Blog Post #6

Last week we discussed in class how couples who decide to cohabitate have more of a tendency to abuse each other than those who marry then move in together.  I found this to be very interesting, yet not very surprising.  Through the course of this class, I have learned that people who cohabitate have a higher risk of a lot of situations which are not preferable.  I feel for the children of people to decide to cohabitate.  Broken homes are more common and abuse is rampant.  Nobody wants to be raised in an environment like that.  I am very grateful for the Church's stance on marriage and cohabitation.  Our children deserve more.  They deserve the best, and the best thing that we can provide them with is a family which is strong and united and lawfully wed without abuse or other social/emotional downfalls.

Family Relations post #4

Yesterday in class we talked about dating, which has been a huge issue in my apartment lately.  One of my roommates has been going on "not dates" with a guy that she has been interested in for some time now.  We tried telling her that it was a date, but she didn't believe us.  Now, after having taught her the knowledge that I learned in class, she too knows that these "not dates" have absolutely been real dates.  We have learned that the three criteria for a date are - 1. Prepared (he has planned an activity) 2. Paid for (he is treating you) and 3. Paired off (there is no question as to whether or not he is "yours" for the evening).  My fiance and I learned a lot from this lesson too.  Throughout our relationship, we have not been the best at actually taking the time from our extremely hectic schedules to go on dates, however I also learned in class that these 3 P's of dating have a lot to do with the 3 P's of fatherhood/marriage.  In our Church we believe that the father of the family has the role of Providing for his family (Paid for), Protecting his family (Paired off - he would never let any one else in who could be a threat to the well being of the family) and Presiding over his family (he is Prepared and willing to lead and set a good example for his family).  We both liked this learning experience and are grateful to have had it. We have set the goal to go on more dates alone and not just hang out with friends because, as we also learned in class, "being paired off helps you prepare for marriage".  We are grateful to have had this lesson.

Family Relations Post #3

This past week in class we talked a lot about mate selection and why it is that we scientifically end up choosing the people that we do.  I have contemplated on this a lot this week because I have always wondered why it is that we are drawn to some people, yet not to others.  We learned about a few different criteria that we use in choosing a mate, or significant other.  First we talked about "propinquity" - which basically means that you tend to favor those who live around you, not only because it is convienient, but also because people who live in a close proximity to each other often share similar values and cultural outlooks.  We calso talked about physical characteristics and "familiar" similarities.  We meantioned how those who choose each other often have physical similarities, and I have heard that my fiance and I could be "brother and sister" (which we dont really like, but it proves a point).  I just thought that it was a really cool experience to be able to look at our relationship compared to what we learned in class, because everything that Brother Williams mentioned was true for us.  Our relationship struggled when we tried long distance.  We broke up because of it.  But now that our propinquities are more in line with each other, we are back together.  We also have a lot in common, especially our love for the gospel which makes things a whole lot easier than if our views were different.  I loved this lesson and I'm grateful for Brother Williams for preparing it for us.