My first post

                            As I have been learning about marriage this year, I have learned many things. Including many reasons why marriage is important. And many of the reasons were ones I've heard. And while they are very important and helpful one of the most important things I have learned is that marriage is given and required of us to perfect us. The Lord instituted marriage because he knew that it was the perfect way to refine and perfect us and prepare us to return to him. One way that we are perfected and refined is by "becoming one".                President Henry B. Eyring talks about this in his talk titled  That We May Be One . He says, "The ministry of the apostles and prophets in that day, as it is today, was to bring the children of Adam and Eve to a unity of the faith in Jesus Christ. The ultimate purpose of what they taught, and of what w...

                      The Truth about Intimacy             I recently had a conversation with my son that may surprise, or possibly bring judgment or a feeling of being uncomfortable among the LDS community. I brought up the subject of sex and intimacy between my son and his future wife. And thought there was a little squirming my son and I are very open, so by the end of the conversation he wasn't squirming and even asking question. The reason I felt that this was important was because I believed that many are ignorant in understanding sex within a marriage and how to bring intimacy into their marriage in a sacred  and important way. I believe many young adults feel a sense of shame or ickiness around this subject, so this confusion can cause problems in a new marriage. I also am saddened by what the world teaches about this. And I would rather my son hear it from me than the media,...

         Changing our Relationships By Changing Ourselves          This week I finished a book by H. Wallace Goddard called, " Drawing  Heaven into Your Marriage: Eternal Doctrines that Change Relationships" This was a book that I was required to read for a Mar riage class that I am taking. And to be quite honest I didn't have the best attitude when I first began it since my divorce is still fresh. But I made the decision to go into it with a open mind clear of feelings of resentment or guilt. I'm so glad I did! Not only did I learn important information that may help with a marriage one day. But what I learned was how to better myself. What I learned was that the key to having a happy marriage has nothing to do with changing our spouse. But everything to do with changing ourselves. And we do this by becoming humble and relying on the atonement of Jesus Christ.           H. Wallace Goddard (200...

    "A cunning part of [Satan’s] strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control."                                                       Lynn G. Robbins, “Agency and Anger,”                   Growing up I had a very happy and good childhood. I come from a family of loving parents who loved the Lord and were good people. As a child I never gave to much thought about the amount of tension or anger that we had in our home. After I was married and began to have kids I realized that I came from a home where uncontrolled anger sometimes took a toll. One of the things that made me realize this was noticing how I struggled to control my temper. Then after my divorce while I was living with my parents I have come to notice this u...

            Have you ever had an experience that forever changed you?   For me this experience was one that lasted years and ended in a divorce, and starting over by myself with my four kids. And I wouldn't change this experience for anything. Because through this experience I was humbled and because of this humility I was able to come to know my Savior and his plan in a way I don't think I could have otherwise. I gained a peace and a strength I didn't know was possible, and it came in a simple and loving way.             For years I felt alone and frustrated with what seemed like mountain after mountain in front of me. I have always been a problem solver, determined, and rarely gave up. I have always had the mentality that I could overcome anything. These qualities served me well in life. Until I faced a problem that I couldn't fix on my own. During this time I had  friend mention maybe pride was the is...