My first post

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."                                                                                                                                     D&C 64:33         It is through the small and simple things that we make connections and stay connected with the ones we love. The media portrays a very different picture than this. We've all seen this in a romantic comedy, where the man professes his love at a baseball game on the big screen. Or when a woman is wined and dined and they dance till dawn. Or even ...

"Emotionally intelligent couples are intimately familiar with each others world. I call this having a richly detailed love map." - John Gottman          This week I have been reading about John Gottman's love map. (The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, John M. Gottman) We are taught that when we ask questions and come to understand who our spouse is. What their likes and dislikes are we can establish a foundation that will ground our marriage and provide lasting results. As I was reading over some of the quizzes and exercises the Gottmans have put together I realized how some are the questions were ones I have never thought to ask not only my ex. But even friends or my children. I think it is so easy to get caught up in life and the hustle and bustle that we don't take the time to really get to know the ones we love. As we really get to know people in a deep and intimate way we develop admiration, and fondness for them. We are also better at recogni...

         "The central finding of Gottman's research ( Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (2015). The seven principles for making marriage work (2nd ed.). New York: Harmony Books.)  is that strong marriages have strong friendship as a defining characteristic. In fact, Gottman's whole book has to do with building friendship and dealing with conflict in healthy ways so that it does not negatively affect friendship."             When I think of friendship I think of love, sacrifice, respect, time, and commitment. I think of having a connection and caring with deep empathy. When we value a friendship or a relationship we are focus is on bettering the relationship and on the other person's well being. We care more about the relationship then we do about being right, or taking offense, or holding a grudge.            I recently experienced this when my sister and I got into a conflict. We we...

“Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:11)            Being divorced naturally puts you in a position to think about marriage. Questions like where did I go wrong? What If I had done this....or If he hadn't done that? Did I try hard enough? And maybe I should have seen the red flags before I married him. Are all thoughts that have gone through my mind. Divorce is awful and a way that Satan works today to make many people miserable like unto himself. That being said as I was reading this week about covenant marriage within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Yes I had one of these before my divorce) some things stood out to me that haven't before. In 2006 Elder David A. Bednar gave a talk about the sacredness of marriage. He also explained how important a man and women's unique combination of capabilities are important in not only Marriage, and raising children but in the Plan of Salva...