Preparing for Marriage

This week's material has been one that I was looking forward to. My major is Marriage and Family so this subject really interested me.

In Hanging Out, Hooking Up, and Celestial Marriage, it says, "Have faith in God and Father and in His Son. They will guide and strengthen us because we are on Their errand of creating eternal families and raising children in righteousness."As individuals, we come across many bumps in the road when it comes to starting a family. Whether it be having a hard time finding a significant other, being infertile, or being financially unstable, there are frequent changes in our plans. I have a strong testimony that if we have faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, what is meant to happen will happen. Our greatest goal is to make it back to Heavenly Father with our families.

It is apparent that dating in high school, and sometimes after, means that "you want to marry that person." In my high school, I noticed that a lot of guys would not ask girls on dates because they didn't want them to think that they wanted a serious relationship out of this, and I am sure that a lot of people you have seen experience the same thing. However, JeaNette Goates Smith's article, Casual Dating is Alive and Well, she disagrees. She states that "the most common lament I hear from single women both young and old is that men don't ask girls out on dates anymore." For some people, dating seems dead. It is interesting to see that the idea of dating has been morphed and that it is not an easy discussion to talk about. How can this issue be resolved?

Cohabitation is an increasing trend in America today. In Selecting a Life Partner written by , it says about cohabitation, "this number will no doubt continue to grow. A survey of adolescents found that they expect to cohabit at some point in their future." I think that it is important to remember that we look into ourselves and find our own personal values. Whether you are LDS or not, I know that it is important for everyone to have set goals in mind to find the perfect spouse for them.


Sources:
Hanging Out, Hooking up, and Celestial Marriage: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/bruce-a-chadwick_hanging-hooking-celestial-marriage/
Casual Dating is Alive and Well: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/bruce-a-chadwick_hanging-hooking-celestial-marriage/
Selecting a Life Partner: https://byui.brightspace.com/content/enforced/287582-Campus.2017.Fall.FAML160/FAML%20160%2001,%2014/Lesson%2005-%20Preparing%20for%20Marriage/Lauer%20%26%20Lauer,%20Chapter%2007%20-%20Selecting%20a%20Life%20Partner.pdf