1. Dealing/Coping with Stress as a Family

            In times when tragedy strikes, it can be hard for the family to remain in one piece and for the family to be happy again. But we have so much control over the outcome. No we cannot always control the circumstances that we are put in, but we can control the outcomes and what we learn from them. It is important that we seek the right resources in times of trial and that we reflect on them positively and make sure we do all we can to learn from them. In one family a death of a child or parent could potentially shred the family into pieces. At the same time another family could take the situation, learn how to deal with it in a healthy manner, and come out stronger and more loving than ever before. We have all the control.

2. Purposes of Parenting

            So many people are unsure why they want to be parents. Or they don’t even know if they want to be parents. They are asking themselves what are the benefits of being a parent, what are the purposes? We are parents to learn, grow and understand. Parents will learn what true, unconditional love is. They will grow to be stronger and to learn more about themselves and how they deal with stresses. They will grow to understand our own Heavenly Father and start to grasp the concept of how much He loves us and how He feels about our own individuals journeys. We are on Earth the find and make families. We are here to procreate and to make eternal families. We are here to prepare us for becoming heavenly mothers and fathers ourselves. It is truly a gift to parent.

3. Moms Getting Educated

            We, as daughters of God, have an amazing privilege. We are able to give birth and to nurture our families. When mothers are educated and well rounded, they can educate and teach their own children. The mothers have a larger capacity to learn and grow with their children. And this even means improvement. Being a mother is a job and it is not easy. We have so many responsibilities, but I’m thankful that someday I can begin to teach my children what I learned and what I’ve experienced through getting an education. There is nothing wrong with having an intelligent woman raise little angels from above.

4. Time of and Number of Children We Have

            This was a hard concept for me to grasp. Some people want to have kids when they want and they have as many or as little as they want. I always thought that I could just choose whatever I wanted. But in Alma 37:37 is says that we need to take counsel in the Lord with all our doings. I need to make sure that I pray for when I should have children and how many I should have. Heavenly Father has plans for all of us and He most definitely has a plan for us when it comes to having children. Our spirit children are waiting for us, we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer than we have to. It’s all in the Father’s will. 

Divorce is something that I have come to realize takes a lot of work to get to. It takes work to intentionally not try, to give up and put not effort. Divorce isn't just a conclusion that comes out of nowhere. I think that divorce happens when the couple is not trying. Marriage is a divine gift and we as LDS members have the wonderful opportunity to be with our spouse forever. I just believe that if we pray about the person we are considering marrying and we get the answer yes, that the marriage can and will work out if we work hard at it. Marriages will work out when both the spouses are trying. Divorce can be prevented. And it can be prevented through communications, honesty and hard work. 

What are the purposes of parenting? This is something that we talked about in class today. It was a really interesting subject to talk about. One of the purposes that we came up with was for parents to develop a large capacity to love. I don't have kids, but I know the love that I feel for my baby cousins, siblings, and children that I babysit for on a regular basis. I love them so much, and I can't believe that I could anyone more than I love them. The love that a parent feels for their child must be just so so powerful. But lets go over the purposes of parenting for both the parent and child

For the child they have to opportunity to:
Emotionally connect
Have a safe environment to grow and learn
Become socialized
Prepare for eternal life 

For the parent:
Learn to understand Heavenly Father
Learn to serve
Become selfless
Forced to encounter challenges and overcome them
Learn to love
Prepare for eternal life

There are so many great purposes to parenting and there are so many ways to parenting. But there are more effective ways of parenting than others. I know that my parents love me and that they really care for me. That had never been something that I was unsure about. There have been several things that I have been doubtful about and times when I was unsure, but NEVER did I question my parents love for me. NO family is perfect. Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next." This is why I am thankful for the Atonement and that I have the chance to repent and be forgiven; this way I can grow into the parent that my Father in Heaven wants me to be. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to become a parent, that I have the opportunity to become more and more like my Heavenly Father and Savior everyday. Families have the privilege to be together forever, and I know that becoming a parent is a divine calling. 

What is it that brings the family together? What can we do to become a tighter unit? This week, in class we talked about the history of work. Back during the 1800s and even at the turn of the century it seemed that the importance of family and their unity was better than it is today. Back then, families typically were farmers. See the family were famers, not just the father. It was a whole family affair. Today we see Dad and even Mom now leaving to go to work. But at this time. Work was at home, home was work. It took to whole family to keep the home and farm running. Siblings weren't just related, they were best friends. They learned together, they played together and they worked together. The family did everything together. Mom worked more with the daughters, she taught them, passed on her talents to them. Dad did the same, he taught his sons how to manage the farm, how to tend to the cattle and fields. The family understood that it took all of them to unify the home and family. But how do we apply that to today? Well we can take similar tactics. We can work together more. Cook dinner together, eat dinner together. I listened to a mormon messages video. Robert D. Hales speaks about the importance of eating together as a family and how much his own mother stressed it's importance. We need to start doing the little things again. It may be a different age and a different time, but we can still be a unified family like it was before. If you are interested in this video here is the link, I would recommend it to anyone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cxHd773Ya0

This week we talked a lot about communication and the ways we can verbalize and discuss our issues. There are so many ways to read people and their emotions. People tell me that they can read me like an open book. My emotions might be written plainly on my face, but maybe my face and my voice don't really convey what I'm thinking and feeling. It's a huge possibility. Sometimes it's so easy for us to assume that people have a certain problem with us by the looks they give us, their body language, and their words. But how much of that should we take for face value? We should always be willing to discuss with and open heart and an open mind. I found it easier to talk to someone when I have prayed and really asked my Father in Heaven to guide me in my words and my actions; that I may be able to convey my feelings and thoughts without hurting the person I am speaking to. Humans are sensitive and we feast off of those around us and those whom we love; we We can't always judge a book by it's cover. Yes someone may sound mad, may look mad, but maybe in reality they are hurting inside. We need to take a step back and really jump back in with a better perspective; and eternal one. 

How has your family dealt with stress and coping with certain crisis situations? I have seen my family deal with it in several ways. This week we talked about the ways families can deal and cope with several different problems. First there's the actual event plus the resources used and the cognitions regarding the experience. This equals the total experience. Families can encounter many different problems and crises. When a family is dealing with a problem currently they can turn to many resources which can affect the outcome of the event. These resources can be relying on the spouse, friends, mom/dad and so on. Then there are the cognitions regarding the experience. This is when the family takes the crisis and decides what to do about it and how to feel about it. It's how the family is going to deal and cope with their crisis. Our outcomes and total experience can always change solely depending on our chosen resources and cognitions. If a crises is happening and we're worried it'll "destroy" the family, it won't! We have control over that. We have control over who our resources are and what we're going to take away from our trials. For example, if there's a tragic death in the family. The wife and husband have the option to turn to each other and rely upon one another. They can also rely upon the Spirit of the Lord and pray fervently about what they can learn from their situation and they can make the changes that are necessary to stay together and grow as one; rather than grow apart.  We may not have control over the actual event, but we have control over the outcomes and what we learn and how we grow. 

How do we give the right messages to our children about the sacredness of procreating?

To be honest I've always been terrified with the idea of getting married. I know an LDS girl afraid to get married. Weird. But that is me. Marriage is a huge commitment that has always daunted me. This week we spoke of the difficulties that newlyweds may encounter and the adjustments that we need to make. There are several things that will make the marriage work out successfully and most importantly lead to a happy marriage. When we get married we become one entity, of one purpose. People are afraid to marry because they are worried they will lose themselves, lose their "identity." But if getting married means becoming one, how would it that work if people remained the exact same. Eating habits, sleeping habits, hygiene habits, spending habits...if we didn't change at least one of these things the marriage would never work. We need to make adjustments in ourselves, our habits and in our lives for marriage. This doesn't mean we have to change everything about us, because typically factor in why people get married and chose their spouses was because of their compatibility. So obviously they are compatible for each other, but now they need to work on minor adjustments to help accommodate their spouse. Brother Williams said in class that he of all the really successful marriages that he has seen didn't just happen accidentally or didn't happen easily. Marriage isn't supposed to easy and I firmly believe that. Nothing easy is worth it. But our compromise and adjustments we make will 

I feel like this is a question often asked among this generation. Well makes an outing a date? Keep in mind the 3 P's. It should be planned, paid for and paired off. Now planned this means that the date or outing should have been well thought out and planned before hand. And this goes for both the boy and girl. Now I personally think that the gentleman should plan the first two or three, after that the girl should take some initiative to get creative. When something is planned, it shows investment and interest. The second in paid for,  this doesn't mean that the boy should be expected to fork out a good amount of cash each date. This means that there was a good amount of thought and time put into the date. Of course, it's okay to spend a little bit of money on the date, but not every date has to be pricey or fancy. BUT keep it original! (: Last there is paired off  let your date know that they're YOUR date. If it's just a large group and there are no specific pairs, it creates an unclear message. Who likes who? Who is on a date with whom? Now group dates are awesome, but make sure that your date knows that your their date or vice versa. So these are the 3 P's for dating. But wait there's more!! There are also 3 P's when it comes to marriage... for the gentleman especially. They are preside, provide and protect. (which is expected for most men in marriage).
Planned-Preside
Paid for-Provide
Paired off- Protect
See any relation? You marry who you date. Your marriage will resemble the dating patterns you had with that person. Food for thought! What're your dates like now? Would you want your marriage to resemble those dates? 

In the Plan of Salvation, one of the core concepts of it is that we have our free agency. That is one of the main reasons why Satan left with 2/3 of God's children. It was because Satan didn't want us to have our free agency. If we were born with same sex tendencies then that would completely take away our free agency. As Lady Gaga says, "He made you perfect, babe...'Cause God makes no mistakes." Heavenly Father and our Savior made us in their image and yes, He did make us perfectly. Would our loving Heavenly Father create us to be born gay? I don't think so. I understand that everyone in their life has their own trials and struggles. BUT we aren't born with those struggles and trials. These rough times come about through life and the decisions that we make and the people we are surrounded by.