Preparation
Articles & Videos
This is an article by Elder Lance B. Wickman of the Quorum of the Seventy. He discusses how we can turn fear into faith in the marriage decision.
Here is a link to an article by Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He talks about how we can develop ourselves into quality people, which brings us closer to our Heavenly Father, something that is critical and important in establishing and maintaining an eternal marriage.
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I think the world and even the LDS culture is becoming quite confused in how we can reach marriage. They emphasize soul mate finding and finding the one that fits all of your list of needs and desirable traits for a future spouse. I can remember in Young Women’s, every once in awhile we would have a lesson about preparing for marriage and they would have us make a list of traits we would want in our future husband. It was very enjoyable creating these dream lists but consequently, these lists are unrealistic. We should not be making lists of what qualifies a man to be our future spouse. We need to instead be making lists for ourselves on what can make us qualified for such a person. If we are looking for those traits, we need to develop those same qualities.
I enjoyed the talk by Elder Marvin J. Ashton listed above about becoming a quality person now. Now is the time for us to prepare. We have been continually taught to live certain standards since we were in Primary. We can work on becoming a worthy and quality person that someone would seek to date, court and marry. As I prepared for my own marriage over the summer, we had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society about families. It was perfect in helping me prepare for this big step in my life. We ended the lesson with a closing hymn, which ended up being, “Families Can Be Together Forever.” I found myself tearing up a bit when we sang the line, “..so I can marry in God’s temple for eternity…” These are words I have been singing since I was a sunbeam and in a short time from that Sunday in Relief Society, I would be doing the exact thing I’ve been striving for since that young age. |
When we prepare wisely, we can be ready for all of the blessings Heavenly Father is ready to give us when the time comes in searching for an eternal companion. We can step into that process of life with confidence and faith in our Heavenly Father knowing that He will guide us to where we need to be and whom we need to be with. We can trust in His promptings and impressions when we are pondering about our eternal companion. When we build that strong and trusting relationship with our Heavenly Father, we can go into marriage with trust in His will as we do enter into marriage.
I have personally experienced that trust as I have entered into this covenant with Him and with my husband. I have trust in His will for us and I know that He will provide the things that will be for our best good if we obey His commandments and live righteously. I have been able to understand that marriage will be hard and trying but I know that God will make it endurable as He blesses us with His guidance, love and support. I think that is the most important thing to remember that God will provide a way for us according to His will and that is something we must have complete faith in if we hope for happiness and success in preparing for an eternal marriage and reaching that wonderful goal. When we prepare ourselves now, we are showing our trust in Heavenly Father because we are providing Him the ability to lead us where He wants us to be because we are worthy to receive that guidance. |
Articles & Videos
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talks about the difference between dating and hanging out and what we need to do in order to come closer to that eternal goal of marriage.
Dating advice from the church leaders.
Additional articles about dating.
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