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Families Can Be Together Forever

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Finals are done, classes finished and the semester has now drawn to a close. When I started this blog I must confess that I wasn’t exactly thrilled to do it. I think I’m an awkward individual and wondered what I could possibly add to the subject of families that everyone hasn’t already heard or read before. I’m no expert yet, but I believe that we learn best when we teach others and share our personal experiences and apply what it is that we have learned. Some observations I’ve made in my short time in the Marriage and Family major is that no family is 100% perfect and has complete success based on worldly standards.   When I think of the ideal “nuclear family” I think of a family consisting of a mom, dad and at least 1 or more children. This family on the outside appears to have no struggles or challenges. Each family member is intelligent, hardworking, beautiful, talented, has a good career, makes good money and has an active social life. However, this perfect, successful famil
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Parental Learning Curve

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          Have you ever heard the age-old question “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”            As I pondered this question I began to think about Adam and Eve our first parents and the creation of the world. We learn from science that a being or species is created first and then it produces and multiplies. Religion backs this up but explains a bit further. In the scriptures we learn that in six days the Earth was created and on the seventh the Lord rested from His labors. Each day symbolized a new creation, first with the lights and physical Earth, then the animals and finally people. Adam was created and life was breathed into him, then Eve.  Adam the first man signifies the Earth and Eve the first woman, the mother of all living. So, I guess the metaphor of the chicken and the egg is explained and answered by the story of Adam and Eve.           Adam and Eve are the parents of all humanity and from them, thousands of years later you and I are here today. B
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Why Fathers?

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We live in a world where we focus on what is best for me and what I deserve. As woman in history we have typically been discriminated against and treated unfairly and as lesser than men. However, with the feminist movement we have seen the gap between men and women slowly closing. This is a good thing but has created several ill consequences. One being that in our fight for equality we have tried to make ourselves better than men. We should all remember that we are no better than men nor are we worth less than them. It isn’t a matter of who is better or not, but of fulfilling our individual roles together. It bothers me when a man assumes that I cant do something such as lifting a heavy box, some form of construction, etc. However, I don’t often stop to think about how maybe it’s not that he doesn’t think I can’t do it but it is more that he is trying to respect me and serve me because he values me. Women (my-self included), need to stop being offended when a man offers his assis
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Communication

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                     We always hear that communication is key. We've heard it our whole lives in many different settings. If we truly know this and repeat it back to others, why is it then that we don't follow it? I don't know about you guys but I know that clear communication will solve most problems. Why is it then that I don't always remember it in the heat of the moment or i'm too scared due to the repercussions that it may cause to actually use it?           Media forms of communication vary. Thanks to technology we can text, face-time, use social media, email, send letters/ notes, use words, our tone of voice and non-verbal cues. Studies show that 14% of effective communication are words, 35% tone of voice and 51% are non-verbal cues. We need to be aware of how we communicate with one another. We've all heard the saying that "actions speak louder than words". Now we can know the truth of it. Often before someone speaks we can tell how they
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Anxiety and Stress

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      Anxiety is a natural normal healthy response to a perception of danger. It's the reality of my situation that creates my anxiety but it is the perception of the situation that creates the anxiety. When we change our perception we can remove our anxiety. In Doctrine and Covenants section 93   revelation is given through Joseph Smith to the Lords people at the Kirtland temple which states:   “I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness…. And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.” We learn from this scripture that it is important for us to know who and how we worship. It is through coming unto God through His son Jesus Christ that we can know the truth of all things. We can
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Sexual Intimacy and Family

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Sexual intimacy is a precious and sacred gift to be used between a man and a woman lawfully and legally wedded. We learn in the bible  1 Corinthians 7:1-6 which states: "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. 6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment." That scripture is great because it teaches us that man should marry but one wife and a woman one husband
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Adjustments in Marriage           There are a lot of adjustments that happen in marriage that can bring a couple closer together or tear them apart. These changes happen in waves with both highs and lows to any given situation. These adjustments include being newly weds, new parents, parents to adolescents, being an empty nester, parenting adults and death of a spouse. As we move through the phases we learn more about ourselves and our partner. It's important to know that life is a journey that was not meant to be taken alone. As we face the struggles and joys of marriage we must look forward with a perfect brightness of hope.            Many people say that the first year of marriage is the hardest and that adjusting to newly-wed life can be complicated. Previous to marriage both adults are “single” (for this purpose meaning individual) and plan their lives accordingly. However, once married the couple is now considered “one” and they’ll need to adjust their way of think
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