He's My Favorite... Most of the Time

I  hope I am wrong about this, but I think that every couple has their issue.  A gridlock issue, one that comes up and will end up in a fight or at the very least some tension. The issue for Joe and me is my family.   Luckily for him, my family lives across the country from us so it doesn’t affect us too much. I think my history made the reading about creating healthy relationships with in laws and extended family really stick out to me.   I loved Elder Ashton’s words, “ Certainly a now-married man should cleave unto his wife in faithfulness, protection, comfort, and total support, but in leaving father, mother, and other family members, it was never intended that they now be ignored, abandoned, shunned, or deserted. They are still family, a great source of strength, a refuge, a delight, and an eternal unit.” Joe loves to make the joke that I would make the perfect wife, if I was an orphan without siblings.  He says it in jest but I think he may r...

President Henry B. Eyring said, “ Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit together. That union in love is not simply an ideal. It is a necessity.” How do you go about having your heart knit together in a marriage?  Why is it important or as President Eyring says a necessity?    Joe wears Tevas to church.  I feel guilty if I walk through a chapel in pants.  Joe firmly believes that the band Phish has produced the best music in the universe.  I love to listen to the cheesiest pop music out there. Joe at his root feels the need to challenge authority and I am totally one to comply.  How does a couple who are so different achieve unity? Despite (or even because of) our differences, Joe and I have achieved a sense of unity or oneness.  He is my person. The one I know who will always have my back. Who thinks I am capable and smart and important.  I love Joe and I respect the heck out of him. He is true to what he bel...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a high moral standard that it expects his members to abide.  The emphasis on moral purity is found in countless talks, lessons, and writings. Fear of not living up to such a high moral standard leads some members to approach sexuality with trepidation. The doctrine of sexuality teaches us that this is a God given power to unite couples and give them a way to connect with each other that they do not share with anyone else.  Prophets throughout the period of the restoration have taught this and yet we as members seem to have missed it a little. Elder Parley P. Pratt a n early leader of the church said, “Our natural affections are planted in us by the Spirit of God, for a wise purpose; and they are the very main-springs of life and happiness—they are the cement of all virtuous and heavenly society—they are the essence of charity, or love; … “There is not a more pure and holy principle in existence than the affect...