Marital Happiness

I loved our discussions in class this week.  We talked all about marital happiness, what we should do when planning a wedding, and what kind of changes are made when you first get married.

I will first address the subject of planning for the wedding.  You shouldn't spend too much time on planning for the wedding and reception, but plan for a marriage and focus on the fact that you are getting married in the temple.  Someone in class mentioned putting a temple cake-topper on the top of the cake to remind everyone about the importance of the temple.  That stuck out to me and I am going to do something like that for my wedding.  I want the temple to be the center of my wedding and wedding reception.  My sister and her husband met in Africa while teaching children English.  On the top of their wedding cake they had a cutout of the shape of Africa, with a little heart of the place where they met in Mozambique.  Here is a picture of it,

It is kind of small, but I thought it was a very beautiful cake topper that was very unique and special to them because they both love Africa and it is where they met and fell in love. 

In class we also discussed the adjustments that need to be made when you first get married.  And I have to say I really enjoyed this section of the class.  A lot of married couples in the class told stories about how they had to change the way they sleep, because some people are cuddlers while other aren't.  Also people have to decide how they are going to load the dishwasher, how they are going to squeeze the toothpaste tube, and many different things.  

I always thought that marriage would be an easy adjustment, but in reality there are a lot of things to be considered and that need to be talked about prior to marriage.  

Also, in class in the past and with the people that sit around me we have talked about the importance of the women in the home.  A mother's influence is so important, and a woman's influence on her husband is extremely important too.  It is so important for women to support their husbands and lift them up.  I love this quote about the struggles that men have, and I have shared this with many different people:

"It can be discouraging at times to know what it means to be a son of God and yet come up short. The adversary likes to take advantage of these feelings. Satan would rather that you define yourself by your sins instead of your divine potential. Brethren, don’t listen to him."

"We have all seen a toddler learn to walk. He takes a small step and totters. He falls. Do we scold such an attempt? Of course not. What father would punish a toddler for stumbling? We encourage, we applaud, and we praise because with every small step, the child is becoming more like his parents."

"Now, brethren, compared to the perfection of God, we mortals are scarcely more than awkward, faltering toddlers. But our loving Heavenly Father wants us to become more like Him, and, dear brethren, that should be our eternal goal too. God understands that we get there not in an instant but by taking one step at a time."

  -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf