. That is because the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is."(Henry B. Eyering)  Healthy sexuality involves a positive and respectful approach. It includes being comfortable and confident with one’s body, showing affection for its own sake, and maintaining mutual agency and freedom of choice in the bedroom. Both partners—whether they have a higher or lower sex drive—feel heard and respected. Healthy sexuality is also restrained and respectful, with st...

 There are so many wrong things that can happen with a marriage. That is why it has scared me so much. I don’t know all the potential reasons why a marriage can fall apart. I wish I did. How am I to know what’s best for my marriage, and what will make a good marriage last? Not knowing all of this, as well as being presented with a lot of imperfect marriages, gave me a view that marriages are hard and not worth all the difficulty. I’ve expressed before that I didn’t believe marriage was for me. Something about me is that I love romantic movies. These movies filled me with excitement! I dreamed of the day that my true love would sweep me off my feet in several acts of excitement and devotion. These character couples are so happy in these stories. Rarely would I see them get married and actually have a life together, but the euphoria of that observed “love” made the marriage and spending the rest of your life with that person not matter. I was convinced that this is how life really ...

 So I want to help you young adults desire to get married and have families, right? Well, this all starts with dating and preparing for marriage. I have felt in the past that marriage seems like more work. My view of marriage consists of two people that thought they were in love long ago, and are stuck together. It has been a big fear of mine to choose the wrong person to spend the rest of my life with. I am sure this is what many peoples fear as well. I have served a mission for my church. This is where I spen t 18 months in a different part of the world teaching others about what I believe in. As I spent this time with different kinds of people, I was able to observe different situations of marriage and family. Many things struck me as aspects of marriage and family that I want to implement IF I get married, and aspects that I will not have in my life. Some of my previous misconceptions of marriage are, marriage is a one-sided love, marriage is a big mess of miscommunication, be...

 This might be a controversial topic, but in this entry I will be discussing divine roles of men and women and how that builds families. I was reading a talk about how God loves us enough to have a perfect plan for us. I know this is true. Dallin H. Oaks says this about men and women, "Fundamental to us is God’s revelation that exaltation can be attained only through faithfulness to the covenants of an eternal marriage between a man and a woman. That divine doctrine is why we teach that “gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” It is important for young adults to know that marriage and family is pure happiness. It is not only the way that God designed it, but I believe that marriage between a man and a women will bring the most happiness. When I didn't want anything to do with marriage or building a family of my own, I didn't truly understand the weight and importance marriage and family have. But, after lea...