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So this semester is coming to a close, and my Preparation for Marriage class is almost over.  I have learned so much from this class.  We have gone over many different aspects of dating, engagement, weddings, and the marriage itself that can be a change for the better in people's lives if they will but apply the teachings.  I learned that the best way to ensure a happy marriage is to prepare myself now for those blessings.  I cannot expect to find a perfect man if I do not become a perfet woman.  Now of course none of us can become truly perfect, but I need to develop in myself those characteristics and traits that I desire in my future husband.  I can learn how to date and court properly now so that I do not mess up and get into trouble.  I can find a worthy man who can take me to the temple, thus opening up our lives to receive numerous and countless blessings from the Lord.  Then, I can apply other principles that I have learned to my marriage.  We have recently discussed finances, conflict, and other things that are important for any couple to know.  By remembering and putting to use this knowledge, my married life can run much smoother.  And, most importantly, I and my future husband must remember to put God first in our lives and relationships.  God is the only one who should come first.  When we remember Him, we will be blessed and our marriage will be blessed.  Any other aspects that we may be struggling may seem to fall into place and work themselves out as we remember the Lord in all that we do.  I am thankful for the knowledge and happiness that this gospel has brought into my life, and for this wonderful class that has taught me so much about this most important ordinance that I can make.

Recently in my Preparation for Marriage class, we have discussed "virtues of marriage."  These virtues included the virtue of generosity, the virtue of loyalty, and the virtue of fairness.  These are all important values and traits that a healthy relationship needs to foster.
The virtue of fairness is fostered when their is an equal partnership between the spouses.  They share the responsibilities and work that marriage involves, whether that be housework or family work.  This makes it fair, so that one spouse does not become overwhelmed with too much and the other one does not help out.
The virtue of generosity is when spouses give freely to each other.  They are generous and do not hold back whether on material things, spiritual things, or emotional aspects.  They cannot hold anything back from each other, and full forgiveness should be given for any minor misdeeds.
The virtue of loyalty involves commitment.  Commitment to God, to the relationship, and to self.  This also involves sacrifice.  Spouses should be devoted to each other and not let anyone or anything else take priority over each other.
If spouses are able to master these 3 virtues, they have a much better chance of having a happy and successful relationship.  It is vital to the eternal aspect of that marriage.

Recently in the past several days, I have been thinking a lot about marriage and what I personally believe about it, so this week I decided that I would simply bear my testimony about it in my blog. I believe that marriage is ordained of God, that he wants his children to find a good companion and be married for all eternity. Celestial marriage is one of the greatest gifts that we have been given. Because of it, we are allowed to be sealed to our loved ones forever. My goal is to find a good and worthy partner who I love, and go to the temple to be sealed together as husband and wife. As I search for an eternal companion, one of the important things that I will be looking for will be a desire and ability to go to the temple. It is not enough for me to simply find someone that I love and be married just anywhere. I still think that one can find great joy in this life with a partner that they love, but I want my own marriage and love to be extended far past this life and into eternity. And with a temple marriage, my children can also be sealed to me and my husband, and we can become an eternal family. Family is the most important thing in this world, and I would not want to be civilly married without that sacred blessing, I would be afraid to have children if I knew that they would not be sealed to me for forever. Eternal life is too great of a promise to lose by choosing to be wed anywhere except God's holy temple. As long as we live our lives righteously and worthily, that blessing can be ours for eternity.

I was doing reading for my class, and found one article in particualar quite interesting.  It was called Personal Identity, Individuality, and Belonging.  We are all unique individuals.  in the gospel, the doctrine of every person having their own individual worth is stressed.  Every soul has a divine potential.  We must gain testimonies for ourselves; we are not able to lean on others for that.  Each individual has a place in the church, and in the Lord's kingdom, and no soul is not worth saving.  Great work and effort goes into finding every person for temple records so that their work can be done.  That is one of the most important aspects of the gospel of Christ, to save every soul because every soul is worth more than anything else in the world.  We must gain knowledge and appreciation for this great gift, and for the wonderful gift of agency that allows us to become our own individual person who makes their own decisions.  But even with the great importance of the individual, belonging is also immensely powerful.  We all belong to some sort of a group, whether it be a church group or a class.  We need to be around people like us, who can help strengthen, support, and guide us on the path of righteousness, and we need to be there for others to do the same for them when they are in need.  If we strive to live and work together, we can make it so much farther than if we simply had to rely on ourselves alone.  Most of all, we need Christ's help in reaching our full potential.  Without him in our lives, nothing that we strive to accomplish will be of any lasting significance.  If we keep him and the gospel the central part of our life, we cannot go wrong.

In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, the First Presidency of the Church set out clear guidelines and principles about the roles of husbands and wives, both respectively and together, in the home.  Husbands are to protect and provide for the family.  Protect in both the physical aspect of keeping them safe from harm, and also in the spiritual aspect.  He is the priesthood holder and leader in the home, and is responsible for his family's spiritual well being.
Mothers on the other hand, are to love, teach, and nurture their children.  Women have been blessed with a special God-given gift of sensitivity and love.  They are responsible for teaching their children goodness and truth.  A child grows up to be much the same person as they were taught to be at home when they were young, so it is incredibly important for mothers to teach them things of righteousness and the truth and power of the gospel.
Husbands and wives also have joint responsibilities in the home.  They need to work together to support each other in their righteous endeavors in the home.  It is close to impossible to create a successful and righteous home if both parents do not work together to create it.  That is another reason why it is so important to choose carefully who your spouse will be for eternity.  But if both spouses work together than a happy and righteous home to the Lord can be built up.

As nearly everyone in the Latter Day Saint community knows, our beloved Prophet and President of our Church recently passed away this past week. We all mourn for his passing and our hearts are going out to his family and loved ones. He was one of the funniest, kindest, and wisest people there ever was and of course he will be missed. Even though he was 97 years old, his death still came as a bit of a shock to me. He has enjoyed wonderful health and activity in his old age and kept going strong to the end. There is a great website about the life and service of the Prophet at

http://www.mormonwiki.com/Gordon_B._Hinckley.

I was just on there and it is a great source of information about this wonderful man.

As sad as we all are at President Hinckley's death, one of the happiest and most powerful truths of the gospel is the principle of celestial marriage and eternal families. We know that it is possible to be with our loved ones for the rest of eternity, and that family bonds and love do not stop at death. This life is merely the beginning to the rest of our life. When someone we love or deeply respect and admire passes away, it is easy to become bitter or question God. But through the Atonement of Christ and by living in accordance to God's will as best we can, these barriers can be overcome. It is so comforting to know that it does not all just end at death, and that there is so much more to follow to rejoice about and look forward to. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the source of the greatest hope and joy in my life, and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to hear and learn this word.

 

Tags: Celestial Marriage Eternal Families President Hinckley

This week in my Prep for Marriage class, we discussed a bit on how marriage is a process, not an event. A marriage is about much more than the actual wedding.  The person you marry will be the same person the day after the wedding as they were the day before the wedding.  We cannot expect either our or our spouses' faults to suddenly disappear after the wedding, or overlook them by assuming that it will be easy to change.  Now definitely people do change throughout a marriage, but they are still the same person as before.  Something that I thought was interesting that was mentioned in class was how we should keep our eyes fully opened before marriage and half shut afterwards, meaning that we should make ourselves fully aware of all the characteristics, including the faults, of our partner.  But as the marriage progresses being constantly, fully aware of every little fault is not healthy.  So our eyes should be half shut, so we notice what can be improved on but not to the point that we make a big deal about something that is really not important.  Marriage is a sacred covenant and should not become a chore that we must endure.

I just started taking a Preparation for Marriage class at BYU. So far it has been a great class and I have already learned quite a bit. We read an article from an apostle in class about how the media, in particular the Internet, can be used to spread the gospel to more people. The Internet is an amazing tool to access information about anything that you could possibly wish to know about. There is quite a bit of anti-Mormon literature out there, and it is important that there is also something that refutes their claims and says what it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints really believes. We have been encouraged to put out as much information as we can about our beliefs as Latter-Day Saints. I think this is a great opportunity to help people become more educated. For my first entry I would just like to bear my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. By following it my life has been so enriched and blessed, and I have been so grateful to have this knowledge in my life. Nothing could be more important to me. I look forward to learning more about the gospel in this class and am excited to see my testimony grow.

Tags: Internet Gospel