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This week I am a little bit short on words.  I think the blog was a good idea for the class.  I should probably take a look at some of teh other blogs from the class. But I wanted to write about the importance of becoming the person I need to be. I thnk that is the best principle I have learned so far this semester. It is so easy for us in our society to be so selective and picky about other people.  Often times when relationships do not work out we place the blame on others rather than looking at the things in our own lives that we need to do better. Sure, others can improve, but we need to be more proactive in evaluating the things that we need to change.  The articles for the class have been really helpful.  There are a lot of great principles shared.  When it comes down to it, it is all about the action I decide to take.  I think we spend so much time listening to what we need to be doing rather than just doing it. Sometimes I just need to buckle down and do what I need to do. It really is that simple.  Well i know this is short but I really do not have much to say!

 

Marriage Preparation…where can I continue? I am really glad I am in this class. Sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming because there are like a thousand things necessary to have a successful marriage.  And so now as I date it appears I am thinking too hard about the girls I am dating and I think I am even more confused than before.  I also wish that I would have waited to take this class with the lady of my dreams that I am going to marry. I am learning so many great thigns but it’s almost pointless if the other person in the relationship does not know any of these things.  These are just some of my opinions.

Well a few weeks ago I broke up with my girlfriend. It was better in the end. There was no way it would have worked.  However it was a great learning experience and it was good to be able to apply some of the things I had learned in class to my relationship.  So now I’m dating again and I realized how much I really hate dating. There are so many things about it that bug me. I don’t want to sound negative but it is just one of the things I really do not get excited about. 

The relate paper was great. I learned a lot of different things that I need to improve on.  It was also good because I saw many of the strengths that I have as an individual.  Many of these strengths I knew before hand but it is always a nice reminder.  There are always things that we can improve on.  Sometimes when you look to see what you need to improve it can be a bit overwhelming.  Even worse once you see all the areas that you are graded on, you begin to think about the people you date and you try to place a rating on them.  Haha ironically one of my weaknesses is pessimism and one of the strong themes in this blog is pessimism.  I will improve.  I don’t think I am too pessimistic, I think I am honest with my opinions.  I think people too often put on a smiley face about everything and you really can’t tell how these individuals are feeling. 

Finding someone who has the same commitment to living the gospel as I am is really what I am looking for.  If two individuals are committed to living the principles of the gospel and teaching their children these principles, I think they are headed down the right path.  All too often in the church we see husbands leaving their wives because these men did not show their true colors before marrying these women. It is so sad to see.  That is why I like to be open with my opinions. I want people to really see what I am really about. 

The readings this week were themed about the importance of family in society.  The most simple thing that I learned was that children need parents, a mother that is female and not a dude, and a dad. Parents are two people, man and a woman.  Anything else is not morally correct.  The statistics in the different articles clearly proved that children that live in homes with both parents that keep a house of peace have less problems.  It is really sad how the role of family has decreased in importance in American society.  More people are living together without being married. 

Divorce is used as a solution for marriages that have problems.  So many marriages are ending in divorce.  What is sad about this is that parents are being selfish and trying to escape from their problems, rather than facing them head on and solving the problems.  Divorce has an awful effect on children.  Children of divorce are more th an ttwice as likely to have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems as children of intact families.  More children from divorced families drop out of high school.  Adult children of divorce are more likely to experience depresion and their own divorces. 

Children who are raised from a single mother have serious problems as well.  From 1970 to 1996, the number of children living with a single mom increased almost thirty percent. 

One of the big questions is whether family structure or reduced income make the difference in a family.  Research shows that children living with two adults with cohabiting parents or in a step family do no do as well as children living with married, biological parents on a number of variables. 

My biggest desire is to love my future wife forever, and treat her like a queen everyday.  I want to raise my children strong in the gospel.  There are so many challenges that face families and families need to be united in order to conquer these problems.  I have faith that if I do what the Prophets have said about having family home evening, praying and reading scriptures as a family, and serving one another, I will be able to conquer all the challenges I am faced with when I have my own family.  The Proclamation to the Family is such an inspired document and I hope to share it with more people.

The readings for this class have been very helpful and have provided me with great insights into what life is like in marriage.  It's amazing how big of a part that thee gospel plays in successful marriages.  In reality, living the gospel everything.  When we put the Gospel first, we are blessed.  But its so easy to put things out of perspective when we are going through trials.  I loved how Hafen referred to the Parable of the Lost Sheep.  I never thought to apply this parable to marriage.  But you can see how the difference between contractual and covenant marriages would apply this parable.  When the going gets tough, contractual marriages take the easy way out.  One part I liked said "Just because you're having tough problems in your marriage and your family doesn't mean there is something wrong with you." Sometimes in relationships we thing everything should go perfect.  But thats not the case.  There will always be things that come up that we will need to overcome. We cannont put limitations on the amount of good things we do for our partner.  The service and love we render to each other should be without any kind of limit.  In some ways these articles are intimidating because they are straight forward and tell you that marriage is difficult.  But through more preparation I will overcome the doubts that I have.

So far I have enjoyed marriage preparation.  I have learned some interesting things.  My biggest reason for taking this class was that I feared picking someone that I would be with for eternity.  It seems like such an overwhelming decision. But as I have been attending class, I am much more excited to learn more about how I can prepare myself for marriage. 

In the article from Elder Oaks, he shares a scripture from Mormon 9:14 which basically says that if we die in a filthy condition here on earth, we will still be filthy in the next life.  I guess that's how it is with marriage as well.  If I were to marry today, I would be the same person tomorrow when I wake up tomorrow.  Just because I am married doesn't mean my inner self has changed.  That's why I need to prepare now everyday to be prepared for a temple marriage.  During our lives we must become converted.  Conversion is a continual process whereby our hearts our changed and we have no disposition to do evil as the scriptures say. 

President Hinckley speaks of the prevailing problem of divorce.  This talk was given nearly 38 years ago.  Divorce is probably even a bigger problem now.  His conerstones about what a marriage should be built upon are great.  The first one is respect.  Husbands and wives need to see each other for their divine worth.  The second one is that we should speak softly.  The third one is to pay an honest tithe.  And finally families must pray together.  I love how simple these basic principles.  I know in my own life when I actually apply the basic principles of the gospel I am so much happier and I get along with those around me.  When I marry I just need to LIVE these principles and not just read about them and hope that I can live them.

Well, this is my new blog. I have another blog but I decided I wanted to keep that one for my close relatives or unless I disclose the address to all of you who really want to see what I'm about.  Anyways, where to start? Well my name is Matthew Rodriguez. I am a jr at BYU.  I am a European Studies major.  I hope to eventually go into international business.  I was born in California but my family and I eventually ended up in the suburban Chicago area. I am the youngest of three children.  My family is my most important thing to me.  I served a mission in southern Spain and have been home for about a year and four months.  It was a hard experience but I learned so many great things. I love sports, especially football and basketball.  I think this is a great idea to write about my thoughts and opinions on the things I am learning in my marriage prep class.  Why am I taking this class? Well the answer is twofold. One, I'm really nervous about making such a huge decision.  The scriptures say if ye are prepared ye shall not fear! i believe that. So as I continue to prepare I think I will be more excited to committ myself to that lucky lady.  The second reason, well I guess I got blackmailed into taking the class. My ex-girlfriend and I broke up and it was totally my fault. It's a long story so I don't want to get into much details. Needless to say, I wish we had never separated and I told her that I would do anything she wanted so that we could continue to date.  Some of the things included like not texting her for a few weeks, and the other was to take this class.  So here I am, taking marriage prep.  I knew I would eventually like to take this class so why not now? I can't count all the words but I am just praying that this is 300 words!