Parenting with Love, Limits, and Latitude: Proclamation Principles and Supportive Scholarship

The chapter that I studied this week was titled Parenting with Love, Limits, and Latitude: Proclamation Principles and Supportive Scholarship. The text says, “in the course of teaching and nurturing children in a family setting, parents can learn and grow by practicing godly virtues that lead to sanctification.” To assist parents in meeting their family responsibilities, the Lord has given commandments, guiding principles, and helpful examples in the scriptures, along with the counsel of modern-day prophets and apostles.

Each individual in the world has different interests, personalities, and behaviors. These interact with what has not been revealed to us. We have been blessed with individual talents and unique abilities to be disciples of Christ, and it is important that we make the choice to show that and display our love towards Heavenly Father for blessing us with those things.

In the text it states, “research exploring genetic contributions to children’s development suggests that children may select, modify and even create their own environments according to their biological predispositions. Whatever the nature and disposition of a given child, wise parents work to adjust, relate to, and rear each child in a manner that is somewhat tempered to individual needs as parents and children learn from each other.”

When it comes to rearing children with love and righteousness, we must remember that this involves loving, teaching, and guiding them with an emphasis on teaching and preparing children rather than unrighteously controlling their wills. In order to promote optimal development, it is important to show your children love/warmth/support, show them clear and reasonable expectations, limit their boundaries with some room for compromise, form appropriate consequences, give them opportunities to make their own choices, have the absence of coercive, hostile forms of discipline, and be a model of appropriate behavior that is consistent with self-control, positive values, and positive attitudes.

Foundational Processes for an Enduring, healthy Marriage

The chapter that I studied this week is titled Foundational Processes for an Enduring, Healthy Marriage. Spencer W. Kimball states, “while marriage is difficult, and discordant and frustrated marriages are common, yet real, lasting happiness is possible, and marriage can be more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive. This is within the reach o every couple, every person.”

The first foundational process explained for a healthy marriage is having personal commitment to the marriage covenant. The text says, “marriage is a purposeful, divinely created relationship not merely social custom, and that couples have God-given covenant obligations to one another.” Elder David A. Bednar has created a diagram that shows the importance of the relationship between husband, wife, and Heavenly Father.

The second foundational process is love and friendship. The proclamation explains that husband and wife have the responsibility to love and care before any other marital obligation or virtue. The text explains it as, “marriage lights the way and draws attention to other virtues couples may wish to foster in their marriage.” For a couple to have a nurturing and loving friendship, they can get in sync with their partner’s love preferences, talk as friends, respond to bids for connection, and set goals for couple interaction.

The third foundational process is positive interaction. Positive emotions toward one’s spouse are vital to a healthy marriage. Negative emotions, if they occur frequently and are allowed to deepen, can threaten a marriage. To enhance positive interaction in marriage, focus on your spouse’s positive qualities.

The next three foundational processes are accepting influence from one’s spouse, respectfully handling differences and solving problems, and continuing courtship through the years. To conclude, the text states, “be intentional about doing things every day to enrich the marriage, and to spend at least 5 hours a week strengthening your relationship.

The ABCs of Successful Romantic Relationship Development: Meeting, Dating, and Choosing an Eternal Companion

The chapter I studied this week was called The ABCs of Successful Romantic Relationship Development: Meeting, Dating, and Choosing an Eternal Companion. The letter “A” stands for awareness of or acquaintance with another person, “B” is the buildup of a relationship, “C” is continuation following commitment to long-term relationship, “D” is deterioration or decline in the interdependence of the couple, and “E” stands for ending of the relationship.

In the text, Thomas S. Monson explains that we must prepare for success in finding an eternal companion. However, many experiences exert an influence on your success in meeting and choosing an eternal mate, including family experiences throughout childhood, adolescent experiences with other significant people in your life, and things that are happening in your current environment. He asks the question, how do we come to terms with negative experiences in our families? He says, “while therapy, good books, and good role models outside the family are helpful, ultimately, the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement, are the most powerful agents of change.”

On a physical note, signs of depression, anxiety, and immaturity in both partners have negative effects on the relationship satisfaction of both partners. It can be said the other way as well, that the more positive and kind each person is, the more satisfied they are with their relationship. After taking care of issues from your family and peer relationships, you then make efforts to initiate relationships with the opposite sex.

When it comes to qualities you want in a husband, it can be hard to discern between what characteristics are good and which ones are bad. Elder Richard G. Scott states in the text, “a possible mate should have a deep love of the Lord and His commandments and a determination to live them. A possible mate should also be kindly understanding, forgiving of others, and willing to give of self, with the desire to have a family crowned with beautiful children and a commitment to teach them the principles of truth in the home.”

Drawing Specific Inspiration from the Proclamation

This is the last blog post that I am going to create for this class! It is bittersweet, because this class has been such a great learning journey!

The chapter that I studied in "Successful Marriages and Families" is called, Drawing Specific Inspiration from the Proclamation.

President Boyd K. Packer says, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World... is scripture-like in its power... Read the proclamation... and you'll find answers there. And the answers that are there are the answers of the Church." The most important thing from this quote is that The Family  is there to give us answers. I look to it frequently throughout my life to find answers, and I find something new every time.

By divine design, fathers are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In this, mothers and fathers should work together towards raising their children. Throughout the journey of life, it is relevant that there are hard times and challenges, but we can always find happiness through these things.

In the Proclamation, it talks about how children are entitled to be raised by a mother and a father. I like to think of a mother and a father as 2 separate puzzle pieces. Men have different roles than women, and without the other, they would not be able to give their children what they need!

I would like to end with a great quote from the reading. It states, "there's something that... when as a family your hearts are pointed together toward the same thing, and it's God, then parenting and economics and space and food and disagreements and hassles and joys and celebrations and all that other stuff... it works different, it seems different, it feels different... Our family is all oriented in the same way. Christ is king, He's the center, He's what it's all about... Our faith informs our relationships and everything about us."

The Eternal Family: A Plain and Precious Part of the Plan of Salvation

Most of the time on my posts, I refrain from being too spiritual because I want to be able to entice a large audience. However, this lesson is so important and can help anyone on this earth that is struggling. It is relevant that we all use our blessings and divine personalities to draw closer to the Lord in these Latter-Days.

This chapter focuses on the importance of the Plan of Salvation. This is one of my favorite chapters that I have studied in my class so far! The beginning of the chapter states, "the family is central to the creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children... In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life."

From the beginning of time, we were spirits in heaven and we were spirit sons and daughters. I love that one of our purposes on earth and our mortal life is to realize our divine talents and destiny in this life. One of the many blessings that we have on this earth is that we have the priesthood, which allows us to be able to be sealed together as families! Each of is in this life have a mission to perform, and these include being a wife, mother, daughter, friend, and sister. Fulfilling our specific roles in this life will bring us closer to the Lord and make us feel happy and accomplished in our doings.

It is important that we are using our individual talents to bless our lives, and help us feel accomplished and important. The reading states, "God and His plan are eternal. He instituted marriage and family in the beginning. God created the earth, the garden, and our first parents in order to create families for all of His children to be born into and experience mortal life- especially mortal family life." Whether you are religious or not, I encourage all of you guys to look into your own lives and your own talents, and use those things to feel accomplished and make your time in this life worthwhile.

Defending the Sanctity of Human Life

"We affirm the sanctity of life and its importance in God's eternal plan," -Cynthia L. Hallen

The chapter that I read this week in Successful Marriages and Families was titled "Defending the Sanctity of Human Life." The phrase "sanctity of life" is used by people who have concerns about life-related issues such as abortion on demand, birth control, capital punishment, and euthanasia.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints declares the sanctity of human life, stating, "we deplore the practice of partial-birth abortion which destroys innocent life, and we condemn and oppose it as one of the most revolting and sinful practices of our day."

What is life? Why is life sacred? Why is life important in God's eternal plan? Life can be defined as a condition of sustained regenerative activity, energy, expression, or power that human beings and other animate creatures experience. One of the earliest meanings of the word "sacred" has to do with the consecration of the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament. Life is sacred because Jesus Christ is the ultimate source or fountain of life through His work in the Creation and through His sacrifice in the Atonement. Human life is sacred because human bodies are temples, and all flesh is in the Lord's hands.

The Proclamation states, "we call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family." The reading explains that church members have the right to speak out on moral issues such as abortion and to support public policy that coincides with moral beliefs.

I challenge all of you to speak up for what you believe in and be advocated of Christ!

Wholesome Family Recreation: Building Strong Families

My husband and I LOVE going to movies! In fact, we had a movie theater themed wedding. This chapter, titled "Wholesome Family Recreation: Building Strong Families," caught my attention because I have always been the type of person to love to do out and do fun things with my family and the ones that I love!

This chapter states, "successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." Recreation is easy because we all have things that we love to do! Especially today, there is an infinite number of activities that us as individuals like to do in our free time. It becomes a problem when we are looking for instant satisfaction all the time. During this lifetime, it is not the goal to be constantly entertained. We sometimes have to do things that we do not want to do, so it is important that when we are entertaining ourselves, it is with wholesome activities.

Research shows that seeking more comfortable or pleasurable circumstances is likely to only bring temporary happiness. We seek pleasure or comfort, thinking it will make us happy, but soon become accustomed to the new pleasure or comfort and then continue to seek something more appealing.

Lastly, I would like to share a quote from the material that stood out to me the most:

"In truth, happiness is not all that it's cracked up to be, and most people don't really want to be happy all the time anyway. People often choose to go to movies or operas that are very unsettling- that terrify, sadden, disgust, or anger them. There is something about experiencing these emotions, whether in the safe and comfortable context of a theater or at a dangerous mountain pass in the Himalayas that is appealing to many people... the true meaning of being alive is not just to feel happy but to experience the full range of human emotions."

I know that doing things that we love is so healthy. I challenge all of you guys to find something that you love, and strive to do it at least once a week because it will help you become happier with other aspects of your life!