love.

Marriage and Family reading assignment for this week.. 

Marriage and Divorce - President Spencer W. Kimball (speeches, 1976 (don't let the date fool you, it is all still VERY applicable!)) 

WONDERFUL talk. So many good topics discussed.

It's Valentines Day soon-read this with your sweetheart and see how you can make your marriage/relationship even better, filled with more happiness and love.

a couple quotes from the talk ...

Formula for a happy marriage:
*work hard
*be selfLESS
*keep courting/keep love alive
*live the commandments

" 'Soul mates' are fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfullness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price." ((My teacher added- "Once you pick your partner, once you seal yourself to each other across the alter-they ARE the 'right one', they are then your soul mate"))

"Love is like a flower, and, like the body, it needs constant feeding ... And so love, also, cannot be expected to last forever unless it is continually fed with portions of love, the manifestation of esteem and admiration the expressions of gratitude, and the consideration of unselfishness."

a few more quotes (P.S. the Eternal Marriage manual is AMAZING-I recommend it (can be found at the BYU bookstore-and I'm sure-online..

"If one really loves another, one would rather die for that person than to injure him."-Elder Spencer W. Kimball

" ... the kind of respect that regards one's companion as the most precious friend on earth and not as a possession or a chattel to be forced or compelled to suit one's selfish whims ... This respect comes of recognition that each of us is a son or daughter of God, endowed with something of his divine nature, that each is an individual entitled to expression and cultivation of individual talents and deserving of forbearance, of patience, of understanding, of courtesy, of thoughtful consideration. True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well being of one's companion." -Elder Gordon B. Hinckley

"True love is a process. True love requires personal action. Love must be continuing to be real. Love takes time ...  Love demands action if it is to be continuing ...." -Elder Marvin J. Ashton

"Be quick to say, 'I'm sorry.' As hard as it is to form the words, be swift to say, 'I apologize, and please forgive me,' even though you are not the one who is totally at fault. True love is developed by those who are willing to readily admit personal mistakes and offenses." -Elder Joe J. Chirstensen

"First and foremost, nothing except God Himself takes priority over your wife in your life-not work, not recreation, not hobbies ...." -President Ezra Taft Benson (here is a link to the entire talk 'To the Fathers in Israel')

"How Do I Love Thee?" -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (another GREAT great talk!)

"... I believe that second only to your membership in the Church, your "membership in a marriage" is the most important association you will have in time and eternity..."

some notes from class...

(Journal entry) I love that we are talking about revelation right now because, like we discussed, it is a blurry topic. It is essential to know that revelation rarely gets you into an easy situation. Satan is there, he intervenes with revelation. Doubting and fearing are scaring things, and it is hard not to think of them as a “wrong answer” sign. It is important to remember that doubt and fear of from Satan and not God. Revelation will never come as fear. We also must remember that revelation does prompt us to do difficult things. 

We also learned the formula for distinguishing the Holy Ghost;

1. Test of Receptivity: How am I doing with keeping the commandments? How likely am I able to hear the Lord if He IS trying to tell me something? Am I fasting, praying, worshiping (church, meditation, temple)? How is my mental alertness? Am I serving? Do I ever have time where I am free from distractions (lust, anger, greed, noise, confusion, etc.) and available to listen?

2. Test of Bias: Do we ask for guidance to do God's will? or for approval of our will? 

3. Test of Content: Is our revelation in line with what has been revealed to the prophets?

If the process is broken-we won't get revelation 

Happy loving.

And remember..all the things you did to catch your sweetheart-you  need to continue to do in order to hold on to them.

There is no "falling out of love." -Brother Dorius (my teacher)