Let's Talk About Family!

Family Crucibles  Elder Christofferson states that trials are inevitable (2022). The heartache and pain of the loss of a baby, a divorce, and maybe the loss of a friend can bring great tears and pain. Doctor Jeffrey Hill writes of more possible family hardships, "extreme marital conflict (shouting, throwing things), marital abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), depression (one or both spouses)... serious problems with inlaws... children who never marry... natural disaster..." (Hill, 2004) and the list goes on.  My dad taught me since I was a little girl that "trials can either make you bitter or better." That phrase used to irritate me because I heard it often. As I've grown older, I've understood the reality of that phrase. When a trial occurs or a family crucible happens, we have the choice to either grow closer to each other and God or to drift further apart. You may be thinking "easy for you to say! This trial is more than I can bare and you don'...

"In almost every facet of our prosperous, contemporary lifestyle, we strive for the ease associated with Eden. . . . Back to Eden is not onward to Zion.”  (Bahr, 2021) In this blog I am talking about family work. Throughout time, the definition of work, play, and leisure has changed. People view recreation far different than they did in the past. Work nowadays takes fathers and mothers away from the home. In the 1800s, work was in the home. Conversations and family togetherness time looked like planting a garden, making the meals, feeding the animals, and making things from home. They got to spend time with their families doing these things. The idea of a public parks for kids to play on did not even develop until 1830s. People wouldn't go out on boats for vacation. Their family fun was sledding in their backyard on a homemade wood sled. Their family time was working in the yard next to dad. If you've ever tried gardening or working long enough with someone, you find that ...

"I told you so!" "I thought you said you wanted to join." "Why are you giving me that face?" "Why are you being so difficult?" Everyday brings new challenges, yet new opportunities to communicate with one another. We have the chance to choose how we will respond and interact. Problems can occur when parents disagree or have troubles making big family decisions. Children are often striving to get their way. Little problems and miscommunications come up everyday. Yet opportunities of love and affection come up everyday. Words and intention can either destroy or build up. Through words we express our emotions and thoughts.  In 2019, an article was posted stating that "a ccording to a recent study by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), communication problems were the number one reason for divorce in the United States.  The study stated that about 67.5 percent of all marriage failed because of a breakdown of communication.  The re...

What is truth? "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come... the Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: he received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth." - Doctrine and Covenants 93:24 & 26  What more do we learn about truth in Doctrine and Covenants section 93?  "All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence... Light and truth forsake the evil one... Bring up your children in light and truth." - D&C 93:30, 37, & 40 My teacher pointed out that, when dealing with depression and anxiety, people often get upset when he says they can change. Why is this? Because they think "oh, so you're saying I am responsible for what is happening to me? I am responsible for all this awfulness?" No. It is very natural to be that way. That is a very natural resp...

  "Just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered us the family as an example of an ideal setting in which we can learn how to love as He loves. That is because the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is." -President Henry B. Eyring In class, we discussed the topic of educating your child about sexual relations within marriage.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a handy website that is the "Parent's Guide" to handling these topics.  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/a-parents-guide?lang=eng It talks about teaching your children from their young age, the importance of gender. "From the very beginning, the child’s life is influenced by gender as he or she learns the central role of being a male or ...

This week in class we talked about engagements, newly weds, and young couples. I particularly love talking about children. This question came up. Does having children strengthen or weaken a marriage relationship? Many statistics stated yes. But our class discussed that it could go either way depending on how you handle it. This is like trials in our lives. You can see them as a blessing and a joy. It can either make your relationship bitter or better (stronger or weaker). My teacher mentioned how he grew closer to his wife as she included him in the process of pregnancy. They went together to the ultrasounds she showed him when the baby kicked. It's been shown and my teacher has found in his therapy sessions he gives that husbands have a tendency to feel distanced when the baby is born. Wives cling to their mother instead of strengthening their relationship with their spouse. The husband wants to feel needed. As he is more involved in the pregnancy process, he will be more involved...