Marriage - The Foundation for Family

In 2009, Julie B. Beck instructed seminary and institute leaders across the world in what I consider to be a landmark address entitled Teaching the Doctrine of the Family. As a seminary teacher, I listened intently to the truths she outlined. She said, “The Creation of the earth was the creation of an earth where a family could live. It was a creation of a man and a woman who were the two essential halves of a family. It was not about a creation of a man and a woman who happened to have a family. It was intentional all along that Adam and Eve form an eternal family.”

I believe that marriage is the foundation that God intended for us to build our families on. Strong marriages lend to strong families. Strong families help build strong communities.

On this blog, What Matters Most, Last the Longest, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on why 

marriage matters, as well as ideas for making it last.

There are some fun ways that couples can connect. Here are a few suggestions:

v Have each spouse take the 5 Love Languages Quiz developed by Gary Chapman. Showing love in the way that it is most needed and appreciated goes a long way toward shaping a meaningful relationship.

v Eat dinner together. At The Family Dinner Project you will find many valuable resources that will help you make the most of this daily time together.

v Set goals together. Create a family motto. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, Stephen R. Covey demonstrated the binding potential of such a framework in a marriage and family.

Early in our marriage, my husband and I set goals and created a family motto. Our goals were printed and posted in our master closet so that we saw them every day. Our family motto was also printed and framed. It was placed on prominent display in our home, where we, as well as guests, could have a visual of what our family wanted to become. I can attest that these activities strengthened our desire to work together as husband and wife. By setting goals, we had a common interest that brought frequent, meaningful conversation into our marriage. Little, by little, as we achieved financial, educational, spiritual, and physical goals together, we built something special that was a product of “us”.

I don’t think great marriages just happen. They require work and commitment that is rewarded over time in a myriad of ways. I also don’t think there are perfect marriages. Dallin H. Oaks appropriately remarked, “In all of this, we should realize that a good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection.”