Nurturing Relationships (week 6)

Henry B. Eyring said: "Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us
along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life,
hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others.
There is no surprise in that, since the Lord proclaimed those as the first and
great commandments. It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments.
And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him. 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.
And the sorrow comes primarily from selfishness, which is the absence of love.
The ideal God holds for us is to form families in the way most likely to lead to
happiness and away from sorrow. A man and a woman are to make sacred
covenants that they will put the welfare and happiness of the other at the center
of their lives. Children are to be born into a family where the parents hold the
needs of children equal to their own in importance. And children are to love
parents and each other. That is the ideal of a loving family."

This picture is of my nephews

Negative moments (week 5)

This week is all about the things we do wrong in a marriage. When we look for ways to bring our partner down instead of build them up is when we create a problem. I was reading in Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage by H. Wallace Goddard, PhD he said,"For most people, marriage is sometimes a refuge from the storm. At other times marriage is the storm where cold squalls and pitching decks test our balance and determination as we seek the promised land of marital harmony." Marriage can be unbalanced when we look for ways to make the other feel bad. Goddard said when we ask questions like,"Why in the world did you do that when you know we decided to do otherwise?" In asking such a question, I am not humbly seeking insight; I am seeking to humiliate my partner. I am acting like a lawyer looking for a conviction. That is not a good way to strengthen a relationship. We sometimes are so concerned about being right in an argument that we fail to be good"

Goddard also said,"Success in marriage is much like the healing at Bethesda (see John 5: 1-15). An invalid waited by the side of the pool with hopes of being healed by the magical waters. But it was Jesus who healed him. It was not the waters of the pool but the Water of Life that cured him. Many of us sit by the pool of the world's wisdom hoping to have our marriages healed. But it is Jesus only, Him and His truths-that transforms our marriages from crippled relationships to walking, working, dancing partnerships."

Temple Marriage (week 4)

This week the reading was on temple marriage and it's importance.

From the reading “The Fullness of the Priesthood” by President Joseph Fielding Smith, “I do not care what office you hold in the Church - - you may be an apostle, you may be a patriarch, a high priest, or anything else -- but you cannot receive the fullness of the priesthood and the fullness of eternal reward unless you receive the ordinances of the house of the Lord; and when you receive these ordinances, the door is then open so you can obtain all the blessings which any man can gain.”

A question was asked in a talk by Elder David A. Bednar “Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan" - In my own life, am I striving to become a better husband or a wife, or preparing to be a husband or a wife, by understanding and applying these basic principles? 

To answer that question; I try everyday to live my life so that one day I can be sealed for time and all eternity with a man the has also lived up to these principles. I believe for me marrige will not happen in this life for me but in Heaven if I live worthily Heavenly Father will grant me the same blessings as everyone else. 

Same sex Marriage (week 3)

”THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to
Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife.
We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish
the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the
sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman,
lawfully wedded as husband and wife. THE FAMILY is ordained of God.
Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are
entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and
a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.” - Proclamation to the World

This week we read the court proceedings of the SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
on gay marriage. They concluded that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in
the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the
Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.  
The judges against changing the law had this to say “The human race must procreate to survive.
Procreation occurs through sexual relations between a man and a woman.
When sexual relations result in the conception of a child, that child’s prospects are
generally better if the mother and father stay together rather than going their separate ways.
Therefore, for the good of children and society, sexual relations that can lead to procreation
should occur only between a man and a woman committed to a lasting bond.”  
To bad their voice was not heard.

This week was about divorce. My parents got divorced 22 yrs ago I was 18. Now you would think that's old enough to not really care or no big deal, but at any age I think it affects you. My dad has remarried but my mom has not. Because we were mostly all older (I have 5 sisters) none of us lived with them or had to have that discussion about who we were going to live with so I think that helped. She didn't become our step mom, she didn't take that roll. Do I wish they would of stayed together sure but more in the since that now I'm just like everyone else whose parents couldn't make it work. In school I felt special because my parents were together still. Life move on.

The State of our Unions: Marriage in America 2012 “Marriage helps to unite the needs and desires of couples and the children their unions produce. Because marriage fosters small cooperative unions—otherwise known as stable families—it not only enables children to thrive, but also shores up communities, helping family members to succeed during good times and to weather the bad times. Even small changes in the rates of marriage and marital stability in America would reduce suffering for children and their families and yield significant cost savings for taxpayers. For example, in 2008 a team led by economist Ben Scafidi suggested that even very modest increases in stable marriage rates would result in large savings for taxpayers. These scholars calculated that if family fragmentation were reduced by just 1 percent, U.S. taxpayers would save an estimated $1.1 billion annually.” Alma Phipps & Associates

Ensign 2007 “Divorce" by Elder Oaks, “Nations that had no divorce law have adopted one, and most nations permitting divorces have made them easier to obtain. Unfortunately, under current no-fault divorce laws, it can be easier to sever a marriage relationship with an unwanted spouse than an employment relationship with an unwanted employee. Some even refer to a first marriage as a “starter marriage,” like a small home one uses for a while before moving on. I strongly urge you and those who advise you to face up to the reality that for most marriage problems, the remedy is not divorce but repentance. Often the cause is not incompatibility but selfishness. If our bodies are sick, we seek to heal them. We do not give up. While there is any prospect of life, we seek healing again and again. The same should be true of our marriages, and if we seek Him, the Lord will help us and heal us.”