We Are Gathered Here Today

I have faced repentance many times in my life, and by many, I mean every single day. It’s frustrating to be human and to make so many mistakes despite knowing better; because we do know better. 2 Nephi 2:5 says, “ And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil . And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good and become miserable forever.” What a tragic end to look forward to. How do we escape this impending eternal misery? We are freed through Christ and through complete repentance. Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins, but that doesn’t mean the deal is done and we need not worry. Our part of the Plan is to fully repent and take upon us the gift of Jesus Christ’s Atonement. So how is this done? Repentance is more than praying for forgiveness, we have seen examples of complete repentance ...

My husband and I have been married for 2 years and come from very different family backgrounds. My family is very warm and accepting, they live to please others. My in-laws are more restrictive in their relationships and are less affectionate and caring in general. Coming from a home where you pretended to like everyone, even if they were your worst enemy, it has been difficult to blend with a family that is very honest and open with their true feelings. My sister in law and I knew each other before I met my husband and had some experiences that left us far from being friends. Because of the opinions my sister in-law had of me, I have had difficult relationships with each of my in-laws before I’d even met them; from the very beginning, I didn’t stand a chance! The contention that lived between my sister in-law and I for so many years has created walls between our families that are intimidating and seem unlikely to fall. I have been hurt by the obvious distance my in-laws place bet...

In Richard Miller’s article, "Who is the boss? Power Relationships in Families", I saw a lot of my own family reflected in the points made. Miller states that in healthy families, parents and children know their roles and respect that parents are the leaders of the family. As the children become adults, the parents step out of the power role in their children’s lives to allow healthy relationships to continue. In my own childhood, I have experienced the chaos that an unclear hierarchy between parents and children can create. My older sister was definitely the ruler of our household; she made the rules and she chose the consequences. It was difficult for us as her younger siblings to watch my parents struggle to parent her and eventually give up on trying to parent any of us. When I was fourteen, entering high school as a freshman, my older sister was seventeen and a junior. For the majority of our lives we had gotten along, but that soon ended when she became my chauffer t...

This week’s readings have been focused on a topic that has frequented our dinner table and pillow talk recently; the importance of fidelity and honesty in a marriage. My husband and I have been married for almost two years and have gone through a lot in a short amount of time. Most recently we packed up our life in Utah and moved to Alabama to go after my husbands dream career of owning his own training gym. It has been a trying experience for us but one that has brought us closer together. When we decided to move to Alabama, one of Jake’s close friends contacted him asking if Jake had any open positions in his company that he would consider hiring him for. Jake jumped on the opportunity, excited to have a familiar face out here with us. His friend, we’ll call him Eddie; his wife, who we’ll call Maddie; and his daughter, Carly all moved to Alabama soon after we did. This is a family we have known for years and Eddie is someone Jake has worked with closely in the past. Soon after w...

At the conclusion of Gottman’s book, he shares with us his “marital poop detector”. Gottman uses the marital poop detector to find early warning signs of something not smelling quite right in a marriage. When I was reading, I thought of a favorite saying from high school, (back when things like poop were funny). Anytime someone would say, “Does that make sense?” or something of the sort, we would respond with, “yeah I’m smelling what you’re stepping in.” As funny as this may have been, it’s applicable to marriage in that we need to be on the same page with our spouse, especially when things are turning sour. If I’ve learned anything from Gottman and Goddard this semester, it is the importance of communication in any relationship, but especially marriage; the marital poop detector is no different. Being able to sense when things are off in our relationships before they escalate to a point of no return is a powerful tool. But how can we achieve this? How can we smell the poop? (Are yo...

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we hear the word ‘consecrate’, in a lot of different contexts. We use consecrated oil in priesthood blessings, we live the Law of Consecration, and are asked to consecrate all we have to the building up of God’s kingdom. The Bible Dictionary defines consecrate, “To dedicate, to make holy, or to become righteous.” With this definition, how do we apply this to our marriages? How do I consecrate myself to my husband and to the covenants we have made? Elder L.G. Robbins gave an enlightening address in 1998 titled, “Agency and Anger.” Elder Robbins shared an insight from author William Wilbanks; he said, “Aggression … suppressing the anger, talking about it, screaming and yelling, are all learned strategies in dealing with anger. We choose the one that has proved effective for us in the past. Ever notice how seldom we lose control when frustrated by our boss, but how often we do when annoyed by friends or family?” I will ...