Why Family Relations Matter

     Why do we as a culture feel uncomfortable when people bring up the topic of "Sex" or Sexual Intimacy? I think at least in my culture growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I remember having lessons as a youth about the Law of Chastity, one of God's Laws. This Law tells us to not have sex before marriage & to only have sexual relations with your spouse after marriage. I remember these lessons often being pretty awkward or super vague. We would mainly focus on the Law that we shouldn't have sex before marriage, but I remember sometimes wondering what avoiding sex till you were married meant.  How could I apply the law of Chasity to my daily life other than just waiting till marriage? Did that mean you shouldn't talk to a boy until you are old enough to marry? Was being attracted to a boy as a teenager breaking the law of chastity? Should I feel ashamed by having questions about sex or the differences between men's and women’s anat...

  Building a strong marriage relationship is hard and takes a great deal of effort! Before marriage in dating, courtship, and engagement it is so important to be talking with and getting to know your potential spouse. Especially once you get into courtship and engagement you should be establishing some very distinct boundaries or standards for you both in that relationship. These boundaries could include how openly you share private things shared between the couple with people outside the relationship. A boundary could be how one interacts with friends especially friends of the opposite gender. I think these boundaries have to first start from knowing your spouse and understanding what may be a challenge for them. It also goes back to how you perceive things. This is a good opportunity as a couple for you to define what being in a relationship with each other will look like and can even help you grow closer to each other in the process! An important adjustment to establishing stron...

     This week I have had the opportunity to read several articles and attend meetings about dating. I have learned a ton and am hoping that today in my blog that I can address two overarching questions in regard to dating. These questions are, how does our culture see dating today and what impact can that have on our ability to build healthy relationships, and what is actually a good date that can help us build healthy relationships?      To get a sample about how the world sees or prompts dating just take a look at today's popular media. Modern movies, Hallmark shows, popular TV shows, music, and even modern Disney movies have played a huge role in shaping our culture regarding relationships. All these shows portray people meeting in some random way, often getting physical on the first date or soon after meeting, and show romance as being very sexually turned on by each other. Often they show a whirlwind romance and after only knowing each other for a sho...

     Today there are so many confusing voices that are fighting to get us to believe them. There are many hot topics that are always showing up in the news, social media, and in popular TV shows and movies today. These topics often become very heated because each party has its set of beliefs that often contradict or don’t align with others. Lately, there has been a lot of contention about something as simple as what is a family and how we define marriage. Another very common controversy today is in regards to gender and LGBTQ rights. These voices are so loud can be found everywhere we go and look.       In a way in the last couple of years since the huge push recently about LGBTQ rights, it almost feels as though it is wrong to be straight and still believe in traditional marriage between a man and a woman! The world is so focused on promoting our right to be whatever gender role we feel we best fit into that it can often be hard to understand or decid...